August 2025
Intermediate to advanced
322 pages
8h 16m
English
Dr. Keith Newton
On the day that I wrote this chapter, I found one of the most fun, free, online, time-wasting tools of all time! I logged on to labs.google.com and clicked on Viola the Bird. This AI experiment lets anyone, with or without musical expertise, play a cello-inspired instrument. Viola uses a leg to hold the instrument, another leg to balance, and grips the bow using her beak. Using a mouse, a user can control this rather enthusiastic bird to play pieces like Ode To Joy, Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets, Christmas songs, and more. The music adjusts in real time to the speed and placement of the bow, as well as the timing of notes and the arrangement of the orchestration. It’s ...
Read now
Unlock full access