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Let's turn randomness into music.
- We
begin with random notes, three at a time at a constant
rhythm. I've added some random dynamic variation to ease the
monotony.
- Now
constrain the notes of each chord to move by short distances to
the next. This music exhibits efficient
voice leading.
- Alternatively,
we can require that all our chords belong to the same type.
Here I've used the stack of fourths, which music theorists would call
an "027 chord." This music exhibits harmonic consistency but not
efficient voice leading.
- Now
combine efficient voice leading and harmonic consistency. It
already sounds much more musical. I change chords during
the excerpt: major triads enter at about 9", we return to fourths at
12", we get more crunchy chords (014s, or C-Db-E) at 15", and then we
end by returning to fourths.
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When listening to music, however, we are not just listening to a series
of disconnected instants. Instead, the way things sound depends
on the notes we have heard. In other words, we integrate over time. One of
the most
important functions of a musical scale is to limit the overall
pitch content of what we're hearing over short spans of time, ensuring
what I call macroharmonic
consistency. Consonant scales produce more consonant
macroharmony, while dissonant scales produce dissonant macroharmony.
- This
combines efficient voice leading and harmonic consistency, while
also limiting the notes we're hearing to the C diatonic scale.
- Here's
the same thing, only now using familiar triads rather than stacks
of fourths.
- Finally,
add a dash of rhythm: the music alternates, essentially randomly,
between short and long values.
I find it remarkable how musical the final result sounds. Using
just a few simple constraints, we've turned randomness into something
recognizeaby musical. It wouldn't win any composition prizes, but
it is satisfying (and indeed, "tonal") in some elemental way.
This table illustrates the
relative contributions efficient
voice leading, harmonic consistency, and macroharmony.
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