What best describes aleatory music?

Answer 1

Aleatory music is music in which at least some part of the compositional process is left to chance. For instance, a composer might roll some dice to determine the notes, the rhythms, the harmonic progression, etc. He might also use "eenie, meenie, minie, moe," or he could run without clothes through the streets and use the number of screaming women to choose. Any method is a possibility. He doesn't have to necessarily leave it all up to chance if he doesn't want to and he can use any number of methods for any number of variables in the music. (For example, he could see how many times he could stand to poke himself in the eye before he bleeds to count the number of beats that each note will last and then beat possums to determine the rhythm, it's completely up to him.)

Some part of the choice of interpretation can be left up to the performer as well although this isn't necessarily all that random since the performer will ultimately decide. For instance, a composer might put in his score five distinct sections of music and then instruct the instrumentalists that they can choose to play them in any order as long as all sections of music are played and are only played once. The piece could then end when all instrumentalists have finished playing through all five sections in the order that they each chose individually.

A composer could also write in the score that on beat three of measure fifty-four the player could either choose to stand up and scream "wibbly-wobbly-woo" while his neighbor beats him over the head with a fish, or he could sit down and play that C# like the obedient little slave-wench that he is and that he's gonna like it. As you can see, either method leaves the choice up to the performer and can therefor end up with a completely different performance each time the piece is played.

This method of composition can lead to exciting and interesting performances that are new and ever changing or it can lead to music that sounds like absolute crap that was written by a handicapped person with a crayon tied to his forehead that he beats repeatedly against a piece of scratch-paper that has been nailed to wall. I guess only the audience can decide.

Answer 2

It is recreated fresh each time it is performed

Answer 3

Music that allows for an element of chance to enter the performance