Music and Generativity: Image, Algorithm, and Voice

In his book ‘Sound and Structure’, John Paynter asks this simple question with relation to musical composition: where do ideas come from? In three dialogic lectures, Ron Herrema will explore three common sources for musical ideas—image, algorithm, and voice—and discuss how they have been and can be applied to the composition and pedagogy of electroacoustic and computer music, with their attendant advantages and pitfalls. Along the way, attention will be paid to a few other fundamental concepts, such as ‘composition’ and ‘idea’.