So Haven't We "Heard" This Before?

[Greg Mein]

 

"A decade from now, music will be custom tailored for each listener..."

 

Brief article with no real details.

 

https://www.techspot.com/news/80509-decade-now-music-custom-tailored-each-listener.html

[RABid]

Isn't that already happening? Almost all online music sources builds sets based on listening history.

[Anderton]

Isn't that already happening? Almost all online music sources builds sets based on listening history.

 

Which I dislike INTENSELY. I want to hear things I haven't heard before, instead of having an inbred musical gene pool...

 

I can't wait until algorithms are smart enough to recommend something entirely different based on the kind of tempos and instrumentation I like. For example, if you're listening to Yes because you like all the complex harmonic interplay, maybe the algorithm should say "Interested in hearing a little Bach?"

 

But the article goes beyond that, by saying the music will be created to fit what the listener wants. Nothing new there - I go into the studio all the time to create the music I want to hear!!

[Greg Mein]

Isn't that already happening? Almost all online music sources builds sets based on listening history.

 

I could be way off base, the article is rather vague, but I got the impression they intended for chord progressions, instrumentation, melodies, etc. to change within the framework of songs according to a persons feelings or mood perhaps somehow using AI. Seems like it would be quite a feat.

[Anderton]

 

There have been several attempts at having computers "compose" music. These are usually accompanied by an audio example that...well, isn't very interesting. Even when computers dissect all the music from Bach or the Beatles and try to create something similar, it's just not the same.

 

As AI becomes more powerful, though, there's at least the potential that computers will be able to create, not just re-assemble or re-purpose existing music. And some of it might be kind of good in a new-agey, ambient kind of way. But where I think it will be impossible to fake the human experience is lyrics. Can a computer tell a story based on what happened to it that day? I doubt it.

 

At best, the kind of music talked about in the article will be more of a soundtrack to your life. So you'll be able to always feel like you're walking around in a supermarket

[KenElevenShadows]

Isn't that already happening? Almost all online music sources builds sets based on listening history.

 

Which I dislike INTENSELY. I want to hear things I haven't heard before, instead of having an inbred musical gene pool...

 

I actually like this feature for several reasons, even though this might seem to fly in the face of the diversity of music I embrace (for those who don't know, my music tastes range wildly from international music from what must be 100 different countries to psychedelic, reggae, metal, folk, weird experimental stuff, ambient, classic rock, and much more).

 

Part of it is because when I am listening to ambient music or another genre of music, I might want to have its algorithms keep that going.

 

The other reason is that I often want to explore a particular genre of music, and the suggestions are often quite helpful, not terribly unlike YouTube, where it brings up other related content that I might be interested in. I find myself discovering a lot of new stuff by going down those rabbit holes.

 

Now....I get what you are saying. There are times in which I wish its algorithms were firing from other aspects of the music. I would love to see a "switch" so that I could enable it to do that.

 

[nursers]

Yep agree Ken - particularly in respect of ambient stuff. I now have an enormous ambient playlist that I wouldn't have without the suggestions from Spotify etc. Being able to switch between related and totally random would be damn cool though, but the cynic in me says that will never happen because the 'randomness' will be weighted to the record companies that pay the most

[KenElevenShadows]

It works really well for stuff like that. I don't want to be jolted by hearing something else.

 

And if I am exploring specific genres, such as I do with Javanese gamelan or psychedelic rock, I want to go far down the rabbit hole and see what else comes up. It's adventurous that way. I don't disagree with what Craig is saying at all. I think that would be great. I am just saying that I do not necessarily dislike sets based on present choices or listening history.

[Anderton]

Yes, I can see that. I guess part of it is that I have so little time these days, I don't want to spend much of it in any one world.

 

But I don't picture radical shifts. If you like ambient music, maybe The Almighty Algorithm would suggest Debussy, or Morton Subotnik...or Enya, for that matter. You can always hit "next," right?

 

I was actually thinking of something more sophisticated. For example, I like Bob Marley. I like EDM. I like Led Zeppelin. So maybe The Almighty Algorithm would think "dude likes reggae, danceable music, things with lyrics and guitars...hey, let's feed him Kassav and see what he thinks."

[Mike Rivers]

 

And if I am exploring specific genres, such as I do with Javanese gamelan or psychedelic rock, I want to go far down the rabbit hole and see what else comes up. It's adventurous that way.

 

Although unintended, I find that YouTube often does that for me, but unlike the streaming services, things just don't play out automatically (thank goodness), I have to do a little work and choose what I want to listen to. Several times when I've done a generic search (I usually use DuckDuckGo these days) for a tune or a player, there's a YouTube video that shows up. When I play that, I see a bunch of other videos that are similar (and usually some that aren't very similar) and for more time than I wanted to, I've followed that rabbit. Sometimes I indeed discover something new that I want to remember.