Virtual music : computer synthesis of musical style / David Cope ; with commentary by Douglas Hofstadter ; and with perspectives and analysis by Eleanor Selfridge-Field [and others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cope, David, 1941-

Contributor:

Hofstadter, Douglas R., 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Composition (Music)--Computer programs.

Composition (Music).

Cope, David, 1941- EMI.

Cope, David.

Physical Description:

1 PDF (xiii, 565 pages) : illustrations, music.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Virtual Music is about artificial creativity. Focusing on the author's Experiments in Musical Intelligence computer music composing program, the author and a distinguished group of experts discuss many of the issues surrounding the program, including artificial intelligence, music cognition, and aesthetics.The book is divided into four parts. The first part provides a historical background to Experiments in Musical Intelligence, including examples of historical antecedents, followed by an overview of the program by Douglas Hofstadter. The second part follows the composition of an Experiments in Musical Intelligence work, from the creation of a database to the completion of a new work in the style of Mozart. It includes, in sophisticated lay terms, relatively detailed explanations of how each step in the process contributes to the final composition. The third part consists of perspectives and analyses by Jonathan Berger, Daniel Dennett, Bernard Greenberg, Douglas R. Hofstadter, Steve Larson, and Eleanor Selfridge-Field. The fourth part presents the author's responses to these commentaries, as well as his thoughts on the implications of artificial creativity.The book (and corresponding Web site) includes an appendix providing extended musical examples referred to and discussed in the book, including composers such as Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Debussy, Bartok, and others. It is also accompanied by a CD containing performances of the music in the text.

Contents:

Staring Emmy straight in the eye

and doing my best not to flinch / Douglas Hofstadter

Composition, combinatorics, and simulation : a historical and philosophical enquiry / Eleanor Selfridge-Field

Experiments in musical intelligence and Bach / Bernard Greenberg

Dear Emmy : a counterpoint teacher's thoughts on the experiments in musical intelligence program's two-part inventions / Steve Larson

Who cares if it listens? An essay on creativity, expectations, and computational modeling of listening to music / Jonathan Berger

Collision detection, muselot, and scribble : some reflections on creativity / Daniel Dennett

A few standard questions and answers / Douglas Hofstadter.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [346]-351) and index.

Made available online by EBSCO.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262255943

0262255944

9781282096226

1282096222

9781423728641

1423728645

OCLC:

61850590