What is Lo-Fi Player?
Lo-Fi Player is a virtual room in your browser that plays endless lo-fi hip hop. Everything in the room is a control. Click the window to change the background sounds to rain, waves or a city street, use the desk to change the tempo and tone, or tap the TV to blend two melodies together. A small neural network keeps generating new melodies so the music never quite repeats.
It was built by Vibert Thio as a summer intern on the Google Brain team for the Magenta project, and released in 2020. It runs on Magenta.js, Tone.js and TensorFlow.js. The team picked lo-fi because its simple structure means the generated music almost always sounds right, so it feels less like an instrument and more like a room that makes music for you.
What You Can Do
- Click objects in the room to change the music
- Switch melody, bass, chords and drum patterns
- Background sounds like rain, waves and a city street
- An AI melody mixer that blends two tunes
- Share a link to your custom room
How to Play Lo-Fi Player
- Open Lo-Fi Player on a desktop browser.
- Press Play and wait for the room to load.
- Click objects like the window, desk and TV to change the sound.
- Leave it running while you work or study.
Is Lo-Fi Player Free?
Lo-Fi Player is a free, open source Magenta demo with no account, ads or purchases.
Who Will Enjoy It?
- Students who study with lo-fi beats
- Music fans curious about AI composition
- Developers exploring Magenta.js
- Anyone who wants a calm background soundtrack
Websites Like Lo-Fi Player
- Tone Transfer: Another Magenta project that turns sounds into instruments.
- A.I. Duet: A neural network that plays piano back to you.
- BeepBox: Make your own chiptune loops in the browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lo-Fi Player free?
Yes. It is a free, open source Google Magenta demo with no sign-up.
Does it work on phones?
It is designed for desktop and recommends a window wider than 700 pixels, but you can proceed on smaller screens.
How does the AI make the music?
A recurrent neural network from Magenta generates and blends melodies while you control the mix.