Abstract: Methods and system for music generation. One method comprises defining a phrase structure and a metrical layout, and generating a melody based on the phrase structure and the metrical layout using a probabilistic model of contour-sequences in a machine learning model. The probabilistic model includes a plurality of production rules determined by the machine learning model trained on a dataset of hierarchical analyses, and the contour-sequences defining directional patterns between musical notes extracted from the dataset of hierarchical analyses.