aleatory music
(AY-lee-ah-tor-ree MYOO-zik)


[Eng.]


Music in which the composer introduces the elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance. This is not a 20th century invention as it was known in the 18th century in the form of dice music in which dice were used to determine which measures of the music would be performed.


SUGGESTED LISTENING EXAMPLES:

Aleatory counterpoint:
Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3
W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 3, Track 69
Cage: Variations II
W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 3, Track 54

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