From robot composers to algorithms that suggest our next listen, artificial intelligence is playing more and more of a role in our listening habits.
I recently read this article and listened to the music of jazz pianist and coder Dan Tepfer, who composes with help and inspiration from artificial intelligence. His own creativity and effort is behind it all - not only is he a world-renowned jazz pianist, but he also writes the programs that enable a modified Yamaha piano to interpret and respond to his improvisational ideas. Here’s a link to an improvisation over the chord progression of ‘All the Things You Are’ from his album ‘Natural Machines’. All the recordings on the album are improvisations of Dan interacting with the piano that is producing sound according to his programming. This is how he explains it: “In Natural Machines, instead of composing a piece, I decide the way a piece works. I program simple rules for the computer to follow when responding to what I play. Since I’m improvising, I’m always listening to what the computer is playing and responding to it as well. So the rules end up affecting me, too.”
I looked into the subject further and found many more projects that explore the role of artificial intelligence in music. ‘On the Edge’ is AI-composed soundtrack music. It’s actually a product of a company called AIVA that sells AI-composed music to companies that need copyright-free music for marketing purposes. Their website presents their ‘music’ engine ‘A Creative Assistant for Composers and Creators’, and advertise ‘Whether you are an amateur or a seasoned professional, AIVA assists you in your creative process. Create compelling themes for your projects faster than ever before, by leveraging the power of AI-generated music.’ You can even sign up free for a basic plan and create your own. I haven’t tried yet, but I sure am curious.
Here’s another example called ‘Daddy’s Car’, composed in the style of The Beatles by a system called ‘Flow Machines’ which was developed by a research lab under a grant from the European Union. “The researchers have developed FlowMachines, a system that learns music styles from a huge database of songs. Exploiting unique combinations of style transfer, optimization and interaction techniques, FlowMachines composes novel songs in many styles.”
What do you think about the idea of artificial intelligence being involved in creating music? What do you think about the music from ‘Natural Machines’? What oother examples have you heard of music composed by artificial intelligence?
Here’s my own personal take… I think the idea is fascinating. Music is unfathomably complex and emotional, yet many aspects that make great music great CAN actually be articulated, explained, and even quantified. Therefore it seems possible and exciting that we could translate some of these ideas to a language that a computer could understand and create from.
However, my gut reaction to the pieces I’ve heard with artificial intelligence falls flat. Part of this may be do my own gaps in musical experience. In response to Dan Tepfer’s Natural Machines, I thought the idea was so amazing, and he is an amazing pianist and composer, but the music improvised with the computer just didn’t grab me. That said, I have limited listening experience in the realm of jazz piano, and familiarity with a genre certainly makes us more likely to enjoy it. The soundtrack piece ‘On The Edge’ I found relatively convincing as potential background music to a main visual attraction. It could potentially add to the experience of a movie. But it wouldn’t cause me to rush to my phone to look up who the composer is and listen to his other works. The Beatles-style piece ‘Daddy’s Car’ left me unsettled. There is just something not quite right--even creepy--about it that I can’t explain.
A more subtle role that AI plays in music is in algorithm-based listening platforms like Spotify and YouTube. I personally have no conflict with AI’s influences on the human-created music that I discover. Even though I usually listen intentionally to a certain song, album, or artists, sometimes it’s nice to let platforms guide my exploration. When I really want to explore and find new sounds it’s great to be able to put a little effort into liking or discarding suggestions, and little by little having my personal radio channels tuned to my mood.
What do you think of platforms that suggest your next listen or view? Does that feature enhance your experience or annoy you? Have you discovered any artists that you love based on suggestions of such platforms?
