The Iliac Suite was written in 1957 for string quartet. It is considered the first musical score to be written by a computer. Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson wrote the computer program that composed the Iliac Suite.
Watch a recording of the full suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fojKZ1ymZlo
"Push Button Bertha" was one of the first songs composed by a computer. Jack Owens added the lyrics to talk about "Push Button Bertha," the computer responsible for the music. The computer was programmed to write music by Dr. Martin Klein and Dr. Douglas Bolitho, who analyzed pop songs to come up with rules for composing. The computer composer was featured in a television broadcast in 1956.
Newspaper article from 1957 about Bertha, the computer behind the music: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MT19570619.2.74&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1
Article with the history of "Push Button Bertha": https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/automation-divine-early-computer-music-and-the-selling-of-the-cold-war/
Listen to the melody at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-XZKS4BItI
This album was created by Over the Bridge, an organization that sought to help musicians struggling with mental illness. It uses artificial intelligence to imagine what composers who died at the age of 27 might have created had they lived longer. One piece each is dedicated to and composed in the style of Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse.
**Lyrics may not be appropriate for younger listeners
This article provides more information about how the album was created: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/nirvana-kurt-cobain-ai-song-1146444/
Lost Tapes of the 27 Club website, with details about the project: https://losttapesofthe27club.com
Listen to the album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/2N9H1Z1Qmpb4Wobz9xRjqe
For mental health resources, visit the National Institute of Mental Health website: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health
John Cage and Lejaren Hiller created the multimedia work HPSCHD (based on the letters of "harpsichord") using a computer program modeled after the I-Ching. The performance included seven harpsichord solos as well as more than 50 tapes that were played simultaneously. The tapes were all composed with the computer program and were microtonal. The original performance attracted an audience of around 7,000 who stayed to watch for four hours.
Listen to a radio program about HPSCHD: https://www.wnyc.org/story/john-cage-and-lejaren-hiller-hpschd/
Hello World is considered the first album created through collaboration between musical artists and artificial intelligence. It used the program Flow Machines, and different artists worked with the computer program to produce each track.
Read more about the project at: https://www.helloworldalbum.net/
Listen to Hello World: https://open.spotify.com/album/0cGWC9bhEJA4l7jAaV7cqR
The album I AM AI was created by Taryn Southern using multiple artificial intelligence tools to create all the tracks. Released in 2018, the album was designed to explore questions about humans and machines and where we are headed.
Read more about the album at: https://tarynsouthern.com/album/
Listen to I AM AI: https://open.spotify.com/album/4vjwJK0Rya7wufnj7PdQym
Created by Holly Herndon "in collaboration with her own A.I. 'baby,' Spawn," PROTO was created to make artificial intelligence seem less dehumanizing. Hundreds of people participated in call-and-response singing sessions used to train the artificial intelligence for the album. Herndon said "I don't want to live in a world in which humans are automated off stage. I want an A.I. to be raised to appreciate and interact with that beauty."
Read the full press release: https://www.hollyherndon.com/proto
Listen to PROTO: https://open.spotify.com/album/29sozE8XDMOHT8KK9iq4Fo
Created by AIVA, Genesis is a 2016 album of classical music. In 2018, AIVA released a second album, Among the Stars.
Listen to Genesis: https://open.spotify.com/album/59qzfgzRfUI2HX9AHwiN1E
Listen to Among the Stars: https://open.spotify.com/album/6EaoRgegXE3z77A3htBkhC?autoplay=true
Check out Google Arts and Culture's "12 songs created by AI" at https://artsandculture.google.com/story/12-songs-created-by-ai-barbican-centre/VwVhbAD7QslgLA?hl=en
Read a short summary of the ways computers have been used to create music, from synthesized sound to computer-generated popstars: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/unsuspecting-listeners-couldnt-tell-difference-between-ai-renderings-and-real-thing
Check out an audiovisual presentation about generative music by developer Tero Parviainen: https://teropa.info/loop/#/title
Learn more about AI in the music industry: https://moises.ai/blog/artificial-intelligence-music-industry/
Create your own AI compositions with Blob Opera, Robot Neil's Bubble Bath, or Deep Roll.