Aleatoric music, also referred to as aleatory music, is music that contains a random element. Chance elements can be used for both composition and live performance in a piece. Random elements can be used to influence the outcome of a final musical piece when it is being composed. Chance can be used to determine how a piece is played in a live performance. Aleatoric music differs from improvisational music in that it is composed on the spot a musician, whereas true aleatoric music has elements that are determined chance.
This type of music is usually created a composer who has decided to let chance decide on some of the music’s elements. Randomizing musical sequences or using chance to determine the notes played in a musical piece are examples of this. Randomness can also be used a composer to choose other aspects of the music, such as the tempo, key, and instruments used in the piece. Composers who employ this method frequently toss a coin or roll dice to determine the course of the musical piece. Karlheinz Stockhausen, Witold Lutoslawski, and John Cage are among the most well-known aleatoric composers.
Random elements in this music are generated methods such as flipping a coin, rolling a pair of dice, or using a random number generator. Chance is generally permitted to define either the form or the content of a musical composition, but it can also be used to define elements of both. The concept behind this type of music is that some elements are controlled the composer, while others are determined a dice roll. In aleatoric music, the composer decides how much chance should influence the musical work in addition to the non-random elements of the piece.
Aleatoric music is usually performed live and is composed of a written piece that varies in performance due to some random element of variation. Special musical pieces are usually written with the intention of having their parts played at random. The order in which song sections are played, the instruments playing in the piece, and many other aspects of a musical performance can all be determined chance.
Aleatoric music is when a conductor of a music group rolls the dice before a performance to determine key elements of the music. The aleatory variable is the random element that is used to apply chance to the piece. Aleatoricism is the use of chance in the creative process. This method of creating art has also been used independent filmmakers as an experimental method of presenting films.