by Nicholas Tollervey for EuroPython 2012
I’ll explain how a genetic algorithm written in Python solves musical exercises used to train composers. I’ll also embarrass myself by comparing the computer generated results with solutions by the composers Johan Joseph Fux and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The presented project is a fun “brain break” based upon work I originally started at university.
No prior musical knowledge will be required as I intend to explain just enough musical theory for the audience to understand the nature of the problem (although I’ll assume familiarity with Python).
