Computer Music Research: (1983-1988)

 

  • Developed MACVOICE, an interactive tool to help students learn how to write correct four-part harmony implemented as an integral part of the music theory curriculum at Carnegie Mellon, beginning in the fall semester, 1985.  Codeveloper was Peter Monta, a former undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon.  MACVOICE was distributed for several years through the Academic Courseware Exchange, a service of Kinko's Graphics to colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. 
  • Developed VIVACE, a rule-based AI system for music composition, which harmonizes a given melody in four-part harmony, using all the rules, guidelines, and practices of the Common Practice Period.  Programmers were undergraduates, Peter Shell, Mark Taylor and Peter Monta.  This project was part of a larger one, the development of an intelligent system of music composition using artificial intelligence techniques to model the work of a composer.  The purpose of this research was to discover better ways of teaching music composition.
  • Consultant for a project directed by Roger Dannenberg: the development of a Musician's Workbench, a computer work station that would enable a student to compose, practice ear training skills, complete harmony assignments and do term papers and word processing on a single, unified system.  This project received a grant from CDEC.
  • Worked on MACHARMONY, a program for the MacIntosh, to be used in music theory programs at the college level.  Codeveloper was undergraduate, David Gray. MACHARMONY facilitated the composing of four-part harmony using any meter and key signature.  (work suspended in 1988)
  • Worked on the MUSICIANS' TECHNICAL TOOLKIT, a programmer's interface to facilitate the development of other music theory software.  Codeveloper was undergraduate, David Gray.  (work suspended in 1988)
  • Worked on MACANALYZE  with David Gray, the next level of software to be used in the music theory curriculum.  This program would include modulation, temporary tonicizations, and nonharmonic tones.  Students would be able to construct more complex chorales with the computer supplying information about the choice of chords, whenever corrections were needed.  (work suspended in 1988)
  • Worked on CANTABILE,  a rule-based system for composing melodies.  Colleagues on this project were computer science graduate students, Siddhartha Chatterjee and Mark Maimone, and undergraduate programmer, James Golden.  Consultants were Buddhadev Dasgupta, a renowned Indian performer, and Robert Morris, expert music theorist and composer. Cantabile was to compose Western chorale melodies and Indian ragas.  Research was to determine what these divergent musical styles have in common; the primary goal of this research was to determine some universals of melody in all musics.  (work suspended in 1988)