WSPC Book Series in Unconventional Computing - Volume 6: Advances in Quantum Computer Music (Wspc Book Unconventional Computing)

The modern music industry depends critically on computers. The development of conventional digital computing technology for music has been progressing in tandem with the evolution of computers since the 1950s. Therefore, future developments in quantum computing are most likely to impact the way in which musicians will create, perform, and conduct research. Classical computers manipulate information represented in terms of binary digits, each of, which can be equal to 1 (on) or 0 (off). They work with microprocessors made up of billions of tiny switches that are activated by electric signals. In contrast, a quantum computer deals with information in terms of quantum bits (qubits), which can operate at the subatomic level. In other words, they directly work in the realm of quantum physics. Since they can run algorithms that are non-tractable to run on digital computers, quantum computers are surfacing as a promising disruptive technology. Advances in Quantum Computer Music collates a comprehensive collection of chapters by pioneers of emerging interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of quantum computing and music. Together, these pioneers hope to anticipate and prototype the unprecedented new uses for this technology that are bound to emerge from their cutting-edge research.

Eduardo Reck Miranda is a composer and computer scientist. He holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh with a thesis about Artificial Intelligence applied to sound design and music. He is a professor of computer music at the University of Plymouth, UK, where he leads the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research (ICCMR) and is associated with Moth, an applied quantum technology company for the arts. Prof Miranda has been developing AI for music since the early 1990s. He is known for developing brain-computer interfaces to enable people with motor impairments to make music. He is a pioneer in using quantum computers for musical composition. Prof Miranda composed for renowned ensembles such as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the London Sinfonietta. His opera, "Lampedusa", was premiered by BBC Singers in 2019. The inside story of his acclaimed choral symphony, "Sound to Sea", is revealed in the book Thinking Music: The Inner Workings of a Composer's Mind, published by the University of Plymouth Press.