Algorithmic music is defined by the urge to explore musical thinking through formalized abstractions

Algorithmic music uses algorithms — step-by-step formal procedures — as a primary compositional medium. The field spans generative, reactive, and interactive approaches. Generative music runs without user input; reactive music responds to environmental input; interactive music allows end-users to influence the music directly. Live coding and live algorithms are both interactive forms, while generative and reactive forms are generally listened to like recorded music. The handbook frames algorithmic music as concerned with ‘the process of creating tonal, post-tonal and sound-based music in which innovative and individual works result from algorithmic approaches.‘

Examples

Generative: Brian Eno’s Bloom (runs without input). Reactive: GPS-driven music apps. Interactive: live coding with TidalCycles where the performer modifies code during playback.

Assessment

Classify three given examples (a generative ambient app, a live-coded algorave set, and a GPS-reactive track) as generative, reactive, or interactive, giving a one-sentence rationale for each.