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A Computer Composing and Playing Jazz
Roland Piquepaille writes "The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has some unusual teaching programs. One PhD student, Øyvind Brandtsegg, is a graduate of the jazz program and this article describes how has developed a computer program and a musical instrument for improvisation. The PhD student is 36 years old and is at the same time a composer, a musician and computer programmer. His 'computer instrument' can take any recorded sound as input and split it into a number of very short sound particles that can last for between 1 and 10 milliseconds. 'These fragments may be infinitely reshuffled, making it possible to vary the music with no change in the fundamental theme.'" Brandtsegg improvisational software is called ImproSculpt; his site contains several selections from his musical output, including "some pieces made with the predecessor of ImproSculpt," called FollowMe.
Well, obviously the tech is already widely available, but a clever application of it that creates beautiful music (if it in fact does) is still awesome.
I mean, not every cool invention is going to be super groundbreaking, like the lightbulb. Some are just going to be good adaptations of existing tech, like lamps and lampshades.
I went to some free form jazz last night. Everybody seemed to be playing by themselves all at the same time and in a very random fashion. The pianist was just mashing the keyboard. I'm sure a computer could create sounds like that easily.
maybe the players were some kind of robots...
That is a very short chunk of 'music'!
Ah, 'informative'. Because when it comes to art, Slashdotters are as arrogant as they are ignorant.
I don't know if there's a ghost in this machine but it certainly plays with more soul than Kenny G.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
If you had studied music only briefly in college, you would know that the tradition working with "randomness" (i.e. the unintended) comes from John Cage and contemporary classical music, not from jazz. And it does sound totally different. That's one point of supporting evidence for you, re ignorance.
Of course there is a lot of jazz that just isn't any good, played by poor musicians who don't know what they're doing, but it's no more an aspect of the genre than it is for pop or rock: most people aren't good musicians or composers. Claiming a lack of musicality is an aspect of a genre is arrogant. That's another point of supporting evidence.
Claiming a bunch of random notes sounds like jazz is, in most cases, simply wrong. Try it and see if it's jazz. No? Ignorant and arrogant. I'm talking about you.
You have a point insofar as "jazz is not random." But there are a few problems here:
1) Your statement seems to indicate that you think "random" and "improv" are one side of a coin. Improv is not random.
2) Counterpoint is a specific type of polyphonic technique. Jazz can be contrapuntal, but it doesn't have to be. In fact, it doesn't even have to be polyphonic.
3) The cutting edge of jazz is not built on top of well-established music theory. Theory follows practice, not the other way around. Yeah, if you want to mimic Charlie Parker, learn the theory. And yes, if you want to get past Charlie Parker, you must first learn the theory. But if you want to know what Anthony Braxton is going to do next, you'll have to wait 'til he does it.
4) You're right that jazz is not improv. But a great deal of -- most, in fact -- jazz incorporates improv. Indeed, if you took the improv out of it, it would be awfully hard to suggest that what is left is a distinct genre.
// This is not a sig.