One of many ways to create at least a basis for music is via mathematical means, and while that may not appeal to more hands-on instrumentalists, it can produce some very interesting and abstract musical ideas.
Mainly suited to more experimental, ambient and less structured musical styles (although there’s an irony that much of the data is highly structured), music created in this way is often generated from a data set where numbers and other information is translated in some way into notes, patterns, dynamics and so on.
A recent interesting example is from composer Matthew Wilcock, who has used arrival data from the London Underground to trigger a music note every time a train arrives in a station.
As there are currently twelve lines on the Underground (if you count the Elizabeth Line) this could translate quite nicely into a chromatic musical scale, although in fact Matthew used the E flat pentatonic and added in a D and D flat for “flavour”.
When more than one train on the network arrives simultaneously, chords are formed.
He’s also created music from an intersection of two of Britain’s busy motorways — the M25 and M11. The part he’s chosen has eight distinct lanes and he has used software to determine when a vehicle crosses a line, and in which lane it was, to trigger a note.
The resulting sound isn’t for everyone, of course, but it’s a really interesting way of repurposing data which the creators never imagined would be used creatively.
