Concerts in tune with different technology
"From the Canyon to the Starry Sky – Super Rhythm Concert"
There is a debate over when and which was the first piece of music composed by artificial intelligence.
Some say it even goes as far back as 1957 with Illiac Suite, composed by an electronic computer programmed by university professor Lejaren Hiller.
Debate aside, there is no doubt AI technology has developed rapidly with much easier access for young people, even not professional trained as musicians, to explore and experiment.
Technology in general, has been so greatly interwoven into the contemporary music scene that audiences no longer raise eyebrows when seeing multimedia concerts, AI-composed music and music videos or even robots on stage.
What else can be done and indeed how good is AI-composed music?
The sixth season of Shanghai Concert Hall's "Music Infinity" series that wrapped up over the weekend, with six concerts and three seminars over the last month, may have provided a perspective.
"From my own experience, it seems that humans still compose music more emotionally richer than AI," said Chen Junkai of Technoetic Arts Studio at Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, who performed the season's finale.
"That's exactly why exploring what AI can do is important, especially now that it is more accessible to young artists and even students."
Chen presented "From the Canyon to the Starry Sky – Super Rhythm Concert" with his colleagues and students at the institute. For each piece, they experimented with different technology.
An automated snare drum made by Chen Junkai
For "La Chanson es Objets," Chen asked 13 of his students to recreate a sound in daily life in an installation, such as that of a pen clicking, book pages flipping or ping pong ball bouncing. The sound of 13 objects are then performed live on the stage, re-created through programmed synthesizers.
For another piece, Chen made an automated guitar and automated snare drum to perform a piece of music he composed, with about 1/3 of it programmed to respond to his hand gestures on the stage.
Liu Xia, artistic director of "Music Infinity," added: "We focused on the innovative integration of music, technology and multi-arts of local musicians this season.
"So the season included premiers of new works, an innovative experiment of vocal installation work, and exploring the relations of live performance and life style, among others. It is our way of support for musicians to experiment with technology for a dialogue with the future."
Chen, whose concert also includes AI-composed music, considers the technology provides another way of thinking.
"It is a tool that can help with our imaginations," Chen said. "For me personally, it provides another way of thinking. I hope the concert provides audience with new perspectives and expectations for 'future music.'"
An automated guitar made by Chen Junkai
