What are the maths and the programming peculiarities of fractal music?
The mathematics behind fractal music are somewhat the same as those behind fractal images. Some, but not all, iterate on formulae such as the Mandelbrot set. Even here, there is some divergence, as some calculate a note on each iteration while others calculate the note at “escape time”. Yet others use fractal methods that might be unsuitable for images, such as the Morse-Thue algorithm, Sierpinski Triangle, and Koch Snowflake. Other software uses iterated function systems to trace patterns over images and choose note parameters based upon the RGB value of the pixels traversed. Yet others use a “everything but the kitchen sink” approach by allowing the data to come from a variety of sources, then appropriate algorithms applied to the data. Most fractal music generators produce output in MIDI form. MIDI files are small, as they don’t actually contain the sound, but instructions to your soundcard/sound module/other MIDI-enabled instrument on how to produce the sound. Much like the concept
