SMRTR Science & EngineeringDec 7, 2025lobste.rs

Struggling Towards an Algebraic Theory of Music

SMRTR summary

A programmer attempted to develop a mathematical framework for representing music using functional programming concepts, exploring various approaches including functions that map time to sets of notes with durations. While successfully creating monoid, functor, and applicative structures, the monadic implementation produced musically problematic results with inconsistent rhythms, and the contextual nature of musical composition suggests current algebraic approaches may be fundamentally inadequate.

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