1. From Experiments in Musical Intelligence to Emily Howell
The Work of David Cope

2. Career context The programs The composer Teacher Composer
Professor at UC Santa Cruz
Author of books on
Musical intelligence (6)
Twentieth-century music (2)
Teacher
Algorithmic composition
20th-century analytical methods
Composer
Uses several mediums
Writes works in groups, cycles
Recent works are assisted by Emily Howell
The programs
EMI (Exp Mus Int)
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

3. Experiments in Musical Intelligence
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

4. Data analysis phase Select a repertory (one composer, one genre)
Encode several pieces
Parse them into five elements of musical grammar
Statements
Preparations
Extensions
Antecedents
Consequents
Discover and store “signatures” (identify “earmarks”)
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

5. Signatures in the SPEAC Grammar
Are relatively short (2-5 events)
Are shorter than themes
Are stored with approach and departure info
Are described by intervallic relationships
Are not described by key or mode
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

6. Listening to SPEAC EXamples
Bach invention
Joplin rag
Mozart Violin Concerto, movement 3
Gershwin
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

7. Composing new works User selects a composer User selects a genre
User selects a key and mode
User selects a meter
Emmy generates one (or many) new work(s)
User discards what he does not want
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

8. Ways of experiencing Emmy
Listening to MIDI performances
Listening to live performances
Viewing the notated music
Performing the music
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

9. Reactions to EMI From MIDI files From live concerts “mechanical”
Too fast
Too slow
Too soft
Too loud
Not human
That’s by a computer?
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

10. Emmy-Beethoven Symphony
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

11. Computer Models and Hidden structure
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

12. Computer Models of Musical Creativity
Initiates process of signature capture from interactive user responses
Evolves its own lexicons
Models broader processes of grammatically- founded processes including
Speech
Poetry
Lyrics
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

13. Hidden Structure
Takes comprehensive view of 20th-century analytical concepts
Makes them available for compositional algorithms
Post-tonal music
Generative algorithms
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

14. Emily Howell
2010—
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

15. Emily HoweLL Debuted in March 2010
Represents the second incarnation of Emmy
Composes modern, original music
society/triumph-of-the-cyborg-composer-8507/
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

16. Pieces by Emily Howell From Darkness, Light Land of Stone
Shadow Worlds
5/11/2010
2010 Eleanor Selfridge-Field