Drumming with style: From user needs to a working prototype

This paper presents a generative drumming agent built from the results of an extensive survey carried out with electronic music producers, in two phases. Following the techniques of user-centered interaction design, an international group of beat producers was reviewed on the possibility of using AI algorithms to help them in the beat production workflow. The analyzed results of these tests were used as design requirements for constructing a system that would indeed perform some tasks alongside the producer. The first results of this working prototype are presented with a description of the system. The prototype is a stylistic drum generator that creates new rhythmic patterns after being trained with a collection of drum tracks. Further stages of development and potential algorithms are discussed.