Step One: Choose your software
Max/MSP
You can buy Max/MSP from www.cycling74.com Max is a graphical dataflow language where you connect objects together in a similar manner to a studio patchbay.
Price: $399
Platforms: OSX and Windows
PureData
Puredata (or Pd) is a free open-source alternative to Max and is a similar visual programming language. Puredata is a little uglier to look at than Max but you can achieve pretty much the same thing in both packages. Download Puredata extended for all platforms from www.puredata.info as this has many additional object libraries included in the install package.
Price: Free
Platforms: OSX, Windows and Linux
OpenMusic
Open Music is a visual programming language for algorithmic composition that is written in LISP. It uses a graphical interface in which you connect objects together to create your patch. OpenMusic is also available for free for Mac and Windows from http://repmus.ircam.fr/openmusic/download As with Pd and Max it is a visual dataflow progam but it is designed specifically for algorithmic composition.
Price: Free
Platforms: OSX and Windows
CommonMusic
Common Music (CM) is another Lisp based algorithmic composition environment. Musical algorithms can run in real time, or faster-than-real time for file-based composition. CommonMusic is a text based program rather than visual, however don't let this put you off. It includes many good tutorials and examples and can be downloaded here http://commonmusic.sourceforge.net/
Price: Free
Platforms: OSX, Windows and Linux
Step Two
Once you've downloaded and tried out your software it's worth looking at the supplied tutorials, each of the listed packages above include some tutorials and examples. Once you've got a grip of the basics here is a order of tutorials to follow for the software package you've chosen:
Max/MSP
Random pitches in Max
Random major scale pitches in Max
Piano Phase in Max
Random walks in Max and Puredata
Random walks in Max and Puredata - part two
Markov chains in Max
Timbre composition in Max and Puredata
Tom Johnson's self similar melodies - Max and Pd
Tom Johnson's algorithmic composition - Max and Pd - part two
Chaos in Max and Puredata
Tone rows Puredata and Max
Puredata
Random pitches in Puredata
Random major scale pitches is Puredata
Piano Phase in Puredata
Tone Rows and Rhythm - Puredata
Random walks in Max and Puredata
Random walks in Max and Puredata - part two
Markov chains in Puredata
Timbre composition in Max and Puredata
Tom Johnson's self similar melodies - Max and Pd
Tom Johnson's algorithmic composition - Max and Pd - part two
Chaos in Max and Puredata
Tone rows Puredata and Max
OpenMusic
Probabilities in OpenMusic
Random walk in OpenMusic
OpenMusic and Markov Chains
OpenMusic and Chaos
OpenMusic and rhythm trees - part one
OpenMusic and rhythm trees - part two
OpenMusic and Markov chains - part two
Second order Markov chains in Puredata
OpenMusic tone rows and the maquette
