Back in 1979, the first-ever all-digitally-recorded album “Bop ‘Til You Drop” was released by US R&B singer-songwriter Ry Cooder. It heralded in a new age of music recording and production, which saw the analog era of magnetic tape slowly fade into an 8-track memory.
Interestingly, while digital products produced a pure, crystal clear sound reproduction, they became almost too pure. What it lacked was the warmth and ‘presence’ that was characteristic of the analog recording process. In that sense, it was the difference between the creamy warmth of a tube amp compared to the surgical clarity of a transistor amplifier.
It was soon learned that presence could be artificially recreated in the digital studio environment while purists stuck to condenser microphones and Marshalls to create a palette of warm creamy overtones the natural way.
The current catch-cry in high tech is artificial intelligence and intuitive technology, and there are applications and potentials here for the future of music.
The AI phenomenon
Artificial intelligence, or ‘AI’ is an emerging technology that is rapidly finding a place in virtually every aspect of daily life. Anyone who has asked Siri for directions to the nearest gas station or told Alexa to play a song will be familiar with the concept. Online chatbots and virtual assistants are commonplace on everything from leisure sites to your local city council website.
This technology has multiple potential applications in music recording, production, and performance.
AI music generation
For the muso, the thought of an artificial intuitively created soundtrack goes against the grain. From a purely commercial perspective, it may be a dream come true. AI has the potential to create an entire customized song from scratch, neatly avoiding all the hassles of copyright issues and licensing.
Despite potentially being a thorn in the side for the working band, it could be a boon for businesses that work in the development of games, for example, where background music is vital to the completion of the game. You will find music and sounds on all types of games, from the casino slots at Spin Palace to video games. Being able to artificially create music could make the process straightforward; plus, it is cheaper to produce AI ‘muzak’ as opposed to the original production. For consumers, the experience of music in games is still fantastic.
Perhaps this is the extreme end of the scale when it comes to the potential impact of intuitive technology on the music industry.
Intuitive tech in sound recording
Musicians are already likely to be familiar with basic intuitive technology in the recording studio – perhaps auto-tune or pitch correction is the classic example.
A natural extension of this technology is the AI-powered ability to intuitively extract a specific instrument or line from a mixed down piece of music – perhaps isolating just the lead vocal or the bass line. AI technology permits this clever extraction by listening intelligently to multiple patterns and sounds.
This ‘sentient’ ability paves the way for potential applications in the digital recording studio.
Music performance
When it comes to playing music, feel and intuition goes hand in hand with music performance. Indeed, it is the heart and soul of what makes a musician. AI could potentially work hand in hand with a musician – learning his or her characteristics and ‘signature’ and then adjusting things like effects and settings on the fly as the performance progresses.
Verdict
AI in music – good or bad? It is likely to be a bit of both. Whereas AI may pave the way in making music production more accessible for some, it may also be counterintuitive for the working muso, in taking away work and in getting in the way of the creative process from a purists point of view.
