A-Life and Musical Composition: A Brief Survey                      

Eduardo R Miranda            and Peter M Todd        
Computer Music Research, Faculty of Technology, University of Plymouth, Drake
Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, United Kindgom.           

Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Behavior and
Cognition, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany.        
eduardo.miranda@plymouth.ac.uk, ptodd@mpib-berlin.mpg.de             

Abstract: 
There have been a number of interesting applications of A-Life in
music, ranging from associating musical notes to the cells of cellular automata,
to forging genotypes of musical parameters for generating music using genetic
algorithms. From the three approaches surveyed in this paper, only the cultural
approach allows for the study of the circumstances and mechanisms whereby  
music might originate and evolve in virtual communities of musicians and   
listeners. This approach considers musical systems in the context of the origins
and evolution of cultural conventions that may emerge under a number of    
constraints, such as psychological, physiological and ecological constraints.

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