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Artificial Intelligence Is The Next Big DJ

You may not know it yet, but our music is already highly reliant on artificial intelligence, from the AI DJs crafting mood-based scores for advertisements and movies to the AI algorithms behind your favorite game’s soundtrack. Even our personal assistants, Siri and Cortana, leverage a touch of AI to suggest music based on our preferences. Streaming services like Spotify take it a step further, using AI DJs to curate personalized playlists and deliver new music that hits all the right notes. But with AI’s growing role in music, the inevitable question arises: will AI DJs ever appreciate music the way we do? Can these complex algorithms surpass human creativity and truly DJ music better than any human could?

Artificial Intelligence has caught on pretty well on several fronts when it comes to music, especially party music. In fact we have an entire genre started which banks on AI – EDM, or electronic dance music. Most electronic music is actually produced thanks to automated software that serves the need of the world’s present-day DJs. How long before they take over the entire production process is anyone’s guess.

Related: DJ Software Compared: Traktor vs Serato vs Rekordbox

Can Artificial Intelligence Make Music? How?

Artificial intelligence employs multiple techniques to test music production, including the use of AI DJs. Tools like Liquid Notes, Quartet Generator, and Maestro Genesis leverage these AI DJs to capture the abstruse and conceptual idea of a not-yet-created music. These DJs then churn out melodies, experimenting with beat, tempo, instruments, and sounds. Once analyzed, the track is loaded, all the chords and notes are scrutinized, and a detailed harmonic analysis is presented. Chord progressions are used to fill in various gaps or override certain sections of the song, further refining the composition based on the DJ’s initial interpretation.

Many software kits involve the source code being used to add a playful or foot-tapping beat to certain sections of a song. Similar sections of the song are identified and revamped in the process. On some occasions, a certain section of a song can be replaced with the same tune in a different instrument. These are just a few examples of how AI DJs are being used in music, with efforts even underway to completely eliminate human involvement in electronic music creation.

Artificial Intelligence In Music

Artificial intelligence has a ton of other uses outside of assistance with music production, of course. AI assistants can learn your habits and mannerisms to respond to your mental state and deliver appropriate music at the right time. There are some uses cases in music therapy as well. Computational music reads into the anxiety of the patient and is used to minimize sleep disorder or angst. AI also helps composing music for games. For example, in Mario, different music is played throughout the game based on the activities performed by Mario and the level of energy it is able to preserve throughout the stages of the game.

Recently, Sony CSL Research Laboratory delivered a song inspired by The Beatles. Daddy’s Car, the first song created for the album is surprisingly good and fresh despite being machine generated. It has qn acoustic feel to it. There’s even distortion towards the end of the song which oddly strikes chords of similarity with Sgt Pepper. In contrast to this, we have ‘Mister Shadow’, another song from the album has a completely different raphsodious and jazz feel. The Complete Album is up for release in 2017.

AI Vs DJs

Tools such as Pandora and Echonest can easily replace DJs at nightclubs and dance clubs with their audio-changing and music DNA tracking abilities. Algoriddim – the DJ software company behind Djay Pro, available on Mac, iPad and iOS – has partnered with Spotify to give us what it claims is a next generation DJ experience. Algoriddim will assist users with finding the next track to play at a party using artificial intelligence – which is usually one of the biggest challenges if you’re a disk jockey. Match, a new feature on this partnered venture recommends tracks that go well with whatever is playing currently. Track recommendations are based on dance ability, key, music style and how well the current song playing can blend into the next one to ensure smooth transition. Auto mix Radio automatically mixes these tracks based on the beat matched

Virtual DJ software interference
Interface of Virtual DJ – source

Will AI ‘Contribute’ to music?

Despite how intriguing and forward-thinking the inclusion of technology and music can be, especially when it comes to creation of music, replacing a human with an AI DJ or artificial Intelligence will also be controversial. While technology is everywhere, there are many who’d like the domain of arts to remain isolated.

Now you may assume that serious musicians would hate the idea. But a surprisingly large of number of composers have also given this a favorable nod. 2012 was when an entire album was released by Iamus – the music generating computer. It is the first computer cluster to have generated its own style of music and is being seen as the replacement to Mozart. Classical music is Iamus’ forte.

Iamus – source

Here’s hoping you save your money instead of hiring a DJ for your next college party.

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