Can computational music analysis be both musical and computational?

Abstract

This special issue of the Journal of Mathematics and Music addresses the topic of computational music analysis. It arose from a series of two international workshops on the topic, one in Berlin and one in Paris, both of which created interesting discussions and debates. In the call for papers, this special issue welcomed previously unpublished contributions that presented computational approaches of any type of music analysis. As a special focus, all papers were asked to analyse the same piece: the first movement of Brahms’ String Quartet No. 1. The aim was to bring together diverse computational analytical approaches and methodologies, such as structural, motivic, semiotic, comparative, reductional, harmonic, transformational, and others, using a variety of computational implementation techniques. By focusing on to the same piece, similarities, differences, and complementarities among the approaches on both the methodological and the analytical results levels could be more easily observed. Authors were particularly encouraged to consider Forte's [1] and Huron's [2] analyses of the string quartet, and relate them to their own work if possible. Three papers were chosen for publication, which reflect the various aspects and levels of computation involved.