Machine Learning Systems in Concert

My partner in crime (Dr. Bob Sturm) and I recently hosted a concert of music co-created with computers. The concert ended with the first performance of my piece Bastard Tunes:

Read about the composition process of this piece and about the research that went into creating the system.

'Folk' Tune 'Arrangements'

Standing on the shoulders of giants such as Bartok or Berio, I recently finished writing an ensemble piece titled Bastard Tunes. The piece was composed with the help of a machine learning system trained on transcriptions of Celtic music. The system produces short melodies that share many characteristics with the style it learned. But, with the possible exception of the fourth Bastard Tune, my piece applies more freedom in the way the system's output is used as compositional material. The piece will be premiered in a concert with other examples of music composed by and with computers.

Electronic Music - not so very new

120years.net provides a wealth of information on developments in electronic music. 

"The focus of this project is in exploring the main themes of electronic instrument design and development previous to 1970 (and therefore isn’t intended as an exhaustive list of recent commercial synthesisers or software packages.) As well as creating a free, encyclopaedic, pedagogical resource on the History of Electronic Music"

Correlation =/= causation

A useful illustration that if you search wide enough you can easily find 2 highly correlated variables:

 But that does not mean there is causal relations between them