{"667941":{"#nid":"667941","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New App Uses AI to Enable Anyone to Make Musical Mashups","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EImagine if the Police\u2019s \u201cEvery Little Thing She Does Is Magic\u201d opened Michael Jackson\u2019s \u201cBeat It,\u201d then Cardi B\u2019s \u201cBodak Yellow\u201d riff blended with Jackson. This mix isn\u2019t an impossible fantasy, but a reality with Mixboard, a tablet application that lets users without musical or editing experience create the songs of their dreams.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe app comes out of the Georgia Institute of Technology\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtcmt.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Music Technology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E whose director, Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/music.gatech.edu\/gil-weinberg\u0022\u003EGil Weinberg\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E and his students have been developing a mashup tool for years. Now, technology has finally caught up with their original vision. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), the app sources artists the user might not naturally pair and finds the best parts of the song for the mashup. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cI think everyone can become creative with music,\u201d Weinberg said. \u201cMaybe not everyone knows all the theory that is required to compose a piece of music on a note level, but almost all people like music. If we give them a very easy way to put songs in different places, they can create something unique.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe researchers presented their work in the paper \u201cMixboard \u2014 A Co-Creative Mashup Application for Novices\u201d at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nime2023.org\/\u0022\u003EInternational Conference of New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2023)\u003C\/a\u003E in May. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaking Mashups\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETo make a mashup, users drag and drop up to four songs from either Spotify or the Mixboard music library into vocals, bass, chords, and drum segments for up to 32 bars. The experience is inherently visual and lets users follow along as the app mixes their song choices, rendering in mere seconds. When finished, users can download and share their unique track.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cI worked on pretty much all parts of the project, from web interface and back end to making a brand-new iOS app,\u201d said Raghavasimhan \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESankaranarayanan, a Ph.D. student in music technology. \u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI am passionate about building stuff that is robust and production ready.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAI DJ\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe AI enables users to focus on developing the song instead of worrying about technical aspects and music theory. The app uses open-source music information retrieval libraries to determine song tempo, keys, and music stems, which help break down the song into individual mixes. The algorithm can stretch the sound to match the tempo or transpose keys to ensure both songs are in the same key. The researchers also provide templates of basic song structures to help users create an appealing track. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThe more we focus on developing AI for creative purposes, the more it can be inspiring and seen as a unique input humans couldn\u2019t provide,\u201d Weinberg said. \u201cTogether, with your own creativity and the AI creative input, the mashup can be something unique and new that you wouldn\u0027t create only by yourself.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMixing in User Feedback\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETo ensure Mixboard was functional, the researchers conducted user surveys, led by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mshci.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EHuman-Computer Interaction\u003C\/a\u003E master\u2019s student Tommy Ottolin. Their studies evaluated the web interface with 45 subjects between the ages 18 and 27, excluding anyone with more than a year of music mixing or composition experience. Participants were given 30 minutes to test Mixboard. Next, they completed a semi-structured interview with the researchers followed by a 20-question survey using a five-point Likert scale asking about things like how much creative control users felt they had or how easy the app was to use.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cObserving people interact with our\u0026nbsp;Mixboard\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan\u003Eevokes a range of emotions in me, including pride, nervousness, and excitement,\u201d said Qinying Lei, a music technology master\u2019s graduate. \u201cI\u0027m so happy to see users become captivated by\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan\u003EMixboard\u003C\/span\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan\u003Eand surprised by the unique music they produce.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMixboard\u2019s Future\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhile the researchers continue to refine the app\u2019s automation and improve iOS functionality, they also see much bigger potential than just a lab experiment. They hope to commercialize the app but are limited less by technology and more by licensing constraints. Weinberg has consulted with Kobi Abayomi, former senior vice president for Data Science at Warner Music Group, now head of Science for Gumbel Demand Acceleration and an Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts advisory board member.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cMusic rights holders should see apps like Mixboard as marketing opportunities, not licensing plays,\u201d he said. \u201cGetting people to have an increased affinity for music, or specifically your type of music, is what forward-thinking music marketing is all about.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EUltimately, though, Mixboard is about democratizing access to music production and showing that anyone can be creative.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cListening to the generated mashups getting better and better with each modification to our algorithm was amazing,\u201d said Nitin Hugar, a music technology master\u2019s graduate. \u201cIt was also fun to try and mash up the most improbable songs: an Indian song with African beats and some jazz chords was definitely not what I had thought would sound good together, but I was proven wrong many times. This project made me appreciate how music from different regions of the world are interconnected.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETo make a mashup, users drag and drop up to four songs from either Spotify or the Mixboard music library into vocals, bass, chords, and drum segments for up to 32 bars. The experience is inherently visual and lets users follow along as the app mixes their song choices, rendering in mere seconds. When finished, users can download and share their unique track.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mixboard is a tablet application that lets users without musical or editing experience create the songs of their dreams."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2023-05-30 20:08:46","changed_gmt":"2023-05-30 20:12:38","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-05-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-05-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"670900":{"id":"670900","type":"image","title":"Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 4.08.10 PM.png","body":null,"created":"1685477339","gmt_created":"2023-05-30 20:08:59","changed":"1685477339","gmt_changed":"2023-05-30 20:08:59","alt":"Mixboard inteface","file":{"fid":"253865","name":"Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 4.08.10 PM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%204.08.10%20PM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%204.08.10%20PM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1060739,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/05\/30\/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%204.08.10%20PM.png?itok=VMGwNWj0"}}},"media_ids":["670900"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["tess.malone@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}