Research update response // Plymouth 28 July 2005
Eleven months ago, when I first introduced myself to the Planetary Collegium, I titled my project "Sound + Music for Interactivity." Since that time I believe I have grown be-yond this definition, but traces of the initial idea linger. Your [my colleagues] questions and excellent conversation over the past ten days have shown me that much I have achieved is still obscured by vague language and other shortcomings. I am grateful to know of these weaknesses. They help me address the areas of my "map" that still require charting.
Concerning the text on interactive narrative by Mark Stephen Meadows, the phrase "open system" is problematic and I intend to stop using it. Alternately, telematic is a better term for the inquiries that I plan to initiate here. At this point, my understanding of telematic is limited. In the months between now and our next meeting I will attend to this and more clearly define the interactive communications systems associated with my project.
A-Life (Artificial Life, AL) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are excluded from the main body of my research because the specific work in these areas is focused on inquiries and properties of life. They serve as frames of reference for my research due to their emergent properties: Properties that are similarly manifest in the telematic environments I want to associate with my work. AL strives to learn about intelligence and the brain through the processes of synthesis. Cognitive and evolutionary models are developed in order that we might better understand life. The approach is interesting to me because it recognizes emergent behavior as a component of living systems. However, it is only the recognition of this phenomenon, and its parallel to the dynamics of telematic systems, that are relevant to my research project.
Human-as-fitness factor is not relevant. Fitness in general is something that I wish to avoid simply because I think that any measure of fitness that has direct impact on the composition will limit the musical possibilities that can arise within the system. In the general discourse of music and AL research, fitness is a measure of "good music." Or the slightly better mark, "coherent music" (John A. Biles). Algorithms are unable to make these judgments. Furthermore, it is impossible to quantify "good" without substantially limiting the musical possibilities that can arise in a system. Defining what is good inhibits discovery of what could be interesting, and asserts a narrow view of music with little or no room to grow.
Music composition fits into my research in that my expression of telematic environments is musical. Following Edgard Varèse's basic definition of composition I am an organizer of sounds. I make my organization in relation to the telematic world, as one possible expression of that world. The compositional modalities I explore are:
Sound
• Human-created and conceptualized. Human intervention is essential at this stage in the creative process so that the finished work is not overly rooted in the past (as can be heard in AL/AI+music research). A computer has little context to make culturally relevant music and it must rely on a human composer to initiate and shape the composition.
Composition
• Experimental or an "Open Work" (as defined by Umberto Eco)
• Human-created to unfold along various lines in unpredictable and novel ways
Interactive system
• Telematic
• Full of the dynamics exhibited by artificial life and communications systems
Music
• Emergent
• Sounds, operating within the bounds of the composition, and driven by the telematic system
Related to this is the idea of composition-as-instrument. I think that in many ways my compositions are conceived of as instruments in that they provide many possibilities of music and are "played" as a by-product of the interactions that take place within the telematic world.
Jazz improvisation practice is very important in what I do. On reflection I realize that my past experience with this music profoundly affects my compositional approach in Emergent music. This has always been apparent to me but I realize now that it should become a meaningful part of my discussion. Improvisational structures are essential to what I do. In many ways every composition I prepare is an improvisation that is initiated in real-time by the governing system.
I have probably been guilty of focusing too much on the technology. However, I believe that this is apparent only in the attempts to discuss my work. The critique this session has made it clear that I have not fully explored all conceptions of music in my research. Important issues such as my definition of music, various listening modes, reception by an audience, and specific compositional intentions have not been addressed. I will attend to this and find a means of including it in my update this November.
Concerning the text on interactive narrative by Mark Stephen Meadows, the phrase "open system" is problematic and I intend to stop using it. Alternately, telematic is a better term for the inquiries that I plan to initiate here. At this point, my understanding of telematic is limited. In the months between now and our next meeting I will attend to this and more clearly define the interactive communications systems associated with my project.
A-Life (Artificial Life, AL) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) are excluded from the main body of my research because the specific work in these areas is focused on inquiries and properties of life. They serve as frames of reference for my research due to their emergent properties: Properties that are similarly manifest in the telematic environments I want to associate with my work. AL strives to learn about intelligence and the brain through the processes of synthesis. Cognitive and evolutionary models are developed in order that we might better understand life. The approach is interesting to me because it recognizes emergent behavior as a component of living systems. However, it is only the recognition of this phenomenon, and its parallel to the dynamics of telematic systems, that are relevant to my research project.
Human-as-fitness factor is not relevant. Fitness in general is something that I wish to avoid simply because I think that any measure of fitness that has direct impact on the composition will limit the musical possibilities that can arise within the system. In the general discourse of music and AL research, fitness is a measure of "good music." Or the slightly better mark, "coherent music" (John A. Biles). Algorithms are unable to make these judgments. Furthermore, it is impossible to quantify "good" without substantially limiting the musical possibilities that can arise in a system. Defining what is good inhibits discovery of what could be interesting, and asserts a narrow view of music with little or no room to grow.
Music composition fits into my research in that my expression of telematic environments is musical. Following Edgard Varèse's basic definition of composition I am an organizer of sounds. I make my organization in relation to the telematic world, as one possible expression of that world. The compositional modalities I explore are:
Sound
• Human-created and conceptualized. Human intervention is essential at this stage in the creative process so that the finished work is not overly rooted in the past (as can be heard in AL/AI+music research). A computer has little context to make culturally relevant music and it must rely on a human composer to initiate and shape the composition.
Composition
• Experimental or an "Open Work" (as defined by Umberto Eco)
• Human-created to unfold along various lines in unpredictable and novel ways
Interactive system
• Telematic
• Full of the dynamics exhibited by artificial life and communications systems
Music
• Emergent
• Sounds, operating within the bounds of the composition, and driven by the telematic system
Related to this is the idea of composition-as-instrument. I think that in many ways my compositions are conceived of as instruments in that they provide many possibilities of music and are "played" as a by-product of the interactions that take place within the telematic world.
Jazz improvisation practice is very important in what I do. On reflection I realize that my past experience with this music profoundly affects my compositional approach in Emergent music. This has always been apparent to me but I realize now that it should become a meaningful part of my discussion. Improvisational structures are essential to what I do. In many ways every composition I prepare is an improvisation that is initiated in real-time by the governing system.
I have probably been guilty of focusing too much on the technology. However, I believe that this is apparent only in the attempts to discuss my work. The critique this session has made it clear that I have not fully explored all conceptions of music in my research. Important issues such as my definition of music, various listening modes, reception by an audience, and specific compositional intentions have not been addressed. I will attend to this and find a means of including it in my update this November.
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