AN APPROACH TO MACHINE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL ONTOGENY

This Thesis pursues three main objectives: (i) to use computational modelling to explore how music is perceived, cognitively processed and created by human beings; (ii) to explore interactive musical systems as a method to model and achieve the transmission of musical influence in artificial worlds and between humans and machines; and (iii) to experiment with artificial and alternative developmental musical routes in order to observe the evolution of musical styles. In order to achieve these objectives, this Thesis introduces a new paradigm for the design of computer interactive musical systems called the Ontomemetical Model of Music Evolution - OMME, which includes the fields of musical ontogenesis and memetlcs. OMME-based systems are designed to artificially explore the evolution of music centred on human perceptive and cognitive faculties. The potential of the OMME is illustrated with two interactive musical systems, the Rhythmic Meme Generator (RGeme) and the Interactive Musical Environments (iMe). which have been tested in a series of laboratory experiments and live performances. The introduction to the OMME is preceded by an extensive and critical overview of the state of the art computer models that explore musical creativity and interactivity, in addition to a systematic exposition of the major issues involved in the design and implementation of these systems. This Thesis also proposes innovative solutions for (i) the representation of musical streams based on perceptive features, (ii) music segmentation, (iii) a memory-based music model, (iv) the measure of distance between musical styles, and (v) an impi*ovisation-based creative model

Dissonant Harmonies: Modelling and Conceptualising Improvising Social Groups

Improvisation has attracted increasing attention within organisational and managerial studies as a method to improve efficiency and innovation without adequately understanding the conditions prerequisite for improvisation’s operation. This paper examines how the jazz repertoire theory, and New Cultural studies of jazz address improvisation within jazz ensembles, showing neither adequately explaining improvisation. The paper draws on Bourdieu’s concepts, fleshed out in Wacquant’s ethnography research of habitus acquisition among pugilists to propose a model of the symbiotic ensemble providing the conditions essential for improvisation. Symbiotic ensembles are composed of synergetic musicians, all of relatively equal musical and social status, who have commonly accrued an embodied musical improvising habitus through their musical and life trajectories, from first learning an instrument, transitioning to improvisation, performing in various ensemble settings whereby they acquire influences and become vectors transmitting musical concepts among disparate musical ensembles

Musicianship for Robots with Style

ABSTRACT In this paper we introduce a System conceived to serve as the "musical brain" of autonomous musical robots or agent-based software simulations of robotic systems. Our research goal is to provide robots with the ability to integrate with the musical culture of their surroundings. In a multi-agent configuration, the System can simulate an environment in which autonomous agents interact with each other as well as with external agents (e.g., robots, human beings or other systems). The main outcome of these interactions is the transformation and development of their musical styles as well as the musical style of the environment in which they live

Audio-based Musical Artificial Intelligence and Audio-Reactive Visual Agents in Revive

Revive is an live audio-visual performance project that brings together a musical artificial intelligence architecture, human electronic musicians, and audio-reactive visual agents in a complex multimedia environment of a dome view with multichannel 3D audio. The context of the project is live audio-visual performance of experimental electronic music through structured improvisation. Revive applies structured improvisation using cues and automatized parameter changes within these cues. Performers have different roles within the musical structures initiated by the cues. These roles change as the performance temporally evolves. Sonic actions of performers are further emphasized by audio-reactive visual agents. The behaviours and 1contents of sonic and visual agents change as the performance unfolds

Design Considerations for Real-Time Collaboration with Creative Artificial Intelligence

Machines incorporating techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning can work with human users on a moment-to-moment, real-time basis to generate creative outcomes, performances and artefacts. We define such systems collaborative, creative AI systems, and in this article, consider the theoretical and practical considerations needed for their design so as to support improvisation, performance and co-creation through real-time, sustained, moment-to-moment interaction. We begin by providing an overview of creative AI systems, examining strengths, opportunities and criticisms in order to draw out the key considerations when designing AI for human creative collaboration. We argue that the artistic goals and creative process should be first and foremost in any design. We then draw from a range of research that looks at human collaboration and teamwork, to examine features that support trust, cooperation, shared awareness and a shared information space. We highlight the importance of understanding the scope and perception of two-way communication between human and machine agents in order to support reflection on conflict, error, evaluation and flow. We conclude with a summary of the range of design challenges for building such systems in provoking, challenging and enhancing human creative activity through their creative agency

Exploring Political Action and Socialization through Group Improvisation within the Music of Frederic Rzewski and Cornelius Cardew

In the late 1960s, socialist composers, Cornelius Cardew and Frederic Rzewski, each established ensembles with the purpose of performing works consisting of experimental forms of improvisation. By employing group improvisation, and including untrained, non-musicians within their performances, they strove to use these ensembles as a model for society itself; this model includes a dissolution of the hierarchy among performers and the barrier between performer and audience. Improvisation helped music resist commodification by the culture industry or appropriation by authoritarian regimes for the purpose of propaganda. This dissertation aims to explore how Cardew and Rzewski constituted effective socialization and political action within two works: Cardew’s The Great Learning (Paragraph 1) and Rzewski’s Les Moutons de Panurge. This dissertation explores the complex relationship between politics and art, particularly, how art maintains its autonomy while also being political. The political and compositional backgrounds of these two composers is examined in order to gauge their intentions within these works and evaluate the political efficacy of the resulting compositions. This is accomplished by examining the scores as well as various studio recordings and live performances. This dissertation proposes that it is only within performance that the relationship between improvisational choices and political efficacy is revealed

Piano_prosthesis

This is one of a developing series of duos for a human and a machine performer. Both “musicians” adapt to each other through mutual listening (i.e., via audio only) and response as the performance develops. The human’s improvisation is encoded by the computer through statistical analysis of extracted features and by cataloguing these in real time. Each observation made by the computer is assigned to a set of musical output behaviors. Recurring features of the player’s improvisation can then be recognized by the computer. The machine “expresses” this recognition by developing, and modifying, its own musical output, just as another player might