"Experiments in Musical Intelligence"

David Cope

UC Santa Cruz

Abstract: Musical works contain code about the processes and influences which created them. The computer program "Experiments in Musical Intelligence" attempts to decipher this code and create new, but stylistically-faithful, music. Examples of output will be performed followed by a discussion of how these principles can transfer to other media.

Biography: DAVID COPE (b. San Francisco, 1941) completed degrees in composition at Arizona State University and the University of Southern California. His over seventy published compositions have received thousands of performances throughout the U.S. and abroad, including those by the Vermont, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cabrillo Festival, and Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestras, as well as numerous university orchestras and wind ensembles. Twenty-one of his works appear on recordings including Variations (piano and wind orchestra), Re-Birth (wind ensemble), Concert (piano and orchestra) and Threshold and Visions (orchestra). His awards include National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, ASCAP standard Panel Awards, Composers' Forum (New York City) award, Houston Composers Symposium Award and numerous university grants. His books on EMI--Computers and Musical Style (1991) and Experiments in Musical Intelligence (1996)--describe his work with the computer program Experiments in Musical Intelligence, which he created in 1981. His articles in Computer Music Journal (1987, 1992, and 1997), Computer (1991), Electronic Musician (1993), and chapters in books such as Understanding Music with AI (1992) and Machine Models of Music (1992) further elaborate on the complexities of machine creativity. EMI works can also be found on Centaur CDs Bach by Design (2184) and Classical Music Composed by Computer (2329). The MW2 Ensemble of Poland has recently recorded his Towers for chamber ensemble on Vienna Modern Masters (VMM 2024). David Cope is a Professor of Music at UC Santa Cruz.