Interact, Compose, Improvise with Generative Agents
As part of its research on generative processes, the work of the Musical Representations team at IRCAM is expressed in the design of musical accompaniment software that interacts with composers, musicians, and improvisers. By means of artificial listening and synchronization of musical signals, Dicy2 and Somax2 implment intelligent agents capable of learning on the fly or in advance, and of immediate or predefined musical interactions in structured or composed contexts.
Objectives
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to use both the Somax2 and Dicy2 environments independently. They will be able to continue the technical and musical exploration developed during the course and to use it in their own practice.
Public
Composers, musicians, teachers, performers...
Prerequisites
- Participants must be comfortable with a computer environment and have experience in performance, composition, or musical interpretation
- Experience in musical improvisation with an acoustic instrument or computer is a plus
- A beginner's level knowledge of Max software is strongly recommended. If you are learning on your own, we suggest that you do at least the first 10 tutorials
Training Period and Organization
30 hours of training. Monday-Friday, February 26 – March 1st, 2024. 10am-1pm/2:30pm-5:30pm
8 students maximum
In the event that IRCAM cannot physically welcome students for a program that requires face-to-face instruction, the program will be cancelled.
Program
After the first morning of this training devoted to the general context and history of creative companions, participants will dive successively into the mechanisms and the concrete use of the Somax2 and Dicy2 software (4 half days per software). These tools will be addressed both conceptually and through practice, in pairs and collectively.
Monday
| Morning | General introduction: discovering the history of improvisation and the tools of co-performance Discover the genealogy of the tools of IRCAM's Musical Representations team Understand the interaction situations in which Somax2 and Dicy2 are used: free improvisation and interactive activation of "meta-composed" behavior |
| Afternoon | Dicy2: introduction to the environment and concepts |
Tuesday
| Morning | Dicy2, computer skills: learning to use the tutorials, building your own databases |
| Afternoon | Dicy2: hands-on session in pairs Dicy2, computer skills: using your own databases |
Wednesday
| Morning | Dicy2, hands-on session: sharing, debriefing |
| Afternoon | Somax2: introduction to the environment and concepts |
Thursday
| Morning | Somax2: computer manipulation: taking control of the environment Somax2: hands-on session in pairs |
| Afternoon | Somax2, hands-on session: sharing, debriefing |
Friday
| Morning | Somax2, hands-on session: sharing, debriefing |
| Afternoon | Evaluation General debriefing |
Educational Resources and Techniques
- Training room equipped with iMac computers with software, headphones, MIDI keyboards, and microphones. The hands-on sessions will take place in an IRCAM studio
- Technical requirements: each participant is asked to bring their own database of sounds to work with Dicy2 and Somax2. This will be used to feed the agents' memory, which is controlled by "navigating" through files, by listening and reacting to a "live" audio stream. All data are good to use, regardless of the repertoire (personal music, completely exogenous material...), but "simple" files that are relatively homogeneous in terms of timbre and number of instruments (ideally separate monophonic tracks) will make it easier to use. For Somax2, we require files that are preferably stereo, with an average length of 5 minutes, and that present a diversity of timbre as well as of rhythm.
For each environment (Somax2, Dicy2), a download link will be provided to the participant, for a personal installation after the training - For the hands-on improvisation sessions, we will form pairs. You will also be asked to bring an instrument, preferably an acoustic one, for practice
- Training format: alternating between theoretical explanations and hands-on exercises
- Teaching aids: video-projected presentations, course material with bibliographic references, software documentation
Supervision
- Welcome the first day of training beginning at 9:45am
- Attendance controlled; signature of an attendance sheet required every morning and afternoon
- A certificate at the end of the program is given to each participant with the results of the exam
Assessment
- Assessment of knowledge in the form of a multiple choice question