Science of Networks and Music: A New Approach on Musical Analysis and Creation

Abstract

Science of Networks is a very young discipline whose results have rapidly influenced many different fields of scientific research. In this paper we present some experimentations of a new approach on generative music based on small-world networks. The basic idea of this work is that network can be a useful instrument for musical modeling, analysis and creation. We studied over 100 musical compositions of different genres (classical, pop, rock) by means of science of networks, then used this data for generating algorithms for musical creation and author attribution. The first step of this work is the implementation of a software that allows to represent and analyse musical compositions, then we developed a genetic algorithm for the production of networks with particular features. These networks are finally used for the generation of self-organized melodies and scales.