From: mtvfb@rivm.nl (Fokke de Boer)
Subject: Composition computer language, new release
Organization: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiene,Bilthoven,NL
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 09:12:16 GMT

Hi fellow composers!

I want to (mis-)use this space (?) to mention, that the composition computer
language Symbolic Composer is just out in a new release. Originally, this
package was available for Atari only, but now a Mac version is available, too.

I have used this package to build my submission for the MUSENET project this
year. If and when you will hear this, please bear in mind that I had the 
program only for about a month then.

OK, so what is this all about??

Symbolic Composer is a computer language, based on Lisp, that allows you to
contruct music in a very high-level, abstract way. A short example will
make things a bit more clear. Suppose you want to write out a short scale
of one octave, from c3 to c4 in the key C major. We all know how to write
it on music paper, but here is what you do in Symbolic Composer:
Note: a line preceded with the %-symbol is comment.

------ Program begins below -----

(setq symbols '(a b c d e f g ))

(def-instrument-symbol
	piano  symbols
)

(def-instrument-length
	piano  '(1/4)
)

(setq tonals (activate-tonality (c major 3))

(compile-song d:!\songs\example 1/1 separate
% BARS          1---5
scale   tonals  .
piano   scale   -----
)

----------------- END PROGRAM

When you compile this, admittedly too long example with Symbolic Composer,
a MIDI-file is created in d:\songs called example.mid that has a scale 
played with quarter notes. The process works basically simple: the symbol
'a' is mapped on the first note of the "current" tonality, c-major in the 
example above, which is here C. The symbol 'b' is mapped on the second
symbol, which is D, and so on.
Now, when I change the tonality to, say 'chromatic f# 3', the same program
creates a chromatic scale starting on F#3 of seven notes long.
Of course SC offers much more. Here is the press release of the new release:

======================= INCLUDED MESSAGE =================================

T O N A L I T Y    S Y S T E M S
================================
 
PRESS RELEASE
21 OCTOBER 1992
 
TONALITY SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES SYMBOLIC COMPOSER, EXPERT SYSTEM FOR
MUSIC COMPOSITION ON THE MACINTOSH AND ATARI. IT IS THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT YET FOR THE MIDI MUSICIAN.
 
Tonality Systems has announced SYMBOLIC COMPOSER, Expert System
for Music Composition on the Macintosh and Atari. The software
is based on the 6th Generation Common Music Language (CML).
 
The SYMBOLIC COMPOSER is designed for composers and producers
working with TV, film, ambient and electroacoustics, giving them
the ability to realise large-scale and complex projects and
develop new composition strategies using a set of high-level
fractal routines, generators, processors, visualizers and neural
networks.
 
Mr. Peter Stone, Founder of Tonality Systems and designer of the
6th Generation Common Music Language, commented "This system  is
a breakthrough in MIDI production technology, since it unifies
the traditional composition techniques with the latest
discoveries of Artificial Intelligence, and is compatible with
all current state-of-the-art MIDI sequencers and scorewriters,

like Mac's Finale, Performer, Vision, Professional Composer,
Encore, Cubase, Mastertracks, Beyond and all the others. In
Atari it is compatible with Cubase, C-Lab Notator and Dr.T's
KCS."
 
Mr. Nigel Morgan, composer and music educator commented
"SYMBOLIC COMPOSER is a truly remarkable and challenging system.
It catalyses you into discovering new ways to think, imagine and
interact with your music. Its detailed and authorative manual
provides a way into serious programming without having to leave
your music behind for a moment".
 
The composition is written in the 6th Generation Common Music
Language (CML) using fractal generators, vector and symbol
processors, digital synthesizers, library managers and neural
networks to describe musical parameters. The language is very
economical and elegant, and even the most complex compositions
take only few kilobytes when written in CML.
 
When the CML file is converted in a MIDI file, the corresponding
MIDI file size is in the range 100-1000 kilobytes, which
indicates the efficiency of the CML language. The MIDI file can
be played with all MIDI-compatible sequencers and scorewriters
in full multitasking environment, and improvised MIDI files can
also be loaded into SYMBOLIC COMPOSER for further processing.
 
CML is the most powerful programming language for music yet
developed on a computer. It contains a full range of high-level
composition tools that are effective for any type of music. As
all data is processed symbolically the same operations can be
applied to different musical parameters, making the language
extremely powerful and composer-friendly. The system is easily
extendible using programmable neural networks or the underlying
Lisp language, allowing the composer to explore the musical
possibilities of stochastics, astronomy, physics, mathematics,
genetics or other areas of his/hers special interest. All
compositional data can also be easily visualized before mapping
it onto musical parameters.
 
The built-in generators include among the others Lindenmayer
L-system, a system developed to model the growth of plants,
Brownian Generator, nature's very own randomizer, Lorenz
Attractor, the basic chaotic equation of Gaia, and Associative
Generators&Neural Experts that model the natural
associative/logic thinking process of the human mind.
 
SYMBOLIC COMPOSER has already generated a lively interest among
experimental composers working with MIDI systems and is
currently being evaluated by the universities and studios
worldwide. Its open architecture and multitasking capabilities
make it an attractive tool for composers exploring the far
horizons of multimedia and virtual reality.
 
SYMBOLIC COMPOSER is available in USA, UK and GERMANY through
dealers specialised in MIDI equipments and software.
 
For further information, please contact: Peter Stone, Designer:
+31-20-6757 993 (NL) Nigel Morgan, Composer: +44-924-383 017
(UK)
 
Tonality Systems         Tel&fax: +31-20-6757 993
Veerstraat 55/1          Internet: 100021,2510@compuserve.com
1075 SN Amsterdam        CompuServe: 100021,2510 
Netherlands              BIX: tsys
 
(End of Press Release)
 
=========== END OF INCLUDED MESSAGE ===============================

DISCLAIMER: I have no connection with Mr Stone, but I am a satisfied
customer. I have the Atari version, but the Mac version is much easier
to work with (I have seen it!).

I hope I haven't offended nettiquette too much in posting this.
--
I am:   Fokke de Boer
EMAIL	mtvfb@rivm.nl
SNAIL	RIVM, dep. MTV, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
PHONE	(..31) 30 743530 
FAX		(..31) 30 250740