If you have a keyboard (a piano) and love to play it but wish you could also have someone to duet with; perhaps you insist your sibling join you, only to realise that no one else is quite as excited as you are. So for those times, I am bringing to you ‘AI Duet’, a cool online experiment created by Google’s Creative Lab and Magenta teams. Where you can play notes and the AI responds with its melody. Amazing and fun, isn’t it?

If you are wondering, how does it all work? Well, it’s very easy. All you have to do is play notes on your computer keyboard or even a MIDI keyboard if you have one. The AI listens to what you play and instantly creates a melody that matches your tune.

The AI behind this experiment has been trained on tonnes of MIDI files, so it understands music really well. This means it can create responses that sound natural and harmonious, making this experience feel like a real duet.

And the best part? You can access AI Duet directly from your web browser. There’s no need to download or install anything, just open the website and you’re ready to start playing.

What always attracts me while reviewing a site is its layout and here also, I found the interface clean, with just a virtual piano on the screen. So when you play from your keyboard, the notes light up. Similarly, the AI will respond to yours in a different coloured light.

While AI Duet is a lot of fun, there are a few areas where it could improve. For instance, right now the experiment only uses piano sounds. It would be awesome if we could switch to other instruments like guitar, strings or drums to create completely different music.

Also, if there was an option to record our duets, it would have been great to save sessions, listen back to them, or even share musical creations with friends.

Overall, Google’s AI Duet experiment is a fantastic tool for all those who love to play piano, but also want someone to duet with. n

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/ai/ai-duet/view/

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 22nd, 2025