MOTUnation.com

Neural networks do music now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/arts ... iting.html

Those examples seem pretty uninspiring to me. Remember Microsoft Songsmith?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oGFogwcx-E

Maybe they can create scores based on existing parameters, but they will never off commentary, psychological insight, or true innovation. F#%^ 'em...

About as jumbled and featureless as the neural network images:

cuttime wrote:About as jumbled and featureless as the neural network images:

OMG! Looks an awful lot like my internal neural network. Maybe my music sucks...

This curious drive to remove the human from the musical composition process has been going on for years, and folks investigating such things have received applause, support, and degrees for such "specialties" from academic institutions for quite some time. It makes me feel a little sick, and always has.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_composition

Terry

I don't see any cause for concern or even annoyance here. What is most fascinating is the process of getting a machine to "learn". It will always be limited by the abilities of the programmers to construct and develop the process. It is a profound opportunity to understand more about how music is constructed, but also-- in some ways, how we learn. The resulting music seems to run the gamut from laughably bad, to strange/off, to impressive, to ALMOST indistinguishable from human-made. I've certainly heard enough student work that has similar qualities to AI compositions. I'm not knocking the students. But perhaps that is an apt comparison. A machine, incorporating analysis of numerous compositions, and a student who is often writing notation without much review and revision-- similar results.

Not so long ago, a creative idealist would strive to make "art for Arts's sake". Whether it was a score for a film, or a song inspired by a loved one, a piece to be played by a local instrumental ensemble, or some improvised piece that scratches the itch-- it wasn't about selling something else. The concept of staying "pure" or "not selling out" has sadly become passé. Now, when an artist uses their music and fame to sell makeup, underwear, or motor vehicles; there isn't the traditional sense of artistic compromise, it is rather seen solely as a sign of their success. [EDIT: not to knock people who earn their living this way-- but can we say that there is pure art at one end, and pure commercialism at the other; and some range of grey area in between?]

It wouldn't be such a bad thing if composers could take all the cherry gigs that require beautiful music, and leave AI to take the worst kinds of gigs, e.g. puppy-fur coat commercials, etc.

At the end of the day, we won't have much choice about whether to "make room" for our robot overlords. We like drum machines, we like orchestral sample libraries, some people like loop machines that give you push-button music without risks (not me, per se); but as long as people love composing music and people love feeling a connection to an artist, I think we're ok.

stubbsonic wrote: It is a profound opportunity to understand more about how music is constructed, but also-- in some ways, how we learn.

A very good point that I had not considered. Along these lines, here is an interesting Guardian Science Weekly that examines in-depth how music affects the brain:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/aud ... in-podcast
Somehow I think Shooshie's ears are prickling and he has something to say...

It was Mozart who (alledgedly) did it with dice and showed us how. If not Mozart, it was someone:

http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/Mozar ... ceGame.htm

stubbsonic wrote:I don't see any cause for concern or even annoyance here. ...

I agree.

If you want to become really concerned, there's always this:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/20/art ... ce=Twitter

Yes: Mozart & dice.

If I want a machine to make music I'll hire a grad student...

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Yes: Mozart & dice.

If I want a machine to make music I'll hire a grad student...

My daughter is now on the faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts—everybody's a grad student. She got a kick out of that one.

mikehalloran wrote:

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:Yes: Mozart & dice.

If I want a machine to make music I'll hire a grad student...

My daughter is now on the faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts—everybody's a grad student. She got a kick out of that one.

Well, Mozart can have his dice. I still use birds on a wire like this guy did.



Terry

There's more than one way to skin a cat!

mikehalloran wrote:It was Mozart who (alledgedly) did it with dice and showed us how. If not Mozart, it was someone:

http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/MozartDiceGame.htm

The Mozart/Dice link was double-pasted, so the link was broken (fixed above).

stubbsonic wrote:http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/MozartDiceGame.htm

The Mozart/Dice link was double-pasted, so the link was broken (fixed above).

Thanks. I was having internet problems at the time.

I'm sure that whoever wrote this meant well... I think it's kind of silly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_composition