“I can hear the music coming from the hall. A fairly tale. A Christmas tree,” a robot voice sings.
Affectionately called “neural karaoke”, researchers from the University of Toronto have released the world’s first Christmas song composed and sung entirely by a computer using the image of a Christmas tree as input data.
The result is a bizarre and slightly unsettling jumble of awkward phrases set against a beguiling tune that neither begins nor ends. It just is, in all it’s weirdness, then stops with the most curious line of them all, “There are lots and lots and lots of flowers.”
The UofT research team created the neural network computer system to explore new ways that artificial intelligence (AI) can move beyond their use as chatbots, robot control, and automated stock trading.
The song was generated after researchers trained the program using over 100 hours of music found online. Using an image of a Christmas tree as the stimulus, they then set it up to generate the music in steps, choosing a key, melodic profile, meter, harmony, and then adding percussion.
In an interview with the Guardian, professors Raquel Urtasun and Sanja Fidler from Toronto’s computer science lab said they were interested in how such technology could enhance people’s lives. They imagined AI channels installed on music streaming services that users could use to create songs about the photos they upload. “It’s about what can deep learning do these days to make life more fun?” Fidler said.
Here it is in all its creepy weirdness:
#LUDWIGVAN
Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review before anyone else finds out? Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest.
- THE SCOOP | Royal Conservatory’s Dr. Peter Simon Awarded The Order Of Ontario - January 2, 2024
- THE SCOOP | Order of Canada Appointees Announced, Including Big Names From The Arts - December 29, 2023
- Ludwig Van Is Being Acquired By ZoomerMedia - June 12, 2023