MS songwriting software: Terrifying or laughable?
Hmmm – sounds like pitch analysis, melodic quantising then diatonic chord-guessing.†
To quote one respondent to Jez’s blog, it’s all a bit ‘Barney the dinosaur’. Not breaking any hearts near you soon…
I think it’s hilarious …. especially one or two of the spoofs done on youtube already ….. the new version of ‘Roxanne’ is a must see!!!
It would be nice to hear a tune sung by someone tone-deaf, as the software constantly seeks a new key and chord pattern!!
It’s nice to know that the nice people at Microsoft have still got a sense of humour!!
I’m totally gobsmacked. That’s beyond awful. I was even more openmouthed when we found out that it was a major corporation like Microsoft that was responsible. Isn’t this a spoof itself?
I said “It would be nice to hear a tune sung by someone tone-deaf, as the software constantly seeks a new key and chord pattern!!”
Looks like i got my wish!!!!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FhmjNDtM3vU
Did anyone notice that Microsoft used a MacBook Pro with a flower stuck over the Apple? Oops.
Version 2 should have a plugin that writes the lyrics, composes the melody and sings it directly into Songsmith for you, leaving you free to get on with something else entirely.
They do try to make it more worthy by describing the algorithm to musicians;
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/songsmith/musicians.html
But I’ve had more fun listening to the ‘cover versions’ people have posted on YouTube…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ypycpKQxXR0
It looks like an interesting concept.
I’m interested in it as a way of getting a starting point for music to suit melodies without spending hours finding chords on the keyboard, as I don’t have that level of musical knowledge/skill at the moment.
I’m keen to have a play with it to see what I can come up with, before I decide whether to slate it or not.
The results on the ad and on youtube are rather cringeworthy at best. And funny.