WolframTones is a web based algorithmic music generator from the people who developed the WolframAlpha computational knowledge engine. Another fun way to waste time on the intertubes.

When prominent scientist Stephen Wolfram published A New Kind of Science in 2002, it was immediately hailed as a major intellectual landmark. Today the paradigm shift that Wolfram’s work initiated is starting revolutions in a remarkable range of areas of science, technology–and the arts. WolframTones is an experiment in applying Wolfram’s discoveries to the creation of music.

At the core of A New Kind of Science is the idea of exploring a new abstract universe: a “computational universe” of simple programs. In A New Kind of Science, Wolfram shows how remarkably simple programs in his “computational universe” capture the essence of the complexity–and beauty–of many systems in nature.

WolframTones works by taking simple programs from Wolfram’s computational universe, and using music theory and Mathematica algorithms to render them as music. Each program in effect defines a virtual world, with its own special story–and WolframTones captures it as a musical composition.

It’s all original music–fresh from “mining” Wolfram’s computational universe. Sometimes it’s reminiscent of familiar musical styles; sometimes it’s like nothing ever heard before. It’s a taste of what it’s like to explore the computational universe–and a hint of what’s to come…

WolframTones