AI plays with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time

An AI has performed with the BBC’s orchestra Orchestra for the first time.  In Robert Laidlow’s new composition, Silicon, different AI algorithms were used to help create each of the three movements of the piece, which the orchestra performed at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, UK on 29 October 2022.  “We're so entangled with intelligent technology that I wanted to tackle this subject in my music,” says Laidlow, whose PhD explores this topic.  

In Silicon’s first movement, Laidlow used an AI called Musnet to generate sheet music.  For the second part he contacted Google Magenta, an AI team based in San Francisco whose DDSP-VST system he used to transform notes into different orchestral sounds. “It doesn't always work perfectly, says Laidlow, creating all these “weird bow-like sounds”.  For the final part an AI called PRiSM SampleRNN was trained using 20 years of BBC Philharmonic performances to generate raw audio.  Whilst this algorithm did produce “wonderful orchestral sounds”, says Laidlow, it also unexpectedly replicated the presenter and audience sounds.  It started “morphing into applause almost like it was clapping itself,” he says. 

The project aims to explore ways to incorporate technology into the creative process. “I have no interest in just showing off technology for the sake of it,” Laidlow says, “but anything that pushes us to think in a different way is really genuinely valuable”. 

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[stevehayward]

I think the AI has still got some learning to do

[Erime]

"applauding itself"

The future A.I. 'dark ego' that starts the great human Vs robot wars will be traced back to this moment...

[kazuhikotakata]

Pay sympathy to all orchestra members.

[robertlaidlow]

Full recording of this piece of music:

[jimmij]

Isn't AI programmed by HI (Human Intelligence).

[PearFinch]

This AI is almost algo-music tier LOL. I’m surprised that this orchestra took part in it. AI is the current big scientific explorative phenomenon, but I remember when AI made truly awful sounding songs lolol