Scuffed Computer Improviser
Taylor Brook
The “Scuffed Computer Improviser” is a new musical work for computer improviser and live improvising musician for networked performances via internet livestream or video. The separation of chamber musicians and the hiatus of playing music with others during covid-19 has heightened my desire to interact with a digital musical “other.” This project builds on two of my recent works: “Set” for Bassoon and electronics, and “Pileup” for improvising trio and computer improviser. In these two previous works, I developed computer improviser software in the MAX/MSP programming language. This software is being further developed to become more musically flexible as it encounters a variety of musical styles as well as integrate networking so that the software may be operated remotely. The computer improviser is audio-corpus based, meaning that the improviser “learns” how to improvise by analyzing incoming audio and then altering, rearranging, and creating something new from the analyzed audio. The computer improviser then reacts to a live musician with a series of musical behaviors may adapt over the course of a performance. My recent work in algorithmic music, AI composition, and computer improvisation is motivated by an exploration of musicality and an attempt to expand my aesthetic sensibilities through interaction with a digital “other” toward new musical styles. My artistic stance on the inclusion of AI is antithetical to commercial approaches as represented by Google Magenta, AIVA, Pandora, and many others that are designed to iterate on pre-existing styles. This relates to the title of the project: “scuffed computer improviser,” the term “scuffed” used to suggest a certain roughness and DIY aesthetic that stands in relief to the gloss and marketability associated with a commercial end use that is typically associated with AI and machine learning.