ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the historical context of the compositional approach and shows how it is beginning to emerge in the current field of interactive media. It demonstrates how a composition-instrument approach to music exhibits a congruity with the emergent nature of the medium. The chapter presents a discussion of a contemporary computer game project that exposes the potential of this musical concept in the world of games, digital art and new media. Music that operates in a binary, linear mode does little to recognize the emergence, or becoming, that one experiences in the course of an interactive exchange. American composer Earle Brown was looking for ways to open musical form and incorporate elements of improvisation into his music during the 1950s. Change occurs by way of interaction but also through various means of generation. Sound Garden consists of a physical installation and online interface for interaction.
