The details of how Christopher Raphael’s “Music Plus One” project works include plenty of computer and math jargon like “Gaussian random variables.” Here’s what the project can do for you, the musician.
A program called Music Minus One (MMO) has been around for more than 50 years. MMO records only the accompaniment (a piano concerto without the piano). The soloist then plays with the recording. The musician must follow the accompaniment – “a futile battle” as Raphael describes it on his Web site.
Music Plus One program responds to the musician in real-time, meaning that the recorded accompaniment keeps up with the musician, not the other way around. If the musician changes tempo, the program changes.
Raphael’s goal is to make music available to the those who don’t have a live accompanist waiting to pick up an instrument and play.
Like any human accompanist, the computer must learn to listen and play. In essence, the system learns the basic music template, but can tell when the soloist makes a mistake or embellishes. The computer also learns to sight-read credibly, Raphael says.
A professional oboe player and mathematician, Raphael said he found the tool helpful while preparing for performances and learning new pieces.
