Computers Making Music Pt. III – Neural Networks + Unique Music Software
Computers are amazing, unless you want them to move you emotionally. Join me for a disappointing journey scouring the earth in search of advanced technologies that could make me feel something.
I don’t have a Patreon or advertising affiliates, although this channel does have a lot of expenses to keep going. In the meantime, if you want to show your support, my Bandcamp page has a “pay what you want” option: https://theflashbulb.bandcamp.com/
Timestamps:
Monologue/Overview: 0:00
Performance RNN: 9:40
Improv RNN: 17:56
AI Duet: 19:41
Conclusion: 21:00
Nodal: 22:45
Sonic Pi: 32:35
Wotja X 2018: 41:42
Series Conclusion: 46:24
Pseudo-Retirement Speech: 46:51
@LeszczynskiEd
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
It's interesting that stuff like suno kinda skipped everything mentioned in this video, it's like an evil sampling where it uses stable diffusion style algo to defuse out a spectrogram of a song instead of actually trying to create a song how human maybe would with midi.
@theartistcurrentlyknownaszero
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
French people have worms in their brains. And sound like computers.
For example… the band AIR.
@somedude3443
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Side tangent: I always found it a little strange that Udemy sounds a lot like "you dummy"…
@Kopekemaster
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I know I'm four years late to this video, but I was just looking for Wotja related videos and was surprised to see one from you. There is a STAGGERING lack of videos and discourse about Wotja online given what an incredible, powerful, and reasonably priced generative system it is. I've been playing around with it since 2021 I think and I still feel like I only have a grasp on the tip of Wotja's iceberg. I think I might start making some videos about it on my music channel though. I really love it and have had similarly positive interactions with the developers.
@streetdoghanoi
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I really enjoy your videos dude and I’m glad you keep making them. Thank you.
@ecoutezpourentendre
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Greetings, great series! We are a few years on from these reviews, and what do you see as advances in this field? If any… I have been using Wotja for a couple of years and recently began driving the KARMA engine with a more generative mindset. What are your thoughts about mixing and matching “deterministic and generative” gear into a hybrid rig? Currently exploring feeding, generative midi into deterministic back into generative environments…
PEACE
@kyleh1127
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
4 years late to the party, but what was that back of car song? Like those are literally just beatles lyrics mushed up together
@jamesforrest9837
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
imagine a hybrid piano that could generate melodies in real time with nodal. and maybe you could tell it what mode to play in by entering a chord. someone could sit down and play the primo part and it would adapt the melody to accompany you. detect a tune once you start playing and back you up, adapting as you lay out or solo. has a library of tunes that it recognizes. can detect tempo from tapping. can extend a person's playing in their style.
@JureJerebic
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
This is by far the nerdiest video you've ever done
so far
@curtisvalle5141
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I like things I don't understand, apparently.
@kevinvotaw2916
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
so do you still feel the same as you did on this rant, now that Dall-E is pretty much proving its only a matter of time before NN can do everything you say it can't?
@ickebins6948
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Wotja X looks very interesting, checking out the free version.
If it's alright i'll buy it, just to support the devs and keep them creating stuff like this.
@neonblack211
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Nodal looked super intersting untill I saw the price tag
@WillyJunior
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
And a couple of years later, we have Open AI Jukebox which is frankly pretty scary.
@richcaloggero3424
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Well, just stumbled on this now and your channel, thankfully, has grown! Keep up the great work; truly inspiring stuff, and masterfully presented!
@danhat606
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Yo benn! I is a robot. Let's write a tune together…
@faisletoismeme
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Wow, very interreseting. I have a Zoia and use it as an effect mostly but generative music is a lot of fun. thanks for sharing, I have to get Nodal now.
@MaxPatissier
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
excelent ! thank you
@iamyankchannel
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
ahh damn, thanks a lot for Nodal, finally a sequencing technique what feels satisfying to my brain <3
@davidsaurel4012
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Wotja 😎
@youyou.station
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Hey Benn, thanks for those videos <3 I discovered this channel with your video on making music with your brain, i guess it changed my counsciouness a little bit (isn't the purpose of art in general?).
Can't wait to try Nodal and ever more Wotja (21 now).
There is not a lot of people talking about another software: ORCA: a mix between Nodal and Sonic Pi.
We need inspiration everyday and from everywhere, as artists, as human being. Thanks for your part in this journey.
@orphanfrequencyyeah1742
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Computers don't wake up hungry in the morning.
@millerman
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
total mensch. great channel, amazing music. thank you.
@HeavyListeningMusic
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
The Performance RNN stuff sounds just like the trolley trying to talk to Mr. Rogers.
@drewnosky5892
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I’d still love to see you cover max…
@MisterConscio
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
47:34 You did change haha
@mx676
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
31:39 that sounds wonderful! algorithm #6 where I can get it?
@tybowesformerlygoat-x7760
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I'm glad you're still making videos.. (November 2020).
@Bestape
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Please make a Pt. IV video one of these days.
I'd love to know your thoughts on whether any of these "a(n)/a(n-1) converges to 1 + sqrt(#++)" OEIS.org sequences have creative qualities:
[ #2 A001333, #3 A002531, #4 A000244, #5 A000045, #6 A123011, #7 A297189, #8 A164544, #9 A000079, #10 A328604, #11 A328605, #12 A328606, #13 A105476 ].
More generally, is Natural math musically creative without human curation? (Is beauty an inherent part of physics)? Thanks.
@evenios2831
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
hey greaet shout out to Wotja i just got the 2020 version you cacn output the midi and edit it and make your own custom mixes too also solo each part and output it to wave too its a cool program. but yeah 99 percent of computer generated music does suck..but band in a box is also cool it has a melody maker but i think it uses preset patterns spliced together.
@evenios2831
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
is it wrong that i was curious and looked up avia lol
@callmeniles6060
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
"musician explains why ai shouldnt take his job"
@DirkTomandl
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
A few month after your video was published, OpenAI released Musenet (https://openai.com/blog/musenet/) in April 2019. It is stunningly good.
I use it to create musical ideas and fragments. The fragments then serve as starting points for the actual composition. This is a true collaboration between man and machine.
If interested, see this playlist of new original piano music:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbG6g-0Kt-BdgBGG9DjJ95cy-DbZ3-Wyp
The first video on the playlist explains my process, the others are compositions largely in expressive neo-romantic style.
@MateBirkas
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Hey Ben, thanks for all your efforts! It makes a difference. I'm not the first to mention TidalCycles here, but I do so, because I think you will like it for its unique approach to generate (define) music. Best regards.
@williamcrosby1061
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I actually really liked part 2 of this and part 1 was a cool first look for me even though I know how to use logic i never realized you could use a time cycle counter to multiply that was really interesting and gave me a new perspective on how to do things. Im building things in dreams on ps4 its a game where you can build anything including create music. I was going to mess around with synthesizing a random tunes to see if i could make it sound ok. Just to try my hand at it. I think the sofware that you showed i think it was scaler i think would help me alot with making something that could sound really good with little experience. Ive done a little research in the last few days and the key seems to be understanding chords and how and where to use them. And im pretty sure that program shows them very clearly which i can translate into the game with a bit of digital wiring.
@Saleca
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
I see it ain't easy to train A.I. to compose. Would you try to train A.I. with bad examples? "Don't dos"
I wonder if it would make some surprisingly good rules or just junk
@gigo20
February 18, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Breathtaking, right?!
Comments are closed.