A Critical Overview of Evolutionary Algorithms for Music

old_uid5441
titleA Critical Overview of Evolutionary Algorithms for Music
start_date2008/10/22
schedule16h
onlineno
summaryEvolutionary algorithms---computer algorithms inspired by biological theories of evolution---have been applied in many ways to music technology and composition. In this talk I will discuss three aspects of this. Firstly, I will survey the origins of this area, focusing particularly on the "prehistory" of the subject, looking at trends in music that led to the application of these techniques. Secondly, I will discuss some recent work at Kent where we have applied these ideas to the synthesis, recognition, and analysis of timbre in music. Finally, I shall critically examine the relevance of the concept of "fitness" as applied in this area, to provoke a debate on whether the concepts of fitness and creative exploration are compatible. Colin Johnson is Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Kent, and Deputy Director of the Kent Centre for BioMedical Informatics. His research interests include the interaction of computing and the natural sciences, and technology for music and media.
responsiblesBishop