Mitchell, T. J. (2010) An exploration of evolutionary computation ...

Chapter 1
Introduction
There is no doubt that modern technology has had a profound effect on the structure, form
and performance of music. Powerful and inexpensive general-purpose computers have
made electronic musical apparatus widely available to amateur and professional composers
alike. The audio synthesiser has, and continues to play an important role in the
development of modern music, enabling composers to electronically recreate the sound of
acoustic instruments, or to explore beyond the realms of the familiar, to create sounds
previously unheard. There are a wide variety of synthesis techniques which can be used to
create musical sounds across a considerable range of timbres (tonal characteristics).
Effective control and navigation of a synthesiser‘s sound space requires expert knowledge
of the underlying synthesis technique, which may draw from theoretical and/or experiential
knowledge. It is often the case that composers are required to defer traditional notions of
musicianship to concentrate on the task of synthesiser programming: manipulating
parameters to produce a desired effect. Consequently, an emerging archetype amongst
contemporary electronic musicians is the composer/programmer: an individual versed not
only in music, but also the inner workings of the enabling technology.
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