Collective creativity in ensemble music performance: A comparison of professional human performances and multi-agent performances
Satoshi Kawase, Takafumi Kanazawa · 2022
Ensemble music is a familiar example of collective creativity. However, it remains unclear how the process of changes from individual creativity (i.e. solo performance) leads to collective creativity (i.e. ensemble performance) and how we can simulate this process. Thus, this study investigated whether a multi-agent system can sufficiently simulate human ensemble performances using recorded solo performances by skilled professional performers. The original solo performance of a professional human performer was assigned to an agent as an initial value, and a simulation was conducted. Focusing on the timing profile, which is crucial for both expression and coordination during music performances, we compared the human music ensemble performances with the multi-agent ensemble performances. The main findings are as follows: (1) the multi-agent performance shares many common aspects with the human ensemble performance; (2) at the structural boundaries of the musical piece, where the tempo changes drastically, the difference between the human performance and the multi-agent performance became significant; (3) by making the agent’s negotiation strategy similar to that of a human, the similarities of the multi-agent and human performances increased. These results can be used to increase our understanding of collective creativities, the creation of new musical performances, and human–agent collaboration.