Music AI Program

[Joel]

"Peter Hansen" <peter at engcorp.com> wrote in message
news:<3DFCE5F3.D49819C4 at engcorp.com>...
> Joel wrote:
> >
> >     I've been trying to get a genetic algorithm program started, for
> > creating guitar riffs. You train it by telling it if the riff is good or
> > bad, and what notes make it sound good or bad, and it adjusts its
algorithms
> > accordingly. It selects different scales and styles, different moods
etc.
>
> Not answering any of your questions, but a comment or thought on
> using genetic algorithms...
>
> You indicate you are telling the GA if the riff is "good" or "bad",
> which is presumably an expression of your fitness function, probably
> with a range of responses so there is a gray scale rather than just
> black and white.
>
> You also say you actually tell the GA *which* notes make it sound
> good or bad.  In my experience with GAs, this might be sort of
> overspecifying the fitness function, so to speak.  The GA knows
> what it's doing, so you might consider letting *it* figure out
> which notes are good or bad.  Otherwise you may actually find you
> are fighting against it, as it homes in on the notes which
> *really* sound good, while you're possibly being inconsistent or
> something and telling it "no, *these* notes are what makes it
> sound good".  If it's not finding the right notes, you maybe
> should adjust the weighting on the importance of "the right notes"
> in the evaluation of the genome.
>
> In other words, you might consider sticking *just* with the fitness
> function and letting the GA make the choices about which variables
> to vary.
>
> Just a thought.  (If I misinterpreted what you're doing, just
> ignore me. :-)
>
> -Peter

No you haven't misinterpreted :D

All three of you have helped in my attempt at putting this together :D I
have to decided to do as Peter suggested and just use a plain fitness
function, and in later versions, after I get my sound card fix, I'll use the
MIDI idea, and Patrick's reply was helpful also.

If anyone has any bright ideas, features, whatever, that they think would be
a good idea, give us a buzz on that also!

I will be sure to announce it on here when I have finished. If anyone would
like to help on the GA side of things, in this project and later on
artificial society simulation programs, please send a quick email outlining
your skills.

Joel Falconer-Try
Highland Studios