Could AI Replace Bagpipers?

Unless you've been living under a rock the last couple of years, you've no doubt heard of artificial intelligence (AI). 

Whether you think it's an amazing tool that will change all of our lives, a herald of the robot apocalypse, or you just don't really care, there's no denying that it's completely revolutionized many industries in the last 12 month - including music.

But will it have an impact on our beloved little niche of the music world here in bagpiping and pipe bands? 

Undoubtedly... yes.

The possibility of AI generating music isn't just a futuristic dream - it's already happening. But could an AI ever write a completely original bagpipe tune? Well, it's not only possible, it's already in practice. It doesn't exactly do a great job... yet (the datasets are likely too small so far), but it won't be long until that's a reality.

While AI may struggle to compose a flawless bagpipe tune, its potential as an assistant is undeniable. Suppose you need to harmonize your bagpipe compositions. AI could easily handle this by drawing on its vast music theory database, likely exceeding the average person's capabilities. AI can also tidy up rough drafts, transforming bullet points into well-structured paragraphs, making the creative process more efficient. It can also be programmed to omit embellishments or simplify scores, or to compose new ones.

 Its usefulness isn't limited to composition alone, either. Imagine recording a bagpipe performance and wanting to improve its quality. AI could be your mix-and-master tool, elevating your sound to professional levels. Need a social media strategy for your band? AI can already devise you a reasonably decent plan, and even write the posts for you (you probably want to edit them before posting though - it's still not the plainest writer unless you give it very specific prompts). 

All of this does raise some interesting philosophical (or possibly ethical) questions, though - should we be adding more data to AI's dataset, possibly at the expense of our future by making our current lives a bit easier? Will that speed up AI's inevitable rise as the dominant composer, producer and social media magnate of the piping world? Will the artform evolve and flourish or die and be replaced as a result? And could AI ever replace the raw emotion of a human piper playing human-composed scores? 

Check out the Dojo Conversations podcast as Jim and I discuss the AI-driven future of our ancient artform...