Laurie Spiegel on the difference between algorithmic music and ‘AI’
In 1986, electronic music pioneer Laurie Spiegel created Music Mouse, a way for those with a Mac, Atari, or Amiga computer to dabble in algorithmic music creation. Music Mouse is deceptively simple: Notes are arranged on an XY grid, and you play it by moving a mouse around. Back in 1986, the computer mouse was still a relatively novel device. While it can trace its origins back to the late '60s, it wasn't until the Macintosh 128K in 1984 that it started seeing widespread adoption.
By then Spiegel, was already an accomplished composer. Her 1980 album The Expanding Universe is generally considered among the greatest ambient records of all tim …