Five Sound Installations offers listeners a new way to experience contemporary music in the home. The pieces on this DVD are not recordings; instead, they are computer programs that, when opened, execute a set of algorithms that create music in real time. The pieces of music are different every time they are played and consist of a similar group and number of sound modules, though each is infinitely unique and non-repeatable. There is no set length to any of the pieces.

Since they are not recordings, you cannot play these pieces directly from a standard DVD player. Rather, they need to be installed on a computer in order to be heard. Once installed onto your hard disc drive, you can open the program and choose one of the five pieces to listen to. The piece will play for as long as you keep it running, generating new structural combinations in “real time.”

Copying the files to your computer’s disc drive takes a long time—about half an hour—and your computer needs to be fast to be able to successfully run the program without too much interference. With a computer that runs higher than 1.5 gigahertz, you will be able to surf the Web, run a word processor, and do simple tasks while Five Sound Installations plays. Detailed information about operating system requirements, installation procedures, and setting up your sounds system are contained in this booklet. You may also visit www.michaeljschumacher.com to find answers to any other questions you may have, check out relevant links, and obtain software upgrades.

Algorithmic composition—the technique used to create all the pieces of Five Sound Installations—has a long and fascinating history. Yet this is the first time that a set of pieces of this size and scope has been published. This availability makes it possible for you to hear the results of algorithmic processes in your own home. The computer software program renders an ever-changing musical arrangement that stays true to the composer’s vision yet expands it in unpredictable ways. With undetermined durations for many of the pieces, the idea behind Five Sound Installations is to let them play for extended amounts of time, creating sound sculptures that continually evolve in the home. It is our hope that this project will initiate a more general interest in algorithmic music and an exploration of its associated modes of listening as well as provide an example of new methods for distributing this kind of music, and suggest appropriate content for the inevitable use of the computer as the center of an integrated home entertainment system.

available from Forced Exposure:
http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/schumacher.michael.j.html

Questions/comments: mschumacher (at) sprintmail (dot) com