Computerized arrangement of vocal music

Author

Matt D. Johnson

Abstract

"This thesis explores the ability of a computer to arrange music which conforms to the rules of a particular music genre. The motivation for this research was to implement a software package which could be utilized by musicians to reduce the drudgery associated with music arrangement. To realize this goal, the decision was made to focus on four part vocal music. A C++ program was written which would read a melody from a file and produce four part harmony in the style of a protestant church hymn. Roughly 50% of all the chord names generated by the Computerized Arranger of Vocal Music (hereafter referred to as CAVM) were almost identical to the original chords. Eighty-three percent of the chord names generated by CAVM were either identical or very similar to the original chords. Seventeen percent of the chords were significantly different from the original chord. However, in all of the tested songs, the new arrangements sounded good, despite the noticeable differences. The resulting arrangements were not perfect, but they do illustrate that computers can be programmed to arrange music. From this humble beginning, it seems reasonable to predict that in the future computers will be able to arrange music on a much larger and complex scale"--page iii.

Advisor(s)

Wilkerson, Ralph W.

Committee Member(s)

St. Clair, Daniel C.
Najm, Majdi

Department(s)

Computer Science

Degree Name

M.S. in Computer Science

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

Fall 2000

Pagination

vii, 40 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 38-39).

Rights

© 2000 Matt David Johnson, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 7862

Print OCLC #

45903460

Electronic OCLC #

1121203117

Link to Catalog Record

Electronic access to the full-text of this document is restricted to Missouri S&T users. Otherwise, request this publication directly from Missouri S&T Library or contact your local library.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Matt D., "Computerized arrangement of vocal music" (2000). Masters Theses. 1999.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/1999