Making Machine Musicians: AI for Live Musical Performance explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into live music performances.

Offering a comprehensive guide to developing “machine musicians” capable of interactive improvisation and real-time collaboration with human performers, this book introduces readers to cutting-edge trends in live musical AI. Chapters combine theoretical discussions, practical tutorials, and hands-on projects, providing step-by-step instructions for building autonomous music systems, experimenting with interactive AI tools, and exploring creative applications of AI in live performance. Accompanying software and tutorials ensure accessibility for musicians of all levels, fostering both technical fluency and artistic innovation. Whether used as a textbook, a self-study guide, or a practical manual; it equips readers with the knowledge and tools to explore the emerging field of musical AI and its potential to transform the way we create and experience music.

This book will appeal to music technology professionals, educators, and novice musicians alike, this book serves as a valuable resource for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and live music.

Who Is This Book For?

This book serves as a deep introduction to methods for integrating artificial intelligence (henceforth AI) technologies into live music performances, creating “machine musicians.” While examples of musical AI go back decades and there are many books addressing AI music as a topic, fewer resources serve the aim of addressing AI music created and performed live via interactive improvisation. AI technologies that can create spur-of-the-moment improvisation or quickly composed music have similarly been in existence for a long time, but as Adam Neely said in a recent video essay, “There is no money to be made in passing a music directive test. You’re just making the process to get to the product less efficient.” (Neely, 2024). I believe there is funding to be gained in this work and, more importantly, there is evidence of an increasing number of people interested in pursuing this avenue of artificial intelligence (Miranda, 2021).

And who says music must be all about money anyway?

That said, this enterprise understandably lags behind the more commercially viable aspects of musical AI. Also, even in the best cases (like that of Shimon, the eight-armed marimba-playing robot that jams along live with human musicians), much more work is required before AI technologies can take their place as true equal partners in live musical performances. For the music technology professional, this book will give insight into new trends in live performance before they become widespread, as well as a clear-eyed view of the AI technologies already extant in the music world today. For the music educator, this book aims to equip the educator with knowledge of and, in some cases, practical experience with live AI music technologies. For novice musicians, some chapters of this book include easy-to-digest tutorials on how to build AI technologies that can listen and play along with live music. Other chapters include tutorials that allow these readers the ability to experiment with fully fleshed-out autonomous music systems that will listen and improvise with human musicians. Ultimately, it is hoped that whoever reads this book gains a different perspective either on extant and future musical technologies or music itself.