7- Pseudo-Random Music

The Task

Use a random process as the core generative element of your composition, but organise the composition in such a way that it has development, an emergent musical structure.  In other words use a Cageian algorithm but without the piece begin a shapeless mess.


Research

John  Cage (5th September 1912 - 12th August 1992) was an American composer and music theorist.  He was part of the Avant-Garde movement and pioneered Electro-Acoustic music, Extended Technique and indeterminacy.  

For more information on Electroacoustic music please see post 5 - Pencil and paper

Extended Technique is used to describe methods of playing an instrument or singing in an unconventional way to create unusual sounds and textures.  Jazz has been influenced heavily by this technique.  One of the best examples of this is Cage's Prepared Piano.  Prepared Piano is where the sound can be altered by placing objects on the strings, string board of hammers of the piano.  Objects of certain textures, for example wood, have a definitive sound and when using wooden objects as part of a prepared piano gives a lovely warm percussive sound.  

Indeterminacy in music can mean different things.  It is generally meant to mean there is an element of chance that could change the composition and divided into three groups:

1) The chance element is involved in the compositional process (for example, creating a piece of music without listening to it)

2) The chance element is involved in the performance process (for example, giving a score of numbered musical phrases to the performers but telling them to play the phrases in the order they wish)

3) The chance element is involved in the interpretation of the music (for example, giving the performers a graphic score and allowing them to interpret it how they wish)

Pseudorandom is the term given to a process that appears to be random but ultimately is not. The idea of pseudorandomness is the same idea of Cage's indeterminacy- the outcome of the piece is not known.  

The Composition

In order to create the piece, several sound samples were chosen and renamed numerically so the sound source could not be known.  These singular sound files were imported into one of two programs to be manipulated according to whether the number was an odd or an even number.  The odd numbers were manipulated in Cecilia and the even numbers manipulated in Sound Grain.  These sound files (still using the numerical names) were then imported into Cubase at random.  The sounds were then listened back to discover whether they were good enough to be used.  Many of the sounds were able to be used and some of them were in a good place for the piece to become well-structured. The screenshot below shows the final arrangement of the sound objects.

Once the piece was arranged as desired, the entire track was mixed and exported to a .wav.





Critical Analysis

While the composition stays within the brief with the intentionality of being somewhat random, the piece lacks a definitive structure and, in the beginning, almost gives the sense of one of Schaeffer's Etudes due to its linear and a somewhat secular succession of sound objects.  That being said, around 1 minute 45 seconds, the piece begins to take some shape and develop into a more well-rounded composition.  The part following the silence gives an eerie and sinister feel to the piece due to the repeat of the scream like phrases and metallic sounds which seems to fit the piece well as it has an overall ominous feeling and contributes to the shape of the piece.


References 

http://www.plouffe.fr/simon/constants/feigenbaum.txt 

http://digitsofpi.com/Top-10000-Digits-Of-Pi.htm

http://apod.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/e.2mil

http://www.goldennumber.net/phi-million-places/