Looking into the minds of Bach, Haydn and Beethoven: Classification and generation of composer-specific music

In this paper a number of musical features are extracted from a large music database, which are consequently used to build three composer classification models. The first two models, an if-then ruleset and a decision tree, result in an understanding of the style differences between Bach, Haydn and Beethoven. The third model, a logistic regression model, gives the probability that a piece is composed by a certain composer. This model is integrated in the objective function of a previously developed variable neighborhood search algorithm that can generate counterpoint. The result is a system that can generate an endless stream of counterpoint music with composer-specific characteristics that sounds pleasing to the ear. This system is implemented as an Android app called FuX that can be installed on any Android phone or tablet.