Play a Bach duet with an AI counterpoint

A new program developed by Rochester researchers uses machine learning to allow users to improvise duets with an artificial intelligence partner.

To play a duet with German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, you don’t have to travel back to the 18th century; thanks to a new program developed by researchers at the University of Rochester, you only need a computer.

The web-based program, called BachDuet, was developed by Zhiyao Duan, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and of computer science, and members of his lab, including Yongi Zang ’23 and PhD student Christodoulos Benetatos. BachDuet allows a person to improvise duets in the style of Bach with an artificial intelligence (AI) counterpoint in real time. By visiting the BachDuet website, a user can play duets with the AI agent using a computer keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or MIDI keyboard.

Read more