A course in Design Structures is discussed. In this course students learn a multi-faceted approach to exploring mathematical and iterative ideas using sonification and visualisation techniques for their own compositional explorations. These ideas are discussed in relation to philosophy, history, technology, scientific paradigms, and cultural context. Some resulting student work is demonstrated.

The annual Organised Sound CD will contain the following pieces and musical examples from Volume 1, Number 2:

Musical examples accompanying 'An introduction to Discovery Strategy' by Ambrose Field:

Musical example 1. Undercurrents, transformation from train to sea with textual thinning.

Musical example 2. Undercurrents, opening attacks and resonances.

Undercurrents for electroacoustic tape, complete work.

There is a rich literature on the design of formal languages for music representation on computers. Over the last thirty years, several generations of software technology have been applied to this problem, including structured software engineering, artificial intelligence, and object-oriented (O-O) software technology. This article introduces the basic notions of O-O software technology, and investigates how these might be useful for music representation. In particular, the author's Smalltalk music object kernel (Smoke) music representation language is described and examples given that illustrate the most important of Smoke's features.

Reaction–diffusion systems were first proposed by mathematician and computing forerunner Alan Turing in 1952. Originally intended as an explanation of plant phyllotaxis (the structure and arrangement of leaves in plants), reaction–diffusion now forms the basis of an area in biology which is as important as DNA research in the field of biological morphogenesis (Kauffman 1993). Reaction–diffusion systems were successfully utilised within the fields of computer animation and computer graphics to generate visually naturalistic patterning and textures such as animal furs (Turk 1991). More recently, reaction–diffusion systems have been applied to methods of half-tone printing, fingerprint enhancement, and have been proposed for use in sound synthesis (Sherstinsky 1994). The recent publication The Algorithmic Beauty of Seashells (Meinhardt 1995) uses various reaction–diffusion equations to explain patterned pigmentation markings on seashells. This article details an example of the application of reaction–diffusion systems to algorithmic composition within the field of computer music. The patterned data produced by reaction–diffusion systems is used to create a naturalistic soundscape in the piece cicada.

The annual Organised Sound CD will contain the following pieces and musical examples from Volume 1, Number 1:

Points de fuite (1982), Francis Dhormont.

Mirror-Rite is a work for ‘meta-trumpet’, computer and live electronics. The composition is neither notated nor stored, but forms itself as a complex of rule-based structures, transformations and processes around the improvisation of a live performer, its source of both energy and material. This article discusses the ways in which these algorithms deal with interactivity and projection in time, and how the handling of these aspects might permit the assembly of algorithmic elements into a complex dynamic whole, sensitive to (and existing solely within) present circumstances, but demonstrating unity between different performances.

Complete Listing for Volume 1

Detailed information for many of the following tracks may be found in the CD listing within each journal issue and within the corresponding articles.