Perspectives on the Future for Sonic Writers

Abstract

This article intends to provide a holistic review of Thor Magnusson’s Sonic Writing, presenting the authors’ historically-informed views about sound and music technologies. It starts by addressing the distinctions between the three categories of music-related inscriptions, in material, symbolic and signal form. It then reflects upon the parallelism this categorization has with the scope and topics within different conferences from the field of sound and music technology. Furthermore, it recounts the contributions of recent deep learning approaches in musical development, expanding on the books’ notions and offering an updated view concerning the specific purpose of automated music generation. Moreover, a contrast between the recent wave of AI-related technological developments and older scientific advances is discussed. Finally, driven by considerations about computational creativity in the field of music stated on Sonic Writing, this review propels a reflection regarding the role of machines in artistic creation.