Double Helix (2019) is a computer-generated
composition that utilizes genetic data as source material. Genetic data and
musical data may both be viewed as a sequence. This creates a common
ground where two usually distinct domains may meet. In this work, composer
and machine collaborate in an exploration of a seemingly infinite space of
musical possibilities. Using Ableton Live and Cycling '74's Max, a
graphical music programing environment, a DNA sequence and corresponding
amino acid sequence are strategically mapped in real time to changing
musical parameters including pitch, intensity, duration, timbre, and
spatialization. In the pre-compositional phase of the work's
creation, the genetic data is mapped to musical parameters in myriad
ways until aesthetically viable mapping strategies are discovered.
Computer algorithms are then programmed in Max to implement particular
musical processes. The algorithms are run repeatedly until desirable
motifs emerge. Along the way, the composer-programmer is constantly
working to refine the mapping in order to shape the surface, and control
the macro-level and micro-level details of the data-driven music's
structure.
Inspired by the music of Steve Reich and other
early American minimalist composers who experimented with technology,
the composer adopts a process-oriented approach. The composer also
invokes broader musico-genetic themes, including the exceptionally
beautiful metaphorical-mathematical bridge connecting the
double-helical model of DNA (Watson and Crick 1953) and the helical
model of pitch space used by music theorists today (Shepard 1982).
The genetic data used in this composition is from the
human gene CHD8 (chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 8) which has
been identified as a leading candidate gene for autism risk. The data
was obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI).
I.
Major Groove
6:15
II.
Biological Clocks
5:19
III.
Seed
3:36
IV.
Minor Groove
3:15
D U R A T I O N:
18:25
The world premiere of Double
Helix was given at the USC Computer Music Concert, School of Music,
Recital Hall (Columbia, SC) on April 8, 2019.
ICAD 2021 Sonification Concert
The third movement "Seed" was performed at the 2021
International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD) Sonification
Concert on June 26, 2021. The Sonification Concert program is available online at:
https://icad2021.icad.org/program/, and the accompanying paper
(Bain 2021) is available in the conference proceedings. A recording of the virtual performance is available on YouTube.
Bain, Reginald. 2021. "Seed," from Double
Helix." Proceedings of the 26th International Conference of
Auditory Display (ICAD 2021): 288-291. {SMARTech}
Shepard, Roger N. 1982. "Geometrical
Approximations to the Structure of Musical Pitch." Psychological
Review 89/4 (July 1982): 305–333. {APA
PsycNET}
Watson, J. D. and Crick, F. H. C. 1953. "A Structure for
Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid." Nature 171 (April 25, 1953):
737–738.
Acknowledgement
This composition was created for the Mutational Music
Project, the broader impact component of the National Science
Foundation (NSF) grant project Mutational variance of the
transcriptome and the origins of phenotypic plasticity (NSF award
#1556645). Jeff Dudycha is the principal investigator and Reginald Bain is
the other senior person on the grant.
Double Helix (2019) is a computer-generated
composition that utilizes genetic data as source material. Genetic data and
musical data may both be viewed as a sequence. This creates a common
ground where two usually distinct domains may meet. In this work, composer
and machine collaborate in an exploration of a seemingly infinite space of
musical possibilities. Using Ableton Live and Cycling '74's Max, a
graphical music programing environment, a DNA sequence and corresponding
amino acid sequence are strategically mapped in real time to changing
musical parameters including pitch, intensity, duration, timbre, and
spatialization.