4.7 Musical examples

Max Mathews et al. - Daisy Bell (1961)

An early landmark of computer music: an IBM 704 sang Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two) over an additive-synthesis accompaniment arranged by Max Mathews, among the first times a computer produced both a musical accompaniment and a singing voice. The demonstration was later immortalized when HAL 9000 sings the same song while being shut down in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Kyle Gann - Andromeda Memories (2018)

Andromeda Memories comes from Gann’s Hyperchromatica, a suite for three computer-controlled player pianos retuned to a 33-note-per-octave just-intonation scale. It shows how scores can be configured to address pitches that lie outside standard Western tuning, letting the composer shape harmony and timbre together in novel configurations.