SOURCE Abstracts

Genetic algorithm solutions for automatic conversion between microtonal music notation systems
Stefik, Andreas; Curtiss, Mark; Harris, Melissa
Faculty Mentor(s): Drs. Ed Gellenbeck and Razvan Andonie, Computer Science
The general problem this project is trying to solve is to allow the automatic conversion between two microtonal music notation systems. In essence, this problem involves two criteria. The first is seeing if your solution solves the given problem, using a series of n-dimensional matrices as a guideline, and the second is teaching the computer to find the simplest solution to the problem. Getting the simplest solution is critical, and non-trivial, as there are an infinite number of solutions. The simplest solution is defined as the one that is the easiest for a performer to actually read, and this usually involves having the least number of accidentals that can be displayed on the screen for any given note. The end result of the project is to be able to get an approximate solution to the conversion in close to real time.