[Sigia-l] "Search Inside the Music"

[Ziya Oz]

A research project at Sun Labs is exploring new methods of searching music
by its acoustic content and context. This project is aimed at helping people
find and organize their music based on the properties of the music itself:
lyrics, musical theme, melody, tempo, rhythm, and instrumentation.
[...]
For example, said Mr. Lamere, the technology could be used for audio
indexing (i.e., to find the Maynard Ferguson trumpet solo in a long jazz
piece). It could be used for thumbnailing (for example, extracting the
chorus). It could be used for ³fingerprinting² a song for copyright
enforcement purposes. Movie producers could use it to quickly find mood
music that works with a particular scene. Eventually, we could even get to
the point where a person could hum a few bars and the system could identify
the song and locate a commercial version.

Mr. Lamere also points out that music search capabilities could
fundamentally change the music experience itself. ³Think of what artists
could build and create if they had quick, easy access to specific sounds and
tones and rhythms from millions of songs,² he said. ³Think of the new music
communities that could arise and the new social interactions. I can picture
classical music buffs listening to three different conductors¹
interpretations of the Jupiter Symphony and then debating which is best.²

According to Mr. Lamere, music search capabilities could also alter the
traditional ³hit-driven² business model of the music industry and lead to
broader exposure for everyone from garage bands to musicians in far-flung
corners of the globe. ³The Internet and the Web have already been huge in
leveling the playing field for musicians,² he said. ³Search Inside the Music
could be the last piece of the puzzle in helping listeners find new artists¹
music. You start getting recommendations based on the actual content of the
music, not popularity bias.²

<http://research.sun.com/spotlight/2006/2006-06-28_search_inside_music.html>

Farfetched?

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Ziya

Usability >  Simplify the Solution
Design >  Simplify the Problem