Music Composition with Deep Learning: A Review

Abstract

Generating a complex work of art such as a musical composition requires exhibiting a certain level of creativity. This depends on a variety of factors that are related to the hierarchy of musical language. Music generation has faced challenges by using algorithmic methods and recently is approaching them with deep learning models that are being used in other fields such as computer vision. In this chapter, we place into context the existing relationships between AI-based music composition models and human musical composition and creativity processes. First, we describe the music composition process, and then we give an overview of the recent deep learning models for music generation classifying them according to their relationship with some of the music basic principles: melody, harmony, structure, or music composition processes—instrumentation and orchestration. The relevance of classifying music generation models in those categories helps us to measure and understand how deep learning models deal with the complexity and hierarchy of music. We try to answer some of the most relevant open questions for this task by analyzing the ability of current deep learning models to generate music with creativity or the similarity between AI and human composition processes, among others.