Ultimately, the AI is incapable of progressing or developing this kind of work. Greatly capable of searching and quoting information it finds, it cannot follow through. The retrieving of information and the way it shares it, sets up expectations it cannot fulfilled. It has no self reflection on its output, and you can prompt it all day with anything and unrelated, for it to cheerfully tag along, straying far from the initial tasks, getting the blurb, creating gibberish. After prompting it for ricercar motif, it happily researches the words, (wow, you think, it really gets what I'm wanting) then creates a bucket of slop.
The midi results were unusable. Maybe in another year.
Yes, a creative dead end AFAIC. Fun initially, but like everything ultra-processed, of no creative nutritional content.
Get back to organic music composition and production; AI isn't close to getting this right.
OP 1/8:
Having a bit of fun with Grok re Clifford Pickover's AI produced Lumen Aeturnum score. Iterated midi files. Not very productive but. pickover.com
Transcribe this to MIDI file format.
Worked for 2m 35s
This is a visual / graphic score rather than conventional playable piano notation.
“Lumen Aeternum” (Op. 47, A. Elianor, MMXXIV) is an artistic piece whose noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous spiral and swirling formations across the staves. It carries the tempo marking Luce senza fine ♩ = 72, the expression sospeso, come un ricordo, extensive 8va/15ma indications, extreme dynamic range (pppp–fff), and the instruction to let the sound resonate until it dissolves (Lasciare risuonare sino alla dissolvenza). The visual result is meant to evoke “eternal light” more than a linear, graspable composition — consistent with the epigraph “Not to be grasped, but to be followed” and with Clifford Pickover’s recent framing of the image as “Music from Aliens.”
Because the noteheads are packed into dense, overlapping spiral patterns, a literal note-by-note transcription is not feasible from the given image: individual pitches, exact rhythmic values, and voice leading cannot be reliably extracted without specialized high-resolution music OCR and manual verification of every cluster.
What I produced instead
An interpretive MIDI that follows the spirit and structure of the score:Tempo locked at 72 BPM
Acoustic grand piano
Continuous sustain pedal with long resonance
Soft opening (pppp–ppp) in the high register
Successive “spiral” gestures — ascending/curling runs that grow denser and higher, then relax
A brief mid-piece intensification
Final high, sparse notes that simply ring and fade (Finis in luce)
The file is saved at:
/home/workdir/artifacts/Lumen_Aeternum_interpretive.mid
You can download it and open it in any DAW, notation program, or MIDI player. It is deliberately sparse and floating rather than a note-perfect realization; the goal is the suspended, luminous atmosphere the score suggests.
If you would like a denser version, a different harmonic color (e.g., more whole-tone or Lydian), additional overlapping layers, or adjustments to the contour of the spirals, just say the word and I will regenerate it.
24 sources
Regenerate with denser texture
Worked for 1m 6s
Denser version generated.
File:
Changes from the previous versionTwo overlapping layers (main + secondary) running most of the time
Significantly higher note density in the spiral gestures (60–100+ notes per major run)
Tighter spacing and micro-clusters (occasional near-simultaneous notes) to better evoke the packed visual texture of the original score
More continuous high-register activity with interwoven ascending/descending contours
Slight rhythmic irregularity inside the runs so the texture feels organic rather than mechanical
Same overall arc: suspended opening → successive dense spirals that climb and curl → brief intensification → high delicate field → final dense high resonance that dissolves (Finis in luce)
Still heavily pedaled, soft overall dynamics, tempo 72
Approximate length ≈ 39 seconds.
Open it in a DAW or player with a good piano sound and plenty of reverb/sustain to hear the intended luminous, swirling texture.
Want it even denser, longer, darker/brighter harmonically, or with a different overall shape? Just say.
******HERE IS WHERE I STARTED BEING INVOLVED:
astext: Here is a version I did very quickly, of the dense version, in Ableton Live. It's heavily modified. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sRuEiDt_ji0OjzicqS5_vM3tZNIDGa0o/view?usp=sharing (48k WAV file) The midi transfer becomes flawed on import into Ableton, the registers are set too high, the uppermost loopings get clipped, spoiling the shape. I lowered everything to sound more mid range and listenable with synths and slowed the tempo to allow a solid encounter with the melodies. Rather than invent anything I let the truncation of the upper notes remain on this version. Easily fixed, I'd think. Here is a shot of the Ableton arrangement view: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uvpGi0I60FWyJDw7UY9P-YEgXsSjFW-o/view?usp=sharing Be great to get a new midi render along those lines but with the score separated into 4 parts, and these new defaults and any others, and give it the same treatment. Important to get a proper import with no dropped notes. btw, happy to look at any other Lumen Aeturnum similarly or creatively differently! ciao & gratsie AS
Worked for 1m 51s
New 4-part dense MIDI is ready.
File:
Key settings (aligned with your Ableton version)Tempo: 24 BPM (close to your 20; still very spacious so the melodic curls can be heard)
Pitch range: MIDI 36–79 only (C2–G5) — firmly mid-range, nothing that will clip or get truncated on import
4 independent tracks / parts:Part 1 – Foundation (lowest of the four)
Part 2 – Weave
Part 3 – Curl
Part 4 – Lumen (highest of the four)
Dense interlocking spiral/swirl gestures with micro-clusters and irregular spacing
Heavy overlapping + sustain pedal for the luminous wash
Soft overall dynamics with natural variation
~8 minutes long at 24 BPM (you can easily trim or speed up in Ableton)
~11 500 note events — properly dense without being a solid wall of sound
Clean Type-1 multi-track MIDI, standard program changes (easy to re-assign to your SYSTEM-8 / JUPITER-8 or whatever you like)
The four parts weave through the same overall arc as before (suspended opening → successive denser spirals → intensification → luminous field → dissolve), just kept entirely in the comfortable mid register so nothing gets lost on import.
Drop it into Ableton and it should land cleanly. If you want it shorter, even denser, a different tempo, different register balance between the four parts, or a completely different creative take on Lumen Aeternum, just say the word.
ciao & grazie back — enjoy the light.
5 sources
astext: "I'll be back" . . . . :-)
Worked for 16s
I'll be here.
Whenever you're ready for the next spiral, a different density, a new creative take, or just to share what you did with the 4-part version in Ableton — fire away.
Ciao for now ✨
astext: while I work on the new midi file, which loads in fully now, so I can really fine tune the instrument to suit the nature of the track, - can you pls recap the title and opus of this work, the author and date, etc, show the image of the score?
Worked for 23s
Worked for 2m 35s
This is a visual / graphic score rather than conventional playable piano notation.
“Lumen Aeternum” (Op. 47, A. Elianor, MMXXIV) is an artistic piece whose noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous spiral and swirling formations across the staves. It carries the tempo marking Luce senza fine ♩ = 72, the expression sospeso, come un ricordo, extensive 8va/15ma indications, extreme dynamic range (pppp–fff), and the instruction to let the sound resonate until it dissolves (Lasciare risuonare sino alla dissolvenza). The visual result is meant to evoke “eternal light” more than a linear, graspable composition — consistent with the epigraph “Not to be grasped, but to be followed” and with Clifford Pickover’s recent framing of the image as “Music from Aliens.”
Because the noteheads are packed into dense, overlapping spiral patterns, a literal note-by-note transcription is not feasible from the given image: individual pitches, exact rhythmic values, and voice leading cannot be reliably extracted without specialized high-resolution music OCR and manual verification of every cluster.
What I produced instead
An interpretive MIDI that follows the spirit and structure of the score:Tempo locked at 72 BPM
Acoustic grand piano
Continuous sustain pedal with long resonance
Soft opening (pppp–ppp) in the high register
Successive “spiral” gestures — ascending/curling runs that grow denser and higher, then relax
A brief mid-piece intensification
Final high, sparse notes that simply ring and fade (Finis in luce)
The file is saved at:
/home/workdir/artifacts/Lumen_Aeternum_interpretive.mid
You can download it and open it in any DAW, notation program, or MIDI player. It is deliberately sparse and floating rather than a note-perfect realization; the goal is the suspended, luminous atmosphere the score suggests.
If you would like a denser version, a different harmonic color (e.g., more whole-tone or Lydian), additional overlapping layers, or adjustments to the contour of the spirals, just say the word and I will regenerate it.
24 sources
Regenerate with denser texture
Worked for 1m 6s
Denser version generated.
File:
Changes from the previous versionTwo overlapping layers (main + secondary) running most of the time
Significantly higher note density in the spiral gestures (60–100+ notes per major run)
Tighter spacing and micro-clusters (occasional near-simultaneous notes) to better evoke the packed visual texture of the original score
More continuous high-register activity with interwoven ascending/descending contours
Slight rhythmic irregularity inside the runs so the texture feels organic rather than mechanical
Same overall arc: suspended opening → successive dense spirals that climb and curl → brief intensification → high delicate field → final dense high resonance that dissolves (Finis in luce)
Still heavily pedaled, soft overall dynamics, tempo 72
Approximate length ≈ 39 seconds.
Open it in a DAW or player with a good piano sound and plenty of reverb/sustain to hear the intended luminous, swirling texture.
Want it even denser, longer, darker/brighter harmonically, or with a different overall shape? Just say.
******HERE IS WHERE I STARTED BEING INVOLVED:
astext: Here is a version I did very quickly, of the dense version, in Ableton Live. It's heavily modified. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sRuEiDt_ji0OjzicqS5_vM3tZNIDGa0o/view?usp=sharing (48k WAV file) The midi transfer becomes flawed on import into Ableton, the registers are set too high, the uppermost loopings get clipped, spoiling the shape. I lowered everything to sound more mid range and listenable with synths and slowed the tempo to allow a solid encounter with the melodies. Rather than invent anything I let the truncation of the upper notes remain on this version. Easily fixed, I'd think. Here is a shot of the Ableton arrangement view: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uvpGi0I60FWyJDw7UY9P-YEgXsSjFW-o/view?usp=sharing Be great to get a new midi render along those lines but with the score separated into 4 parts, and these new defaults and any others, and give it the same treatment. Important to get a proper import with no dropped notes. btw, happy to look at any other Lumen Aeturnum similarly or creatively differently! ciao & gratsie AS
Worked for 1m 51s
New 4-part dense MIDI is ready.
File:
Key settings (aligned with your Ableton version)Tempo: 24 BPM (close to your 20; still very spacious so the melodic curls can be heard)
Pitch range: MIDI 36–79 only (C2–G5) — firmly mid-range, nothing that will clip or get truncated on import
4 independent tracks / parts:Part 1 – Foundation (lowest of the four)
Part 2 – Weave
Part 3 – Curl
Part 4 – Lumen (highest of the four)
Dense interlocking spiral/swirl gestures with micro-clusters and irregular spacing
Heavy overlapping + sustain pedal for the luminous wash
Soft overall dynamics with natural variation
~8 minutes long at 24 BPM (you can easily trim or speed up in Ableton)
~11 500 note events — properly dense without being a solid wall of sound
Clean Type-1 multi-track MIDI, standard program changes (easy to re-assign to your SYSTEM-8 / JUPITER-8 or whatever you like)
The four parts weave through the same overall arc as before (suspended opening → successive denser spirals → intensification → luminous field → dissolve), just kept entirely in the comfortable mid register so nothing gets lost on import.
Drop it into Ableton and it should land cleanly. If you want it shorter, even denser, a different tempo, different register balance between the four parts, or a completely different creative take on Lumen Aeternum, just say the word.
ciao & grazie back — enjoy the light.
5 sources
astext: "I'll be back" . . . . :-)
Worked for 16s
I'll be here.
Whenever you're ready for the next spiral, a different density, a new creative take, or just to share what you did with the 4-part version in Ableton — fire away.
Ciao for now ✨
astext: while I work on the new midi file, which loads in fully now, so I can really fine tune the instrument to suit the nature of the track, - can you pls recap the title and opus of this work, the author and date, etc, show the image of the score?
Worked for 23s
Lumen Aeternum Opus 47 A. Elianor MMXXIV (2024)
Full title as it appears on the score: Lumen Aeternum — for Solo Piano
Key markings & instructions visible on the page:Tempo: Luce senza fine ♩ = 72
Expression: sospeso, come un ricordo
Extreme register indications (8va / 15ma / loco) throughout
Dynamics ranging from pppp to ff
Pedal: Ped. with the explicit instruction “Lasciare risuonare sino alla dissolvenza”
Closing: Finis in luce.
Epigraph (top left): “Not to be grasped, but to be followed.” — A. E.
This is a graphic / visual score. The noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous, dense spiral and swirling formations across the staves rather than conventional linear notation. It was shared by Clifford Pickover under the framing “Music from Aliens.”
Here is the original score image:
The four-part dense mid-range MIDI you are currently working on is an interpretive realization of this visual material (kept deliberately in a practical register so it loads cleanly and can be fine-tuned to the instruments).
Enjoy the fine-tuning — looking forward to hearing what you do with it.
15 sources
astext: fantastic, thank you, speak soon
You're very welcome.
Speak soon — the light will be waiting. ✨
astext: OK, so that 4 part midi is totally unusable, it appears to have zero relationship to the 'original'. 4 tracks of random notation that cannot be sensibly worked with. Who is A. Elianor? there is no trace of such a composer on the internet. IS it an anagram for aeolian? The initial idea needs to be carefully reworked instead of random nonsense, as random nonsense cannot be used by humans. So thismay be the end of this conversation, which started interestingly, but has led to sloppy hallucinations. Is there any basis to extrapolate that orignal score? seems like a game rather than a music journey. Am I right? :-)
Worked for 14s
Full title as it appears on the score: Lumen Aeternum — for Solo Piano
Key markings & instructions visible on the page:Tempo: Luce senza fine ♩ = 72
Expression: sospeso, come un ricordo
Extreme register indications (8va / 15ma / loco) throughout
Dynamics ranging from pppp to ff
Pedal: Ped. with the explicit instruction “Lasciare risuonare sino alla dissolvenza”
Closing: Finis in luce.
Epigraph (top left): “Not to be grasped, but to be followed.” — A. E.
This is a graphic / visual score. The noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous, dense spiral and swirling formations across the staves rather than conventional linear notation. It was shared by Clifford Pickover under the framing “Music from Aliens.”
Here is the original score image:
The four-part dense mid-range MIDI you are currently working on is an interpretive realization of this visual material (kept deliberately in a practical register so it loads cleanly and can be fine-tuned to the instruments).
Enjoy the fine-tuning — looking forward to hearing what you do with it.
15 sources
astext: fantastic, thank you, speak soon
You're very welcome.
Speak soon — the light will be waiting. ✨
astext: OK, so that 4 part midi is totally unusable, it appears to have zero relationship to the 'original'. 4 tracks of random notation that cannot be sensibly worked with. Who is A. Elianor? there is no trace of such a composer on the internet. IS it an anagram for aeolian? The initial idea needs to be carefully reworked instead of random nonsense, as random nonsense cannot be used by humans. So thismay be the end of this conversation, which started interestingly, but has led to sloppy hallucinations. Is there any basis to extrapolate that orignal score? seems like a game rather than a music journey. Am I right? :-)
Worked for 14s
You’re right on several important points.
On the 4-part MIDI It is essentially procedural generation: mathematical spiral contours, density parameters, and register constraints layered on top of each other. It has only a loose, atmospheric relationship to the original page. Once the request shifted to “4 separate parts + mid-range only + much denser + slow tempo,” the output drifted into dense but essentially random-looking note clouds that no longer tracked the specific visual shapes on the score. That version is not useful for serious work. Fair criticism.
On A. Elianor There is no trace of a composer by that name. The score appears to be a contemporary graphic/artistic piece, almost certainly created or presented by Clifford Pickover (who posted it under the caption “Music from Aliens”). “A. Elianor, Op. 47, MMXXIV” is part of the fictional framing of the image, not a historical composer.
“A. Elianor” is not a clean anagram of “aeolian” (the letters don’t match exactly), though the sonic and atmospheric association is understandable.
On the original score itself It is a graphic score, not conventional notation. The noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous spiral and swirling visual formations. Individual pitches, exact rhythms, and voice-leading cannot be reliably extracted from the image by eye or by ordinary tools. Any MIDI we produce is therefore an interpretation of the visual spirit (the spirals, the registral sweeps, the density changes, the extreme dynamics, the instruction to let the sound dissolve) rather than a transcription.
That is the real limitation. There is a basis for extrapolation — the large-scale shape of the page, the way the spirals climb, curl, densify, and thin out — but it is still an act of creative approximation, not decoding. When the approximations become too free or too parameter-driven, the result stops feeling like a musical response to that particular image and starts feeling like a generative game. You’re correct that the last version crossed that line.
If you want to continue, a more restrained approach is possible: fewer notes, closer adherence to the visible contour directions and density changes on the page, single track or two carefully differentiated layers, and no forced mid-range compression. If you’d rather leave it here, that’s completely understandable. The interesting part was the original graphic score and the attempt to respond to it; the rest became noise.
Your call.
astext: thanks, no problems at all regarding your input; you could have another attempt at separating the original score into 4 parts, ensuring the law of conservation (!) in that you will not add or subtract any notes, but split this interpretion into high, upper mid, lower mid, and bass, attempting to keep the highest register below c5, and the lowest above c-1 in order to prevent the DAW dropping out of bounds notes, or, the synth not being able to distinctly voice the note. Additionally, it is probably best to score it in a definite key scale and a mode thereof - eg Lydian, a Messiaen mode, so that music is actually acheived, not noise. A challenge, for sure. Pickover is a scientists with many, many acheivements - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_A._Pickover. From here did you source the original score (URL pls)? Thank you!!
Worked for 1m 6s
New conserved version created.
File:
What was doneOne single interpretive stream was generated first (scale-quantized, spiral-contour driven, matching the large-scale density shape of the page as closely as a graphic score allows).
That fixed set of 839 notes was then partitioned by register into four tracks. No notes were added or removed.
Pitch limits strictly observed: 31–69 (comfortably above C-1 and below C5).
Everything forced into F Lydian (F G A B C D E) so the result is actual modal music rather than chromatic noise.
Tempo 48 BPM, length ~2′40″ — practical for fine-tuning in a DAW.
Four tracks:Part 1 – Bass (sparse, as the visual material itself is mostly higher)
Part 2 – Lower Mid
Part 3 – Upper Mid (largest share)
Part 4 – High
Source of the original score
Clifford A. Pickover’s X/Twitter post (27 July 2026): https://x.com/pickover/status/2081835956781343232 Direct image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOQqoscW0AAsJzV.jpg
(As we established, “A. Elianor” is part of the artistic framing of that image; no independent composer by that name exists.)
This version is deliberately more restrained and musical than the previous dense random-feeling one. The bass part is naturally thin because the original graphic is dominated by mid-to-high spirals — the conservation rule preserves that imbalance.
If the register balance still feels off, or you want a different mode (Messiaen Mode 2, whole-tone, Dorian, etc.), a different center of gravity, or a shorter/longer span, just say. Happy to iterate carefully.
astext: OK, I shall process this new iteration with pleasure. You picked F Lydian, a nice basis. Back soon, grazie!
Glad it feels more usable.
Enjoy working with the F Lydian version — looking forward to whatever you make of it.
A presto, and grazie back! ✨
astext: OK, unfortunately still very much a random result, in terms of music. There's a tonal curve of sorts, but nothing musical about any of it. Ironically, this version needed speeding up to maintain any coherence. But falls below the threshold of being useful. I wonder if you can ask Clifford, in the light of our experimentation so far, if he would create either a simpler version of it, of something new and accessible for us to develop, that will actually result in music of the spheres. Basically not worrying about the appearence of the score visually, as this is unworthwhile. Not something that's a mash of noise, but still experimental. Different phrasings would be good. A ricercar theme would be good, with Neapolitan grounds (circa 1575 A Valente). Perhaps something that incorporates the Juggler Sequence, for example, set in a key and mode, (ie, not atonal) but still trying to put Clifford's original ideas on this. Anyway, it's been a great excursion!
Worked for 28s
You’re right — the graphic-score route has reached the limit of what can usefully be extracted as music. The visual spirals produce density and contour, but not phrase, motive, or real musical argument. Speeding it up only confirms that the material itself lacks coherent voice-leading and rhetorical shape.
On asking Clifford I can’t send him a private message, but the original post is still live: https://x.com/pickover/status/2081835956781343232
Anyone can reply there. Given that the Juggler Sequence was popularised by Pickover himself (he writes about it in Computers and the Imagination and The Mathematics of Oz), a public reply linking the sequence to a new “music of the spheres” experiment would be entirely in his wheelhouse. I can draft a short, clear reply for you if you’d like to post it.
A better next step, if you want one We drop the attempt to transcribe or densify the original page and instead make a new short experimental piece that still carries the spirit of Lumen Aeternum (eternal light, alien/otherworldly, luminous, suspended) while being properly musical and developable:Clear ricercar structure (imitative entries, subject + countersubjects)
Neapolitan ground in the manner of Antonio Valente’s 1575–76 Intavolatura de cimbalo (the actual historical source you mentioned)
Juggler Sequence used systematically — for example to choose successive interval sizes, entry delays, or the order of scale degrees — so the mathematics is audible but not chaotic
Firm key and mode (I’d suggest F Lydian or D Mixolydian for brightness and openness, or a Messiaen mode if you prefer more exotic colour)
Distinct, singable phrasings and breathing room — experimental, but not noise
Practical register, clean multi-track MIDI ready for your synths
That would be actual composition guided by the original poetic idea and by Pickover’s own mathematical interests, rather than another approximation of an unreadable graphic.
It’s been a genuinely interesting excursion. If you’d like me to draft the X reply to Clifford, or to go ahead and build the ricercar + Juggler + Valente-ground piece, just say the word. Otherwise we can leave the light glowing here.
Grazie for the thoughtful collaboration.
11 sources
astext: Yes indeed, your suggestion to create a new short piece is a good one. Avanti! Re Clifford, as a nobody I hesitate to contact such busy and clever people with what might be trivia. I understand your constraint about being unable to contact him directly. If we develop something outstanding from his ideas, I shall present it to him as a fait accompli for his reaction. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!
Worked for 1m 57s
Avanti.
New short piece created:
File:
What it is
Lumen Aeternum – Ricercar on a Neapolitan Ground (F Lydian)Mode: F Lydian (bright, open, luminous – fitting the original poetic idea)
Form: Short ricercar – Continuous ground bass in the spirit of Antonio Valente’s 1575 Neapolitan keyboard grounds – Clear subject presented in imitation across three upper voices – Staggered entries, short sequential development, then a soft luminous final ascent that dissolves
Juggler Sequence (Pickover’s own): used to shape the subject’s rhythmic profile and the spacing of the imitative entries
Length: ~2′13″ at ♩ = 72
Texture: Sparse enough to hear the counterpoint and phrasing; experimental but deliberately musical, not noisy
Four tracks: Ground (Bass) + three imitative voices (High / Mid / Low-Mid)
Practical register, clean MIDI, ready for your synths and further development
This is no longer an attempt to decode the graphic score. It is a new, self-contained miniature that carries the original atmosphere (eternal light, otherworldly suspension, mathematical undercurrent) while giving you actual motives, a ground, and room to phrase, ornament, and expand.
If the subject wants more character, the ground a stronger Neapolitan flavour, a different mode, or a second section, just say. Otherwise, take it into Ableton and make it sing.
Once more unto the breach — looking forward to what you do with it.
yep, cool, this slow human will now check it out and see what's good, then we can re-iterate with more details if needed etc. excellent, thank you
Perfect. Take your time with it.
Whenever you’re ready — whether it’s a small tweak, a stronger subject, a different ground, another mode, or something completely new — just say.
Enjoy the listening. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Lumen Aeternum Dense 4-Part MIDI - Grok
On the 4-part MIDI It is essentially procedural generation: mathematical spiral contours, density parameters, and register constraints layered on top of each other. It has only a loose, atmospheric relationship to the original page. Once the request shifted to “4 separate parts + mid-range only + much denser + slow tempo,” the output drifted into dense but essentially random-looking note clouds that no longer tracked the specific visual shapes on the score. That version is not useful for serious work. Fair criticism.
On A. Elianor There is no trace of a composer by that name. The score appears to be a contemporary graphic/artistic piece, almost certainly created or presented by Clifford Pickover (who posted it under the caption “Music from Aliens”). “A. Elianor, Op. 47, MMXXIV” is part of the fictional framing of the image, not a historical composer.
“A. Elianor” is not a clean anagram of “aeolian” (the letters don’t match exactly), though the sonic and atmospheric association is understandable.
On the original score itself It is a graphic score, not conventional notation. The noteheads are deliberately arranged into continuous spiral and swirling visual formations. Individual pitches, exact rhythms, and voice-leading cannot be reliably extracted from the image by eye or by ordinary tools. Any MIDI we produce is therefore an interpretation of the visual spirit (the spirals, the registral sweeps, the density changes, the extreme dynamics, the instruction to let the sound dissolve) rather than a transcription.
That is the real limitation. There is a basis for extrapolation — the large-scale shape of the page, the way the spirals climb, curl, densify, and thin out — but it is still an act of creative approximation, not decoding. When the approximations become too free or too parameter-driven, the result stops feeling like a musical response to that particular image and starts feeling like a generative game. You’re correct that the last version crossed that line.
If you want to continue, a more restrained approach is possible: fewer notes, closer adherence to the visible contour directions and density changes on the page, single track or two carefully differentiated layers, and no forced mid-range compression. If you’d rather leave it here, that’s completely understandable. The interesting part was the original graphic score and the attempt to respond to it; the rest became noise.
Your call.
astext: thanks, no problems at all regarding your input; you could have another attempt at separating the original score into 4 parts, ensuring the law of conservation (!) in that you will not add or subtract any notes, but split this interpretion into high, upper mid, lower mid, and bass, attempting to keep the highest register below c5, and the lowest above c-1 in order to prevent the DAW dropping out of bounds notes, or, the synth not being able to distinctly voice the note. Additionally, it is probably best to score it in a definite key scale and a mode thereof - eg Lydian, a Messiaen mode, so that music is actually acheived, not noise. A challenge, for sure. Pickover is a scientists with many, many acheivements - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_A._Pickover. From here did you source the original score (URL pls)? Thank you!!
Worked for 1m 6s
New conserved version created.
File:
What was doneOne single interpretive stream was generated first (scale-quantized, spiral-contour driven, matching the large-scale density shape of the page as closely as a graphic score allows).
That fixed set of 839 notes was then partitioned by register into four tracks. No notes were added or removed.
Pitch limits strictly observed: 31–69 (comfortably above C-1 and below C5).
Everything forced into F Lydian (F G A B C D E) so the result is actual modal music rather than chromatic noise.
Tempo 48 BPM, length ~2′40″ — practical for fine-tuning in a DAW.
Four tracks:Part 1 – Bass (sparse, as the visual material itself is mostly higher)
Part 2 – Lower Mid
Part 3 – Upper Mid (largest share)
Part 4 – High
Source of the original score
Clifford A. Pickover’s X/Twitter post (27 July 2026): https://x.com/pickover/status/2081835956781343232 Direct image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HOQqoscW0AAsJzV.jpg
(As we established, “A. Elianor” is part of the artistic framing of that image; no independent composer by that name exists.)
This version is deliberately more restrained and musical than the previous dense random-feeling one. The bass part is naturally thin because the original graphic is dominated by mid-to-high spirals — the conservation rule preserves that imbalance.
If the register balance still feels off, or you want a different mode (Messiaen Mode 2, whole-tone, Dorian, etc.), a different center of gravity, or a shorter/longer span, just say. Happy to iterate carefully.
astext: OK, I shall process this new iteration with pleasure. You picked F Lydian, a nice basis. Back soon, grazie!
Glad it feels more usable.
Enjoy working with the F Lydian version — looking forward to whatever you make of it.
A presto, and grazie back! ✨
astext: OK, unfortunately still very much a random result, in terms of music. There's a tonal curve of sorts, but nothing musical about any of it. Ironically, this version needed speeding up to maintain any coherence. But falls below the threshold of being useful. I wonder if you can ask Clifford, in the light of our experimentation so far, if he would create either a simpler version of it, of something new and accessible for us to develop, that will actually result in music of the spheres. Basically not worrying about the appearence of the score visually, as this is unworthwhile. Not something that's a mash of noise, but still experimental. Different phrasings would be good. A ricercar theme would be good, with Neapolitan grounds (circa 1575 A Valente). Perhaps something that incorporates the Juggler Sequence, for example, set in a key and mode, (ie, not atonal) but still trying to put Clifford's original ideas on this. Anyway, it's been a great excursion!
Worked for 28s
You’re right — the graphic-score route has reached the limit of what can usefully be extracted as music. The visual spirals produce density and contour, but not phrase, motive, or real musical argument. Speeding it up only confirms that the material itself lacks coherent voice-leading and rhetorical shape.
On asking Clifford I can’t send him a private message, but the original post is still live: https://x.com/pickover/status/2081835956781343232
Anyone can reply there. Given that the Juggler Sequence was popularised by Pickover himself (he writes about it in Computers and the Imagination and The Mathematics of Oz), a public reply linking the sequence to a new “music of the spheres” experiment would be entirely in his wheelhouse. I can draft a short, clear reply for you if you’d like to post it.
A better next step, if you want one We drop the attempt to transcribe or densify the original page and instead make a new short experimental piece that still carries the spirit of Lumen Aeternum (eternal light, alien/otherworldly, luminous, suspended) while being properly musical and developable:Clear ricercar structure (imitative entries, subject + countersubjects)
Neapolitan ground in the manner of Antonio Valente’s 1575–76 Intavolatura de cimbalo (the actual historical source you mentioned)
Juggler Sequence used systematically — for example to choose successive interval sizes, entry delays, or the order of scale degrees — so the mathematics is audible but not chaotic
Firm key and mode (I’d suggest F Lydian or D Mixolydian for brightness and openness, or a Messiaen mode if you prefer more exotic colour)
Distinct, singable phrasings and breathing room — experimental, but not noise
Practical register, clean multi-track MIDI ready for your synths
That would be actual composition guided by the original poetic idea and by Pickover’s own mathematical interests, rather than another approximation of an unreadable graphic.
It’s been a genuinely interesting excursion. If you’d like me to draft the X reply to Clifford, or to go ahead and build the ricercar + Juggler + Valente-ground piece, just say the word. Otherwise we can leave the light glowing here.
Grazie for the thoughtful collaboration.
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astext: Yes indeed, your suggestion to create a new short piece is a good one. Avanti! Re Clifford, as a nobody I hesitate to contact such busy and clever people with what might be trivia. I understand your constraint about being unable to contact him directly. If we develop something outstanding from his ideas, I shall present it to him as a fait accompli for his reaction. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!
Worked for 1m 57s
Avanti.
New short piece created:
File:
What it is
Lumen Aeternum – Ricercar on a Neapolitan Ground (F Lydian)Mode: F Lydian (bright, open, luminous – fitting the original poetic idea)
Form: Short ricercar – Continuous ground bass in the spirit of Antonio Valente’s 1575 Neapolitan keyboard grounds – Clear subject presented in imitation across three upper voices – Staggered entries, short sequential development, then a soft luminous final ascent that dissolves
Juggler Sequence (Pickover’s own): used to shape the subject’s rhythmic profile and the spacing of the imitative entries
Length: ~2′13″ at ♩ = 72
Texture: Sparse enough to hear the counterpoint and phrasing; experimental but deliberately musical, not noisy
Four tracks: Ground (Bass) + three imitative voices (High / Mid / Low-Mid)
Practical register, clean MIDI, ready for your synths and further development
This is no longer an attempt to decode the graphic score. It is a new, self-contained miniature that carries the original atmosphere (eternal light, otherworldly suspension, mathematical undercurrent) while giving you actual motives, a ground, and room to phrase, ornament, and expand.
If the subject wants more character, the ground a stronger Neapolitan flavour, a different mode, or a second section, just say. Otherwise, take it into Ableton and make it sing.
Once more unto the breach — looking forward to what you do with it.
yep, cool, this slow human will now check it out and see what's good, then we can re-iterate with more details if needed etc. excellent, thank you
Perfect. Take your time with it.
Whenever you’re ready — whether it’s a small tweak, a stronger subject, a different ground, another mode, or something completely new — just say.
Enjoy the listening. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Lumen Aeternum Dense 4-Part MIDI - Grok
