The modern music industry depends critically on computers. The development of conventional digital computing technology for music has been progressing in tandem with the evolution of computers since the 1950s. Therefore, future developments in quantum computing are most likely to impact the way in which musicians will create, perform, and conduct research.

Classical computers manipulate information represented in terms of binary digits, each of, which can be equal to 1 (on) or 0 (off). They work with microprocessors made up of billions of tiny switches that are activated by electric signals. In contrast, a quantum computer deals with information in terms of quantum bits (qubits), which can operate at the subatomic level. In other words, they directly work in the realm of quantum physics. Since they can run algorithms that are non-tractable to run on digital computers, quantum computers are surfacing as a promising disruptive technology.

Advances in Quantum Computer Music collates a comprehensive collection of chapters by pioneers of emerging interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of quantum computing and music. Together, these pioneers hope to anticipate and prototype the unprecedented new uses for this technology that are bound to emerge from their cutting-edge research.