Sounds of Artificial Intelligence in Music by Reni Stephen
Welcome to the podcast on the incredible influence of artificial intelligence on the world of music composition and production. In this podcast, we will dive into the fascinating ways AI reshapes the music industry.
In this bite-sized podcast series, we’ll take you through the most innovative and mind-bending applications of AI in music. Whether you’re a music lover, a tech enthusiast, or just curious about the future of sound, this podcast will introduce you to the harmonious fusion of creativity and technology.
So, plug in your headphones and get ready to explore the world of AI in music with us.
Podcast Transcript
00:00:10
Hi friends, I’m Reni.
00:00:13
In this episode, I’m going to talk about the influence of AI or artificial intelligence in music production.
00:00:20
So I’m not going to dive deeper into all the technical details of different services or tools that are currently used in the market, but I believe that it is better that we understand what is the latest technological trends that is happening in the industry, not to mention explore them.
00:00:36
You know if we find them interesting. Over the next few minutes, we are going to start by looking into the influence of AI in music composition and also the influence of AI in the other aspects of music production such as the mixing and mastering process.
00:00:52
Finally, we look into the role of humans in this AI-dominated or influenced world. So with that, we are going to conclude this small episode.
00:01:01
Now imagine a realm where computers not only comprehend the intricacies of musical composition but also possess the ability to generate melodies, harmonies, and rhythms that evoke genuine emotions.
00:01:14
So this is the realm of AI in music, production, or creation.
00:01:19
Now when we say AI or artificial intelligence, what exactly that we mean by that?
00:01:25
So AI or artificial intelligence refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence.
00:01:34
When it comes to the realm of music, AI has emerged as a powerful ally, pushing the boundaries of creativity and opening new doors of possibilities.
00:01:44
These AI systems and tools use different types of algorithms and machine learning techniques, and they can analyze vast amounts of musical data, whether it is classical masterpieces to contemporary hits, now it can discern patterns, understand musical structures, and even predict what nodes or codes are likely to come next.
00:02:05
So this ability to learn from existing music provides a foundation for AI to create original compositions that sound remarkably human.
00:02:14
But AI in music creation and production goes beyond just generating music.
00:02:20
It can aid musicians and producers in the creative process by suggesting, you know, innovative chord progressions, crafting unique sound textures, or generating melodies that inspire.
00:02:31
So we can say it acts as a creative or collaborative partner, you know, augmenting human creativity and enabling us to explore the uncharted Sonic territories.
00:02:41
Moreover, you know, AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the entire music production industry, not just the composition or creation part.
00:02:50
You know it can revolutionize. It has the potential to revolutionize the entire music production industry including the mixing and mastering process.
00:02:57
Nowadays there are tools and services which can automate tasks such as you know, audio mixing and mastering which saves a lot of time and effort for artists and producers.
00:03:07
You can also enhance the live performances enabling real-time improvisations and interaction between musicians and intelligent systems.
00:03:17
These systems are trained to generate original compositions across different styles, whether it’s a contemporary style or a classical style with the help of different algorithms and machine learning techniques.
00:03:29
Now the interesting fact is that these systems, are trained to work based on user’s input and preferences, which means even if the user is not satisfied with the output generated by the system, they are able to modify the input parameters or the preferences and system will work again based on the updated preferences of user and you know it will create new melody based on that.
00:03:55
Now let’s look some of the algorithms that are used in these AI systems. I’m just mentioning a couple of those here, but they are not just limited by these.
00:04:03
First, Recurrent Neural Networks or RNN.
00:04:07
Second, Generative Adversary Networks or GANS.
00:04:10
Third, Variational Autoencoder or VAS, 4th Reinforcement Learning or RL.
00:04:18
Fifth, Rule Based Systems. Recurrent Neural Networks or RNN.
00:04:24
They are often used for sequential data modeling in music generation, so they can capture temporal dependencies and generate coherent musical sequences.
00:04:34
Generative Adversarial Networks or GANS.
00:04:38
Now it actually consists of two parts. There will be a generator and a discriminator.
00:04:42
Now the generator is strained in such a way that it will create music and so that it will trick the discriminator into believing that this is something created by humans.
00:04:58
Variation Autoencoders – They are used for generating music by learning the latent space representation of music, and they can generate new music by sampling from the learned latent space.
00:05:09
Reinforcement Learning or RL. RL algorithms can be applied to music generation by training an agent to learn the optimal sequence of actions, which is something like notes or chords etc, in response to a given context or reward signal.
00:05:25
Finally, there is Rule Based Systems in addition to AI techniques.
00:05:29
Rule-based systems are often used to enforce specific musical rules and constraints in the generated music such as harmonies, chord progressions or rhythm patterns, etc.
00:05:41
Some of the AI-based music creation software or tools are Boomy, Humtap, Orb Composer, Mellow Drive, etc.
00:05:52
Let me show you how simple it is to create music out of nothing, literally from scratch.
00:05:56
You can create music even if you don’t know any basic music theory or knowledge.
00:06:01
Still you can create music using these kinds of you know, applications or software.
00:06:07
For that let me just guide you through an example.
00:06:12
Just Google boomy.com and you can see a beautiful interface.
00:06:17
Right now.
00:06:20
You might be seeing there’s an option called create in the top part of the interface right now just click the create button.
00:06:28
It will give you a couple of options from which you can choose.
00:06:33
It will give you a couple of different types of genres like whether it’s a Pop, whether it’s an EDM or Rap or there are a couple of options out there, right?
00:06:43
Even you can you can preview what each style sounds like.
00:06:48
Now select the one that you like the most and click next.
00:06:53
Again, it will ask you a couple more questions related to the genre that you opted and you know, choose the one that you like the most.
00:07:01
That’s it!
00:07:02
Then click the submit button.
00:07:03
Now you might be seeing the system, you know they will be creating, and generating music for you.
00:07:09
Wait for a couple of seconds and there it will be.
00:07:11
You know, you can hear, you know, beautiful melody or music that is created by a system for you.
00:07:19
Now if you look at the influence of AI in the other aspects of music production such as the mixing and mastering processes, normally it actually takes a lot of time and effort to work on a single track.
00:07:28
But thankfully with the arrival of these AI-based tools and services, it actually reduced the overall time and effort to work on a single track and it actually enhances the audio quality in a much better way.
00:07:40
And we can say it actually consists throughout, you know, each different track in a single, you know, music file and moreover you know it is accessible to everybody irrespective of their status in the music industry, whether they are a pro musician or just a beginner in the industry.
00:07:57
These tools and services are accessible to everybody at an affordable price.
00:08:02
One example that I want to mention here is the product Isotope Neutron, which is actually a plugin.
00:08:07
It’s a mastering plugin that you know industry professionals use nowadays.
00:08:12
And a plugin is something that we use inside a DAW.
00:08:16
DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation.
00:08:22
So a platform or a tool that we musicians create music and everything.
00:08:27
So some other AI-based mixing and mastering plugins or tools.
00:08:32
Services include a Lander, isotope, neutron, syro mix master etc.
00:08:38
And all.
00:08:40
Now coming to the point of the role of humans in this AI-influenced or dominated world.
00:08:46
So it’s a relevant question nowadays to ask whether we still need humans in this creative process.
00:08:51
So if you look over the years, we can see the advancement happening in this AI-based tools and services, right?
00:08:57
So it is a valid question to ask whether we still need humans in this creative industry and all.
00:09:02
My answer to the question is you know, while AI technology has made great improvement over the years and is capable of generating original compositions in a variety of musical styles, there are still many aspects of the musical process that actually require human input and creativity, at least for now.
00:09:20
Maybe things might change in the future, but as of now you know we still need human input and creativity in this process.
00:09:28
Now I just want to point out two main reasons why we still need humans in the creative industry.
00:09:35
Firstly, these AI systems cannot replicate the full range of human emotions.
00:09:40
Now when we speak about human emotions, its very diverse and complex.
00:09:44
Even we are not able to comprehend the full depth of human emotions.
00:09:49
And you know, music is one way that we express our emotions all right?
00:09:52
So it has to be that precise and perfect.
00:09:56
And these systems as of now are not yet capable of replicating the full range or full depth.
00:10:01
So in that context we still need humans.
00:10:04
Secondly, these AI systems are not yet capable of understanding the context and meaning of the music they generate.
00:10:12
Now, music is not just a collection of random nodes and rhythms and all that, but it is also deeply rooted in the cultural and historical context in which it is created.
00:10:22
So in order to create truly great music, these systems would need to be able to understand and incorporate these cultural and historical elements into their compositions.
00:10:32
Based on these two points, I believe we still need human involvement in this creative industry, at least for now.
00:10:39
As conclusion, I want to focus that these AI tools can be called creative partner.
00:10:45
And yes, they increase work efficiency and productivity in a significant way and also they boost our creativity and open new possibilities to us.
00:10:55
Thank you.
