An artificially intelligent machine has composed a lullaby; this is what it sounds like
An artificially intelligent machine has composed a
lullaby; this is what it sounds like
It could help the 54% of Brits that struggle to get to
sleep each night
ByJeff Parsons Tech/Science Reporter 09:25, 28 NOV 2017 UPDATED
11:37, 28 NOV 2017
A healthcare company has used an artificial intelligence
to help create a lullaby that could aid troubled Brits in getting to sleep at
night.
According to research by AXA PPP healthcare, 54% of us
struggle to get 40 winks each night with a further 10% suffering from severe
insomnia.
In an effort to help, the company says it has taken the
humble lullaby and given it a 21st century twist.
It has produced two separate tunes, one created by
renowned composer Eddie McGuire and the other by a machine that used artificial
neural networks and had no input from a human at all.
The company has challenged listeners to find out which
one works the best.
McGuire's composition (above) is called "Lyrical
Lullaby" and was created with leading musician and academic, Bede
Williams, who is head of Instrumental Studies at the University of St Andrews.
Williams explained: "Lots of people report of a
falling sensation as they fall asleep, and many lullabies mimic this by
containing melodies made up of descending patterns in the notes. Lyrical
Lullaby has this essential feature and many other musical devices which can
induce in us a state of restfulness."
In contrast, the AI-created music (below) was simply
called "Lullaby" and was trained on sheet music in computer-readable
format from which it learned the elements of music, such as melody, harmony,
rhythm, and structure.
“An artificial neural network is essentially a
representation of the neurons and synapses in the human brain - and, like the
brain, if you show one of these networks lots of complex data, it does a great
job of finding hidden patterns in that data," explained Ed Newton-Rex, the
founder and CEO of Jukedeck, which produced the composition.
"We showed our networks a large body of sheet music,
and, through training, it reached the point where it could take a short
sequence of notes as input and predict which notes were likely to follow.
"Once a network has this ability, it essentially has
the ability to compose a new piece, as it can choose notes to follow others
it’s already composed."
On average, a person needs about nine hours of sleep to
be fully rested - although that amount can differ from person to person. But
the increasing speed and connectedness of technology means many people are
finding it harder and harder to switch off.
“Lulling is certainly not a new technique, and any parent
will have some understanding of the mesmerising effect singing a lullaby can
have to help a baby or child drift off to sleep," said Dr Mark Winwood,
Director of Psychological Services for AXA PPP healthcare.
"Many people struggle to drift off to sleep every
night, whether this is from a sleep disorder such as insomnia or due to short
term factors in an individual’s life that is impacting their ability to sleep.
“Music can be used to reduce sympathetic nervous system
activity; decrease anxiety, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate; and
possibly have positive effects on sleep in regards to muscle relaxation and
distraction from trivial thoughts.”
We've included both the compositions in this story so why
not give it a try tonight and see which one is best for helping you to drift
off.
Comments
Post a Comment