Experiments in generative musical performance with a genetic algorithm

Abstract

It is commonly agreed in the context of Western tonal music that expression is conveyed by delicate deviations of the notated musical score, through shaping physical parameters of performance, such as timing, loudness, tempo and articulation. Expressive music performance research is aimed at establishing why, where and how these deviations take place in a piece of music. Interestingly, even though there are many commonalities in performance practices, these deviations can vary substantially from performance to performance, even when a performer plays the same piece of music more than once. © 2007 Springer.