Microsoft Research announces Songsmith, make-your-own-song-from-vocals software

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msrsongsmithThere was one thing left out of Microsoft’s CES 2009 keynote today and that was the announcement of Songsmith, by Microsoft Research.

Religious followers of this blog would know that Songsmith is the product of a Microsoft Research project with a student from the University of Washington called MySong which was showed off in early 2008. The software can automatically provide musical melodies to accompany any vocal singing you provide, making anyone audible a potential songwriter. Not that every teenager should be one.

Songsmith seems to have matured quite a bit from its early prototype days with new features such as “(allowing) you to expand your collection of musical styles and instruments through our partners, PG Music and Garritan” and “enables you to edit chords to create the perfect music accompaniment, even if you’ve never worked with chords before.”

As the second product to ship (first being AutoCollage) by the previously research-only-but-increasingly-commercial Microsoft Research (as the name suggests), Songsmith will only be available (soon) via the Microsoft Store as a digital download. A trial will also be available. Prices are not yet announced.

Update: The official Songsmith website is now up. So is the trial download link. The price for the full version if US$29.95.

17 insightful thoughts

  1. I can sense a whole wave of new YouTube celebrities singing out of tune, with Songsmith backing 😀

    I should try it myself…

  2. I enjoyed watching the CES ’09 and it would have been better if they showed those extras on there….

  3. @Jiri– The promo video isn’t so much lame as it is BRUTAL. I watched it jeering with my eyes half covered! Where did they get those actors? I can’t decide who’s worse. The father–who would never be father to anyone unless it was a poodle or an adopted child from Africa–or the scary little girl.

  4. Integrate this technology into Lips for the xbox 360 and you have a winner. Would give microsoft a real edge over Sony’s singstar.

  5. @Joe absolutely right, it looks like a sad tv commercial from the 80’s also the fact that they use a macbook pro in the ad with stickers on it 😛

  6. Eww, they’re still using that packaging? That plastic stuff is stupid to get through, and it’s not winning any eco awards. I also liked the name MySong better.

    Should be an Ultimate Extra. Or something else. Maybe Microsoft should start working on making professional multimedia programs.

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