Virtual composer makes beautiful music—and stirs controversy

[A.Leung]

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/09/virtual-composer-makes-beautiful-musicand-stirs-controversy.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

[peter5992]

Yeah - did you see that too? Kind of interesting, though I doubt we'll all be out of work soon. ;)

[ChemicalReaper]

If it can beat me to writing in the style of Ennio Morricone, then I will submit my talents to the virtual composer. But I highly doubt it will because I've already been studying Morricone's music, so I have a head start, hahaha!

[MichaelJM]

Really fascinating article; thanks.

Listened to some of the pieces by the earlier EMI machine (geeze, that's weird to say). Some sounded a little too close to the original pieces they were based off of. The new machine sounds really interesting in that it sounds like it adds the.. dare I say it... element of creativity.

I find it really interesting that someone is attempting to give a computer creativity. I think that's inherently impossible right now though. Just another example though of how computers are becoming more human! :eek: :p

[Peterkjones]

Interesting; no doubt possible - but what's the point of it exactly?
"New computer game plays Atlanta better then Tiger Woods!!!!!!" Oh well, I'm not going to bother watching the Open then!

[Armadillo]

Interesting; no doubt possible - but what's the point of it exactly?
"New computer game plays Atlanta better then Tiger Woods!!!!!!" Oh well, I'm not going to bother watching the Open then!

What's the point?

A guy who owns EMI could bang out compositions in 20min. that would take you two days and get paid for it.
Sounds like a good enough reason for me. :D
Honestly, the Tiger woods comparison does not hold water. A producer doesn't care how the composition you have made for his tv show is done as long as it sounds great and you have made his outrageous deadline. It's not like the producer demands to see how the music was made. Golf is a sport played by people who are competing against each other - completely different.
Sure, I doubt this EMI program will ever be able to copy an advanced composition by John Williams, but for something less complex it might just do the job.
If computers had "no point" in doing music then why are we not still hand drawing cartoons instead of using CGI for films. Ok, so computers don't just generate the whole of "Toy story 2" based on a few lines of code telling it to be similar to "Toy story 1" but it's not like they have to hand draw the whole sequel from scratch either.

[mezzoforte]

EMI is dead, long live Emily Howell! How well does she write? I would like to have a listen to her beautiful pieces. I would like too see what her inventor is talking about when proclaiming "'her' own style and music that is really excellent." So far, it looks like it's only him who thinks it is.
Anyways, how well Emily writes is pretty unimportant, me thinks. In restaurants they could use machines to prepare meal. But who will eat it?

[A.Leung]

.
Anyways, how well Emily writes is pretty unimportant, me thinks. In restaurants they could use machines to prepare meal. But who will eat it?

If a machine in a restaurant cooked delicious food people would eat it. Machines build cars and people buy and drive them.

[Jeff Hayat]

Machines build cars....

Right - but people design them.

[mezzoforte]

If a machine in a restaurant cooked delicious food people would eat it.
If they could, they would; but since they can't, they don't.

Machines build cars and people buy and drive them.
People use many machine-made things. Based on that, are you implying that they should like machine-made music? Cars (shoes, pens,) are used regardless of the tool that made them, whether it was automatic (machine) or not. For some reason, that is not the case when it comes to music. Machines make music for some time now; nobody buys.

[ChemicalReaper]

So in ten or fifteen years, you mean to tell me I'll be competing with sweatshop composers from China and a music-making Cylon? Great...

[A.Leung]

So in ten or fifteen years, you mean to tell me I'll be competing with sweatshop composers from China and a music-making Cylon? Great...

Lol. Most likely...

[givemenoughrope]

I don't if or how this fits in to the discussion but the sound coming out of the vent above the urinal in the upstairs men's room in Canters is like the best "sound design" I've ever heard. Nothing like old ventilation systems and fans...it's like an instant Eraserhead soundtrack.

[RyanS]

Great. Another composer that's better than me... and this one's not even human.

I'll just be throwing all my gear out the window then.

Ryan

[A.Leung]

I don't if or how this fits in to the discussion but the sound coming out of the vent above the urinal in the upstairs men's room in Canters is like the best "sound design" I've ever heard. Nothing like old ventilation systems and fans...it's like an instant Eraserhead soundtrack.

Made me think of this vacuum cleaner I heard the other day. It had the most eerie wind sound - like total desolation on an alien and barren world. So cool!

[peter5992]

This whole discussion kind of reminds me of Deep Blue by IBM, and the famous / infamous chess game against Gary Kasparov. Remember that one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Blue_(chess_computer)

Guess there is a difference though ... music is ultimately playing to the human emotion, whereas chess is more math / strategy. Well, to be honest, I don't play chess so I can't say for sure. But that is my (perhaps uneducated) opinion.

[givemenoughrope]

Made me think of this vacuum cleaner I heard the other day. It had the most eerie wind sound - like total desolation on an alien and barren world. So cool!

Totally. Old vacuums...old metal chairs/tables have like 100 different horror sounds in each one....

[mezzoforte]

Cars make nice noises too; breathtaking even, at times. The highways, continuously staging magnificent symphonies. Trains and subways too, sound designing off the ground and into the ground. Also, vacuums, urinal vents, chairs, tables, fans - all awe-inspiring music makers. Welcome to the machine.

I still long to see Emily play. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4436399338243841474#

[nikolas]

You know...

We are missing a couple of "infamous" members on such discussions. Nicky and Software/synesthesia/etc... (you had mutliple acounts that guy...).

[OneThrow]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Nickolas - You are missing Nicky? ;) :D

[A.Leung]

I think he's still around Nikolas. Closer than you think. :)

[Daryl]

Think that the people who could be put out of business by this machine, are the ones with little talent, writing the lowest common denominator media cr*p; compositionally painting by numbers. ;)

As far as original music is concerned, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, so the computer may write some good stuff that's worth listening to.

D

[nikolas]

On the matter at hand. As a research study it's always interesting. If there comes a time that there can be music with "no inspiration" (thus with no human input) which is really interesting and truly a "masterpiece", then there will be some interesting times, about teaching. Since these pieces will be, necessarily based on rules, then those rules should be possible to be taught, and... well... you get the idea.

On my previous comment, I was just refering to some older members, who have been arguing about this very issue for a very long time, that's all. I don't miss any of those ugly threads...

[OneThrow]

I don't miss any of those ugly threads...

Here, here.

It is nice to have a reasoned discussion about such things.

[mezzoforte]

Gotta love machines. They make beautiful music—and don't stir controversy. Machines are fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4eLl12fvko&feature=response_watch