Kirkman Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Does anyone remember using an old software program called "Music Creator" from 1989? It was distributed by Computer Music Supply (CMS Inc), and came in two versions: "Music Creator Apprentice" and "Music Creator Professional." "Music Creator" was one of the early attempts at algorithmic composing. The idea was to extract chords, melodies, and rhythms from familiar songs and allow the user re-combine those elements to create brand new music. The software was developed by Yaakov Kirschen under his firms "Just For You, Inc" and "LKP Ltd." He got some press coverage of his technology in 1988, in the LA Times for example. At that time, their hope was to sell it as a turnkey system to TV and video producers as a cheaper alternative for creating background music, etc. When that didn't work out, I think they teamed up with CMS to sell the software directly to consumers. CMS basically bundled the software with the MIDI interfaces and other hardware that were their primary products. Anyway, I have been researching this software and its creator for quite some time. I've managed to track down and interview a handful of folks who used the early versions of the technology, such as editor Ron Frank, who used it in part to create music for a television documentary called "Treblinka's Ivan The Terrible: The Demjanjuk Dossier." But I'd really love to find anyone who may have used the consumer product "Music Creator" back in the day. This may be a tall order -- clearly Music Creator wasn't very successful, and the software has not survived in any archive that I can find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokely Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 Racking my brain but I don't think I've heard of this. I was just getting into sequencing and software at the time, at first with Apple (Vision, Sound Designer, Performer) and then some Dos programs (Voyetra, later Cakewalk). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkman Posted January 12, 2021 Author Share Posted January 12, 2021 FWIW, here are a couple mentions from 1989. Maybe they'll jog somebody's memory. Two Usenet messages from 1989 discuss some of the problems with Music Creator. One of several ads placed in PC Magazine during 1989. The headline says "The first creative music studio," with the subhead "Enjoy the fun of making music without any musical knowledge or skills." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 "Enjoy the fun of making music without any musical knowledge or skills." Obviously ahead of their time... Quote Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Wow. Usenet, MT32, Hercules Graphics Adapter, VGA as an emerging standard. That first link is a snapshot of me in the 1980s. Old. Old. Old. Quote Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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