Charting Creative Journeys through Musical Performance with AI

We chart the creative journeys of two groups of musicians as they explored how to engage with an AI system developed for the live performance of Irish Traditional Dance Music. A group of expert Irish musicians participated in an extended workshop to refine the system while a professional contemporary folk duo composed and rehearsed material for a public show. Drawing on the standard definition of creativity, we chart their creative journeys across a landscape we define by the two dimensions of originality and effectiveness. We reveal the importance of authenticity to a traditional practice as an opposing force to creativity and consider how the tension between these shaped their musical journeys. We generalise five strategies that move creative practitioners across this landscape in different directions: proving your chops, finding your place, perfecting the nuances, innovating, and glitching.