Captivated by continuous one-shot column “ ” / Part 4 Captivated by Katsushi Nakagawa’s “Generative Music”

Hello, my name is Katsushi Nakagawa and I am a fan of ``generative music.''
Today, I would like to introduce something called generative music.
Generative music is music that is created on its own.
What does that mean?

1.
Music is something we make, play, listen to, sell, and buy. Or music is something to be enjoyed deeply, listened to lightly, or analyzed academically.
It is difficult to explain in simple terms what music is, but a loose explanation such as ``Music is a series of sounds'' is convenient and can be applied to various rare cases. It's music even if it doesn't necessarily have lyrics or a melody, and it's music even if someone didn't create it from scratch. There's Beethoven's music, there's Yasushi Akimoto's music, the traditional percussion art of Korean non-gak is music, the music of Jindong-ya is also interesting, architecture may be freezing music, and all art is based on music. Maybe it's because I'm longing for a certain state , or there's music that doesn't make any sound at all, but the sound of rain is gentle music, and the humming of a drunk old man can sometimes get into your heart. It is useful in many ways to assume that if two sounds are connected, it is music.

2.
So, what is generative music? It is music that you create yourself. In other words, rather than creating a sequence of sounds under the control of humans, the sequence of sounds is created (to some extent) away from human hands. You could say that generative music is something that is created on its own like spring water. Generative music is like spring water, in that it is not controlled like tap water, but flows out naturally, and the flow of sound is generally fixed, but it changes little by little.

Of course, it's a wonderful experience to hear the sounds that musicians have painstakingly created, but it's also quite interesting to hear sounds that move around on their own without the touch of human hands. It doesn't necessarily mean that unorganized sounds are messy and boring, but it also gives me a feeling of freedom. Because of this, I have been a fan of generative music for a long time.

3.
The fact that a series of sounds is produced without human hands means that, for example, wind chimes, the sound of the wind, and the sound of waves are all generative music. The sound of the washing machine washing laundry next to my room might also be the same. But most of the time we don't call it music. It's not music, so I don't listen too closely. However, when I call this series of sounds "generative music," I feel like I should listen to it. Something that has a name seems like a full-fledged thing. That's what it is. And it's quite interesting to listen to a series of sounds that move around on their own. In other words, generative music exists all over the world, but it's something we have to find. You might say it's something that requires a lot of care.

There are many ways to make generated music easier to find. For example, (1) putting cold rice in a can boiled on the stove to create a resonance sound, (2) assembling an electronic circuit to evoke a world of chaos, and (3) using vinyl strings to create a wind harp. (4) string a wire inside the room so that it resonates with the vibrations of the room, (5) take a train and go on a picnic in the mountains...

(1) Narukama

This is the sound after rice is thrown into this can. This experiment is not a cauldron, though.

(2) Chua circuit

Chaos is occurring.

(3) Aeolian harp

A fukin is an Aeolian harp. This is a photo of a workshop conducted by Koichiro Sugiyama .

(4) Long thin wire music

It's an installation like this.

(5) Prepared Train

Gifu was a fun train trip on the Tarumi Railway in Ogaki.

Others create feedback circuits using magnetic tape loops , while others take records apart and assemble them into a single record .

Well, there are many different types of generative music.

Four.
Now that I have told you that such music exists, please allow me to promote it.
From March 14th (Saturday) to March 18th (Wednesday), 2015, an exhibition called ``Generative Music WS Exhibition'' will be held at Sakura WORKS in Kannai. This is an exhibition by a duo called ``Generative Music Workshop,'' where they exhibited some generative music. On the 15th (Sunday), there will be an Aeolian harp production workshop, a talk session, and performances by Kanta Horio , Koichiro Sugiyama, and Chihiro Oyama (IAMAS).

Please refer to this website for more information.

So please come and see the generative music produced by the ``Generative Music Workshop.''
The series of sounds that were created with a little help from the Generative Music Workshop are now being created on their own.
If you're like, ``Wow, this is what it's like,'' please come.