Is there any AI music software available?

When we say that a machine has artificial intelligence, we’re usually suggesting that, rather than having to be told what to do, it’s capable of thinking for itself and deciding on a course of action. So, what are the potential applications in music production?

Let’s consider some of the ways that AI has already been used in music software. Positive Grid’s X Drummer app, for example, is designed to ‘listen’ to your playing and then use AI to come up with drum grooves and sounds to match, and Accusonus say that the AI capabilities of their Regroover software enable you to “reveal and capture the underlying micro-rhythms and hidden tempo patterns” of your audio. There’s also LANDR, the automated online service that uses machine learning – a close relation of AI – to master your track. In a similar vein, the Track Assistant in iZotope’s Neutron plugin is designed to ‘listen’ to a track, work out what kind of material it is, and configure mixing processors accordingly.

‘Smart’ music software like this is only going to become more powerful, and if it saves time and leaves you to focus on the more creative aspects of production, you could argue it’s a good thing. On a more extreme level, it seems likely that, before long, AI will also be used to create complete tracks; in fact, we already have an ‘AI music composer’ in the form of Amper Music, which promises to take care of everything. Whether a computer will ever be able to come up with something that carries the emotional weight of a song written by a human remains to be seen, but it’s clear that there’s far more to come.