Overview of the KTH rule system for musical performance

Abstract

The KTH rule system models performance principles used by musicians when performing a musical score, within the realm of Western classical, jazz and popular music. An overview is given of the major rules involving phrasing, micro-level timing, metrical patterns and grooves, articulation, tonal tension, intonation, ensemble timing, and performance noise. By using selections of rules and rule quantities, semantic descriptions such as emotional expressions can be modeled. A recent real-time implementation provides the means for controlling the expressive character of the music. The communicative purpose and meaning of the resulting performance variations are discussed as well as limitations and future improvements.

Keywords

• Music performance modeling
• rule system
• expression