coJIVE: COllaborative Jazz ImproVisation Environment

Improvisation in music is a complex creative process and the most native way of musical performance. A musician playing an improvised solo has to constantly create melodies that fit the harmonic context of a tune. Playing freely under such constraints demands a great deal of technical ability and experience from the performer, especially in settings with more than one instrumentalist. Even advanced musicians with a classical education often refrain from improvising, out of fear of making mistakes.

coJIVE offers various mechanisms to facilitate improvisation, making this type of performance accessible to anyone.
The system was developed in 2 main parts:


Back-End Framework

Goals and features:
  • Modeling of musical knowledge
  • Harmony analysis based on chord patterns
  • Classification and suggestion of notes in harmonic context
  • Input-dependent calculation of note probabilities
  • Extensible XML song file format for lead sheets


Front-End Application

Goals and features:
  • Creating an automatic accompanyment as a foundation for the performances
  • Correcting the users' input based on data from the analytical framework
  • Finding ways to enrich the users' input for satisfying experiences
  • Adjusting the degree of support to each user’s level of expertise
  • Supporting and coordinating collaborative performances featuring several players


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