Making a new kind of music…
By Steve Milbourne
4th November 2024
After initially meeting Andy and Joern and then seeing Neudio in action, I was hugely intrigued by the idea of using music to enhance or suppress brain activity.
It seems so simple and so obvious when you fully understand how it works - although I’m sure Andy and Sera would beg to differ, given the complexities of creating the algorithm and the software.
However, the idea that this system, and best of all - music - could potentially be used instead of drugs or invasive processes to help treat a range of conditions, or simply enhance brain activity or possibly help you sleep, was a wow moment.
Music is a technology that has existed for millennia and we’ve long known that it has multiple effects on the brain, but the process of discovery until now has perhaps been through many centuries of trial and error, a composers instinct and feedback as simple as an audience reaction.
The fact that by using Neudio, any genre or mood of music could have elements directly controlled by the brain and in turn, control aspects of the brain’s behaviour was a revelation to me.
Ultimately the choice of music as personal preference is what will make it so great. Can heavy metal really help you sleep? Can a dreamy soundscape in turn promote focus in the brain? Exciting stuff.
With the advent of AI and new advances in EEG technology, which I am sure will become heavily adopted into our every day lives in the coming years as it’s integrated into our current technological habits; to be involved in something at the cutting edge is brilliant.
There has been challenges. Early prototype music was little more than arpeggiated notes. Latency is a factor, and it limits the type of audio processing that can currently be used.
Making commercial sounding music of a comparative standard to what consumers are used to, work with the system and generate a strong brain response is a continual process of experimentation. So far I think we’ve created some captivating pieces and will continue to do so.
It will take a while to perfect, but each new piece of music allows us to refine and adapt.
As Neudio grows I am looking forward to not only composing more bespoke pieces of music but working with external composers and musicians to bring the product to life.
A view of a Neudio controlled piece of music composed in Ableton.
