Applications of Neural Networks to Music Generation
By Anna Mikhailova
Note: this page is incomplete.
Music generation, alternatively termed algorithmic composition, or music synthesis, is the process of generating music via an algorithm (i.e. some formal set of rules). Algorithmic music composition has been a part of the human experience for millennia – transcending cultures and continents. It ranges from any music that is generated without human interference – e.g. wind chimes – to music generated by intelligent systems. The application of neural networks to music generation poses particular interest due to the similarity between music composition and natural language structuring. A similar challenge to that of language is that any given instance of “music” can contain more than just one music unit (i.e. a note). It can consist of several notes together (a chord) and/or other qualities such as volume, much like language. The creation of “convincing” music, or music that sounds like it could be naturally produced by a human, is riddled with challenges. Although not all algorithmic music has aimed to produce human-like creations, that goal has been at the forefront of ongoing research.
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A Brief History
In the absence of modern technology (pre-1700), the precursor to what we nowadays refer to as algorithmic music was automatic music – music arising from naturally, or automatically, occurring processes. Automatic music generation has allegedly been a human obsession since biblical times. Legend has it that King David hung a lyre above his bed to catch the wind at night, and thus produce music[1]. These wind instruments, known as Aeolian harps[1] have been found throughout history in China, Ethiopia, Greece, Indonesia, India, and Melanesia[1]. Music generated by the wind exists to this day, in the form of wind chimes, which first appeared in Ancient Rome, and later on in the 2nd century CE in India and China [2]. Their Japanese counterpart, the fūrin, has been in use since the Edo Period [3]. The Japanese also had the Suikinkutsu [4], a water instrument, also originating in the middle of the Edo Period.
