Microsoft Research Songsmith Explained

Microsoft Research Songsmith
Author:Microsoft Research
Developer:Microsoft Research
Latest Release Version:1.03
Latest Release Date:September 2012
Programming Language:C# and C++
Operating System:Microsoft Windows
Platform:.NET Framework
Size:100MB download
Language:English
Genre:Music Software
License:Proprietary
Website:Songsmith

Microsoft Research Songsmith is a musical accompaniment application for Microsoft Windows, launched in early 2009. Songsmith immediately generates a musical accompaniment after a voice is recorded. The user can adjust tempo, genre (such as pop, R&B, hip-hop, rock, jazz, or reggae), and overall mood (e.g. to make it happy, sad, jazzy, etc.).[1]

The software was developed by a team at Microsoft Research, led by researchers Dan Morris and Sumit Basu.[2] [3] [4] The product began as a research project called MySong, conducted at Microsoft Research in collaboration with a University of Washington student, Ian Simon, in the summer of 2007. Songsmith is the second commercial project from Microsoft's Microsoft Research, after AutoCollage.[5]

Morris and Basu starred in an infomercial[6] that became a viral video.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The video was featured on the Australian ABC TV program The Gruen Transfer as a competitor for the Worst Ad Ever.[13]

The release of the software spawned an internet meme where the vocal tracks of popular songs are fed into the program.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://research.microsoft.com/songsmith Microsoft Research Songsmith
  2. News: Cnet. Microsoft releases Songsmith: Karaoke in reverse. 2009-01-08. Josh Lowensohn .
  3. News: Ars Technica. A Look at Microsoft Songsmith. 2009-01-18. Erica Sadun.
  4. News: Puget Sound Business Journal. Demo: Microsoft's new Songsmith gives singers an algorithmic band. Todd Bishop. 2009-01-08.
  5. News: istartedsomething.com. Microsoft Research announces Songsmith, make-your-own-song-from-vocals software. Long Zheng. 2009-01-08.
  6. News: Seattle Post Intelligencer. Video: Microsoft sings about its Songsmith software. Joseph Tartakoff. 2009-01-13.
  7. News: Microsoft Songsmith Commercial is Excruciatingly Hilarious. Escapist Magazine. 2009-01-14.
  8. News: Nothing can prepare you for the Microsoft Songsmith commercial. Videogum. 2009-01-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717203036/http://videogum.com/44861/nothing_can_prepare_you_for_th/music-related-content/. 2011-07-17.
  9. News: Kipp Report. The beauty of bad ads. 2009-01-15. Aarti Nagraj.
  10. News: Songsmith painful in too many ways to count. Prefix Magazine. 2009-01-12. Andrew Winistorfer.
  11. News: Microsoft Songsmith video: Charming or painful? Or both?. Puget Sound Business Journal. Todd Bishop. 2009-01-14.
  12. News: PC World. At CES, Microsoft Introduces the Unexpected: Songwriting Software. Yardena Arar. 2009-01-08.
  13. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/stories/s2907954.htm Microsoft Songsmith
  14. Web site: 7 Ad Campaigns That Prove Microsoft Was Never Good at This . Once it was out in the wild, it was ripped to shreds by merciless YouTube video-makers showing exactly how badly the software worked with well-known songs, like Queen's 'We Will Rock You'. . 2010-09-04 . 2012-05-22 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Microsoft Research Songsmith".

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