Ethics of Computer-Assisted Music

Before beginning this book, it might be helpful for the author to define the general natures of the words making up its title. For example, Ethics relates to right and wrong behavior and actions as understood by the general public, and whether actions taken by individuals and groups fit the four broad categories of ethical theory, meaning deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. The class of ethical theories, for example, states that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when engaged in decision making while ethics are in play. Computer-Assisted means that a computer plays various roles in the resultant music typically via human-created algorithms. Performances of the resultant music may be human-created as in only the printed score produced by machine and, say, orchestras performing the resultant music, or electronic performances via synthesizers, or combinations of these or others. It is worth remembering that synthesizers are a type of computer especially programmed to generate and manipulate sounds. Most synthesizers can be connected to personal computers, so the computer can be used to store and record the sounds the synthesizer makes. Assisted may be composition by computer, timing by computer, dynamic adjustments by computer, editing by computer, and various combinations of these and other aspects of music in the age of machines. The meanings of these terms will be further fleshed-out in the book that follows, but hopefully these brief mentions will help readers begin with a sense of the importance of these rich subjects.