However, while doubtlessly intelligent and well-crafted, Blob Opera isn’t revolutionary. But Google and DeepMind have made some massive strides in recent years.”

And if something sounds a little bit off, we notice it immediately. That’s because, as humans, we're especially tuned to human voices. So, instead of getting opera singers to sing a million different notes, they’re getting a computer to work out how to make a smooth transition.”įiebrink adds: “Until a few years ago we weren’t able to use machine learning to synthesise really convincing operatic singing voices. 'Blob Opera is essentially doing that with sound. “That’s when you have two frames and you get a computer to create an intermediate frame resulting in an overall smoother animation. “It’s basically like ‘inbetweening’ in cartoon animation,” explains Prof Nick Bryan-Kinns from Queen Mary University of London. The second music algorithm likely at work? Something much more complicated: an AI that makes it sound natural as the blobs move between notes. From that, the programme can work out that if a blob sings a certain note, what might be a nice set of next notes for the other blobs.” “You then use a machine learning algorithm that can find patterns in that data.

“The Google code hasn’t been released, but most such computer harmonisers rely on a large dataset of existing harmonies,” says Dr Rebecca Fiebrink from the Creative Computing Institute at University of the Arts London. AI technology could turn thoughts into speech.Google’s Magenta creates its first AI song.Artificial Intelligence creates never-ending death metal.But it’s also because Blob Opera probably relies on two AI networks working so well you might not notice they’re there. Partly, this is because Google hasn’t publicly unveiled the code underpinning the experiment. But it might not be immediately clear just how smart. Modelled on 16 hours of singing from four professionals – Cristian Joel (tenor), Frederick Tong (bass), Joanna Gamble (mezzo‑soprano), and Olivia Doutney (soprano) – Blob Opera relies on AI to synthesise the noises you hear.Īs Google says: “In the experiment, you don’t hear their voices, but the machine learning model’s understanding of what opera singing sounds like, based on what it learnt from them.” It is – and we cannot stress this enough – a whole lot of flubbery fun.īut although effortless to use, it was no easy feat to build.

How to make music with blob opera