Agenda

Day 16 is the discussion day for the music unit.

Please read/view/listen to the following:

Iamus, classical music’s computer composer, live from Malaga, Philip Ball, in The Guardian, July 1st, 2012 (newpaper article)
IAMUS / MELOMICS documentary (documentary film)
0music (album of computer-generated music): also available at the 0music Wikipedia page which has download links

Each of these sources concerns the Melomics project at the University of Malaga.

As you read/watch/listen, think about the discussion questions below.

Get Ready

Get ready

Create a Google doc called Music Discussion Questions containing your responses to the following dicussion questions:

Regarding the Guardian article:

What factual statements does the article make about IAMUS, the program that automatically composes music?
Are there any claims made in the article that seem inaccurate or unfounded?

Regarding the IAMUS / MELOMICS documentary:

Does the documentary do a good job explaining how the technology behind IAMUS/MELOMICS works?
Does the documentary make any claims that seem inaccurate or unfounded?

Regarding 0music:

Is this good music?
Do you have a favorite piece? What did you like about it?
Do these pieces sound artificial?
Do you think it is plausible that these pieces were created entirely without human supervision? Why or why not?

General questions:

Do you think music composed by computer program can achieve the same degree of artistic greatness as music composed by human beings? Why or why not?
What do you think makes music “great”?
Do you think the composer’s intention — what effect he or she was trying to convey — is significant when determining the greatness of a musical work?
Do you think a computer algorithm could have intention?