Throughout the short history of interactive digital music, there have been frequent calls for a new language of interaction that incorporates and acknowledges the unique capabilities of the computational medium. In this paper we suggest that a conceptualisation of possible modes of performance–time interaction can only be sensibly approached in light of the ways that computers alter the social–artistic interactions that are precursive to performance. This conceptualisation hinges upon a consideration of the changing roles of composition, performer and instrument in contemporary practice. We introduce the termbehavioural objectto refer to software that has the capacity to act as the musical and social focus of interaction in digital systems. Whilst formative, this term points to a new framework for understanding the role of software in musical culture. We discuss the potential for behavioural objects to contribute actively to musical culture through two types of agency:performative agencyandmemetic agency.
In this paper we pose ten questions we consider the most important for understanding generative computer art. For each question, we briefly discuss the implications and suggest how it might form the basis for further discussion.
Musical metacreation (MuMe), also known as musical computational creativity, is a subfield of computational creativity that focuses on endowing machines with the ability to achieve creative musical tasks, such as composition, interpretation, improvisation, accompaniment, mixing, etc. It covers all dimensions of the theory and practice of computational generative music systems, ranging from purely artistic approaches to purely scientific ones, inclusive of discourses relevant to this topic from the humanities. MuMe systems range from purely generative ones to a variety of interactive systems, such as those for computer-assisted composition and computer-assisted sound design. In order to better appreciate the many dimensions of this interdisciplinary domain and see how it overlaps and differs from research in computer music, this introduction provides a general entry point. After defining and introducing the domain, its context, and some of its terminology, we reflect on some challenges and opportunities for the field as a whole.
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