"Kolmogorov music" by Christopher Ford

Christopher Ford explores how Kolmogorov complexity can measure musical understanding and demonstrates algorithmic composition using code.

Kolmogorov complexity analysis suggests that we can measure how well we understand a piece of music by the concision of a program that produces it. Furthermore, the inherent complexity of grooves and fugues can be compared via the lengths of their programmatic representations, and their relationship can be described as a program transformation. Algorithmic composition has curious implications for the creation, copyright and performance of pieces, both finite and infinite. Expect (finite) demonstrations. Chris Ford THOUGHTWORKS @ctford Chris is a certified BABE (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Engineering), and consequentially an idiophile and technophobe. He began to make music with code partly to compensate for his poor technique, and partly because air piano is unsatisfying. When he works, he works for ThoughtWorks, though that isn't all the time.