qdot76367on Hacker News • Recommends
On “Knuth: Fantasia Apocalyptica”
Here's a great talk Knuth did at CCRMA @ Stanford last year, on writing pipe organ compositions using Constraint Based techniques. link to this video
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#donaldknuth#constraint-basedcomposition#algorithmiccomposition
Don Knuth - Constraint Based Composition
ccrmalite1
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- Recommended by 1 person: 1 on Hacker News.
- Presented by Donald Knuth, computer scientist
Advanced. Deep dive for people who know the field.
9.3K views11 years ago1 recommendation
Computer scienceGraphics and audioAlgorithmsAudio and DSP
Donald Knuth explains the constraint-based and algorithmic methods he uses to compose a major work for the pipe organ.
Talk at CCRMA, Stanford. May 7, 2015 Don Knuth will discuss/explain the peculiar(?) methods that he is using as he tries to compose a major work for pipe organ. ccrma.stanford.edu/events/don-knuth-constraint-based-composi…Why it's here
1 person recommends thisWhat people say. Recommended as a fascinating look into Donald Knuth's application of computer science constraints to musical composition.
krmboyaon Hacker News • Mentions
On “Knuth: Computer Programming as an Art (1974)”
> I agree, but I'll go further than you - I don't think this essay is confusing at all. It's simply nonsense - the kind of thing someone clever writes when they're discussing a subject completely outside their area of competence. I'm not sure what you're implying here, but Knuth does know what art is, as he almost majored in Music. See this for some recent work: link to this video
svaton Hacker News • Mentions
On “Interview Transcript – Donald Knuth [pdf]”
…teral translation" of the book into music. So for example he goes over each verse of the book, and (almost) each time it mentions "angel" he plays an 8-note arpeggio, every time it mentions "blood" he has "coagulated" (clustered) notes, and so on, setting up "dictionary" of 100+ motifs ( link ). He explains it in these videos ( link , link , link to this video ). Looking through his list of musical allusions ( link ) I see things like Bruce Springsteen, even a washing machine's power on/off cycle sound. He mentions a couple of pieces of rap music for verse Revelation 3:20; maybe the reason is the same joke as link ? Overall, the project seems so crazy (is this the way anyone writes music?) th…