Calum Vaughan: MA (Research)
Semi Real-Time use of Markov Chains in Electronic Music Performance
Welcome to my website! My name is Calum Vaughan, and I'm researching creative ways of making music using algorithms... or more specifically, Markov Chains. I discovered Markov chains when I was studying Music, Technology and Innovation at De Montfort University. I felt like they had a lot of potential to create music of many forms, and the basics behind how they work was simple enough for me to wrap my head around.
However, they were not without their downfalls. Ultimately, it was very time consuming to create probability chains to input, and unfortunately the detail of the music produced greatly depending on the complexity of the chain. Furthermore, I was using them in a real-time, 'one-click' context. I would write a bunch of patches in Max/MSP and click a 'Go' button, sit back as the Markov chains did their work - this meant that there was no user interface, and if my program produced something a bit weird, then it was being heard whether i liked it or not.
After three years of doing this, I had the idea to allow the algorithmic musician to mix and cue Markov chains, in the same way as they would with records. This would allow them to moderate the output of the software before the audience could hear it! This really made sense to me, and I felt like it was the missing piece to my performance style!
Ever since then, I have been working on this research project. I will be documenting my progress in a blog which you can find here, and you can find information on upcoming events and recent creations.