Generative Processes in Music

Book excerpt: This book draws together pioneering contributions to the study of the processes by which music is created. It redresses a balance in contemporary literature on the psychology of music which has, to date, concentrated mainly on receptive processes. The focus throughout is on empirical observation and the development of cognitive theory, with fascinating explorations of such topics as the generation of expression in musical performance, problems of synchrony in ensemble performance, improvisational skill in trained and untrained musicians, childrens' spontaneous notations for music, and formal constraints on compositional systems.