In this piece I am beginning to explore generative musical forms. I wrote 25 fragments of music using a five note pitch-class set derived from the name Matt Mason, the performer for whom this work is composed. (The set is [0 1 2 6 7]). These 25 fragments are separated into five “primary moment groups”. Each moment group contains five fragments respectively, and the fragments of each individual group were composed using a shared algorithmic process. In addition to the 25 fragments, there are three longer stretches of music that are intended to offset the episodic nature of the work.
These materials are stored in the computer and the piece’s form is determined as a series of semi-random decisions by the machine in real time. The live effects applied to the piano are similarly chosen by the computer as the work unfolds. Thus, the piece is different every time that it is performed.
The images below provide an example of what the performer sees during performance:
The PDF below contains all of the individual moments.
Matt Mason – Piano