Former Project from Social Implementation
Flow Machines
This project concluded its research and development phase on March 18, 2026, and its research outcomes were transferred to Roland Corporation in March 2026.
Announcement：Sony Computer Science Laboratories Transfers “Flow Machines” Research Outcomes to Roland Corporation
What is Flow Machines
Flow Machines is a research and development project that explores how technology can expand the creativity of music creators.
Throughout the history of music, new instruments and technological innovations have continually expanded creative possibilities and opened new stages of musical expression. From the invention of various musical instruments to more recent developments such as synthesizers and drum machines, technology has played an important role in shaping how music is created.
Against this backdrop, Flow Machines investigates new possibilities for music creation by using technologies such as machine learning and signal processing to support creative exploration.
In this project, AI is not designed to automatically generate complete songs. Instead, it analyzes musical structure and style to provide creators with new perspectives and options that can stimulate ideas and inspiration. The final creative decisions always remain with the human creator, while AI functions as a tool that assists the creative process.
The project originated from music research initiated in 2012 through a collaboration between Sony CSL – Paris and University Pierre and Marie CURIE. Since then, the project has continued to explore new forms of creative processes in music production through both research and practical application in music creation.
Technical Approach in Flow Machines
Flow Machines focuses particularly on the composition stage of music production. It provides suggestions related to musical elements such as melody, chords, and bass in ways that can be directly used within the creative workflow.
The results generated by AI are not intended to be finished pieces of music. Rather, they are presented as materials or starting points for creative exploration. Creators then develop their compositions by selecting, editing, and combining these ideas according to their own intentions and musical sensibilities.
Workflow of Music Creation
In music production using Flow Machines, creators first define a chord progression or stylistic direction and select a Style Palette.
The AI then generates multiple musical candidates, presenting elements such as melodies, chords, and bass lines. These candidates can be generated repeatedly and explored through comparison or combination, allowing creators to experiment with different ideas during the composition process.
Because the generated musical elements can be handled as MIDI data, they can later be freely edited and adjusted. Creators select and refine ideas suggested by the AI and shape the composition according to their own artistic intent. It is also entirely possible to compose sections without using AI.
In this way, Flow Machines does not replace the role of the composer. Instead, it explores new forms of co-writing, combining human creativity with AI-generated suggestions. The collaborative production process between humans and AI itself is an important research subject within the project.
Style Palette
One of the distinctive technical concepts in Flow Machines is the Style Palette.
A Style Palette is constructed through the analysis of musical data and enables the generation of musical materials that reflect particular styles or genres. By selecting a Style Palette that corresponds to the intended mood or direction of a piece, creators can receive suggestions such as melodies that align with that stylistic context.
Activities of the Flow Machines Project
Flow Machines Professional
Flow Machines Professional is an AI-assisted composition tool developed as a plug-in for digital audio workstations (DAWs). It was designed to integrate into the environments that creators already use in their daily music production workflows, allowing the technical approach of Flow Machines to be examined within real production processes.
As a research prototype, the tool has also been used in music production environments within the Sony Group and has contributed to the creation of numerous pieces of music both in Japan and internationally. Through these real-world uses, the project has explored how AI-assisted composition tools can function within DAW-based workflows and how collaborative creative processes between humans and AI can be realized.
Flow Machines Mobile
Flow Machines Mobile extends the research outcomes of the Flow Machines project into an application for iPad and Mac.
The application was released in Japan, Europe, and North America, allowing a broader range of users to experience AI-assisted music creation. It was designed as a tool for early-stage idea sketching and creative exploration.
Flow Machines Mobile has also been used in educational settings, including music schools, where it served as a learning tool to help students understand creative processes in music composition.
＊The service was discontinued on March 18, 2026. We thank all users for their support.
Collaboration with Sony Music
Flow Machines has been applied not only in research environments but also in real music production and distribution contexts.
One representative example is the Lo-Fi Beats channel “Tokyo LosT Tracks – Sakura Chill,” produced by Sony Music Labels. Many tracks released on this channel were created using Flow Machines.
As one example, composer kensuke ushio, who produced the track “parkside in bloom,” discusses his creative process and his experience working with Flow Machines in the following video.
GANStrument
GANStrument is an experimental sound generation technology designed to create new timbres based on existing sounds.Rather than generating musical pieces themselves, GANStrument focuses on sound and timbre generation. Within the Flow Machines project, it has been explored as a way to expand the creative experience of music production, particularly in relation to Flow Machines Mobile.
Technology Transfer of Research Outcomes
To further develop the composition support technologies cultivated through the Flow Machines project, the research outcomes were transferred to Roland Corporation in 2026.
Roland is a company known for developing electronic musical instruments and music production equipment. By combining Flow Machines technologies with Roland’s product development expertise, new music production tools based on these technologies are expected to emerge. Roland has announced plans to release music creation tools incorporating this technology.
For more details on this technology transfer, please refer to the announcement below.
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G. Narita, J. Shimizu, and T. Akama gave presentations.
Taketo Akama, Project Researcher, served as Scientific Program Chair.
