Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC

Pál Patrik Varga; Rafael Bidarra

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20

Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC

Pál Patrik Varga, Rafael Bidarra^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Computer Graphics and Visualisation

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

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Abstract

Music has an important, but often subsidiary, role in most games and interactive experiences. Efforts to make generative music more accessible can potentially help numerous indie developers and designers. In this paper we explore the extension and application of the Wave Function Collapse (WFC) algorithm in the realm of music. Recognizing music’s inherent complex, layered structure, we investigate the feasibility of adapting WFC, a method broadly used in procedural content generation, to handle musical semantics in a mixed-initiative setting. Our approach introduces a novel generative method utilizing multiple canvases and constraints, each defined with specific musical significance. At each level, new constraints are specified that influence the generator at the next levels. This approach is particularly fitting to capture the layered structure and complex patterns inherent to music, and it encourages a mixed-initiative, iterative composition process. We also provide a prototype implementation of the proposed algorithm in ProceduraLiszt, a declarative music editor designed to offer composers a platform for exploring highly-controllable generative composition. The effectiveness and creativity-support facilitated by this experimental setup are under evaluation and will be detailed in a future publication.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024
Subtitle of host publication	23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings
Editors	Pablo Figueroa, Angelo Di Iorio, Daniel Guzman del Rio, Esteban Walter Gonzalez Clua, Luis Cuevas Rodriguez
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Springer
Pages	265-275
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-031-74353-5
ISBN (Print)	978-3-031-74352-8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference on Entertainment Computing, ICEC 2024 - University of Amazon State - EST, Manaus, Brazil Duration: 30 Sept 2024 → 3 Oct 2024 https://icec2024.uea.edu.br/index.html

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Publisher	Springer
Volume	15192 LNCS
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference on Entertainment Computing, ICEC 2024
Abbreviated title	ICEC 2024
Country/Territory	Brazil
City	Manaus
Period	30/09/24 → 3/10/24
Internet address	https://icec2024.uea.edu.br/index.html

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care
Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Keywords

hierarchical wave function collapse
mixed-initiative authoring
music composition
procedural content generation
wave function collapse

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20

978-3-031-74353-5_20Final published version, 726 KB

Cite this

Varga, P. P., & Bidarra, R. (2025). Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC. In P. Figueroa, A. Di Iorio, D. Guzman del Rio, E. W. Gonzalez Clua, & L. Cuevas Rodriguez (Eds.), Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024: 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings (pp. 265-275). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 15192 LNCS). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20

Varga, Pál Patrik ; Bidarra, Rafael. / Harmony in Hierarchy : Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC. Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024: 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings. editor / Pablo Figueroa ; Angelo Di Iorio ; Daniel Guzman del Rio ; Esteban Walter Gonzalez Clua ; Luis Cuevas Rodriguez. Cham : Springer, 2025. pp. 265-275 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).

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Varga, PP & Bidarra, R 2025, Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC. in P Figueroa, A Di Iorio, D Guzman del Rio, EW Gonzalez Clua & L Cuevas Rodriguez (eds), Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024: 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 15192 LNCS, Springer, Cham, pp. 265-275, 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference on Entertainment Computing, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, 30/09/24. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20

Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC. / Varga, Pál Patrik; Bidarra, Rafael.
Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024: 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings. ed. / Pablo Figueroa; Angelo Di Iorio; Daniel Guzman del Rio; Esteban Walter Gonzalez Clua; Luis Cuevas Rodriguez. Cham: Springer, 2025. p. 265-275 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 15192 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volume › Conference contribution › Scientific › peer-review

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Varga PP, Bidarra R. Harmony in Hierarchy: Mixed-Initiative Music Composition Inspired by WFC. In Figueroa P, Di Iorio A, Guzman del Rio D, Gonzalez Clua EW, Cuevas Rodriguez L, editors, Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2024: 23rd IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2024, Manaus, Brazil, September 30 – October 3, 2024, Proceedings. Cham: Springer. 2025. p. 265-275. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-74353-5_20