The tension between predictability and surprise is central to the experience of music. Take any set of notes, repeat them, and the pattern becomes a thing, an object in the mind. There’s pleasure in repetition. However, if we repeat a pattern for too long, it becomes uninteresting, boring, and we start to crave change. Proteus is a tool that allows you to explore the balance between repetition and novelty in your music.
Proteus starts by creating a sequence of notes, using an algorithm that strives to make sequences that are more musical than random. It then repeats that melody, over and over again. Each time it reaches the end of the sequence there is some probability that it will decide to scrap the sequence and make a brand new one. The probability of a new sequence increases over time according to a probability function, but how quickly Proteus gets bored is up to you.