Musikalisches Würfelspiel

A Musical Dice Game is a system to create musical compositions with the aid of a random number, in this case by means of dice.

History

The musical dice games came at the end of the 18th century in Europe and were regarded as a popular pastime. From the composer and music theorist Johann Philipp KirnBerger comes probably the oldest method for composing using dice. The most famous such dice game is attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His "Guide to Componieren of waltzes by means of two dice ... " (KV 294d/516f ) was, however, until 1793, so moved after his death. In Mozart's " Verzeichnüß all my works " but it is not included.

Musical dice games were released until well into the first half of the 19th century, mainly for piano. The most important prerequisite for the player or players was the ability to read music, and the sufficient mastery of the musical instrument. With the widespread use of mechanical music machines, the interest went back to the games. Only in the second half of the 20th century was remembered this composition systems to be produced automatically generated music pieces with the now emerging electronic computing equipment.

Method

In the majority of musical dice games, the goal is to produce a uniform and periodically occurring piece of music. It is therefore mostly waltz, polonaise or minuets with very schematic harmonic structure. Taking the basic composition several variations on a theme were written. Using a random number determines which clock is to play from which variation.

Most of dice, but also sometimes using playing cards or other suitable method, a random number is generated. This serves as a row index of a table in which the numbers of the individual clocks are included. The line number corresponds to the number of composed variations. The columns are selected according to the order of litters: 1 Throw - 1st column, 2nd litter - second column, etc. The numbered on an accompanying sheet music clocks are played in the order given by random numbers and table. Often it was to be made to transfer the notation on a new sheet.

Known Musical dice games (selection)

• Johann Philipp KirnBerger: The always ready Polo Noisen and Menuettencomponist. Christian Friedrich Winter, Berlin 1757
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: idea to make a double counterpoint in the octave of six Tacten without knowing the rules of it. Lange, Berlin 1754-1778
• Maximilian Stadler: table, from which you can roll out countless Menueten and trio for piano. Artaria, Vienna 1781
• Joseph Haydn: Gioco filarmonico o sia facile maniera by comporre un numero de infinito Minuetti e anche senza sapere il trio contrapunto. Luigi Marescalchi, Naples 1790
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Instructions to compose as much waltz or grinder with two dice as much as you want the music to be-ing yet to understand something of the Composition ( KV Anh 294d ) without. Johann Julius Hummel, Berlin- Amsterdam 1793
• Michael Johann Friedrich castle re: Musical charters = match ex g major, you wobey always a musical piece get you possessions, for fun and exercise, the pianist and the use of the organist in small towns and in the countryside. A. F. Winter, Aurich 1788
• Friedrich Gottlob Hayn: Instructions, Angloisen to compose with dice. Kirmse, Dresden 1798
• Antonio Calegari: Gioco Pitagorico. Sebastian Valle, Venice 1801