One approach to musical intelligence

The author began Experiments in Musical Intelligence in 1981 as the result of a composer's block (D. Cope, 1991; 1996). His initial plan involved creating a computer program that would have a sense of his overall musical style. It would track the ideas of a current work such that at any given point the author could request a next note, next measure, next 10 measures, and so on. The author hoped that this new music would not just be interesting but relevant to his style and current work. Having very little cognitive information about his style, however, the author began creating computer programs that composed complete works in the styles of classical composers, about which he knew something more concrete.