Steve Schwartz writes:

>Bill Pirkle replies to me:
>
>>And yet since its making is handed down from generation to generation, it
>>tenets must be describable somehow.
>
>Only the tenets of music that has already been written.  I suppose my
>problem with the computer is that it surprises me only with difficulty.
>I truly doubt that given one's knowledge of Brahms and Wagner, that one
>could have predicted Mahler or Sibelius.

I don't really know, not being acquainted with all CM, but I think that we
can see trends like

Melodies are containing more and more foreign notes,
Harmonies are tending to be less and less tonal center oriented
Rhythm is getting more complex
Form is getting more obscure
Non-traditional sounds are more widely in use

Just some thoughts,

Bill Pirkle