An improved global-best harmony search algorithm

This paper introduces an improved global-best harmony search (IGHS) algorithm. The proposed modifications effectively combines a novel improvisation scheme with a previously developed mechanism for updating the pitch adjustment rate (PAR) and the distance bandwidth (bw). The aim of this modification is to efficiently investigate the search space by going through the stages of exploration and exploitation. The proposed algorithm is compared against seven previous modifications to HS using rigorous statistical tests when applied to the CEC05 benchmark functions showing a superior performance on most of the tested functions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.