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Markov-Chain Melody: A Mathematical Approach to AI-Assisted Songwriting

Markov-Chain Melody: A Mathematical Approach to AI-Assisted Songwriting
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Author(s): Syrenzo Ramos Sicuan (Pangasinan State University, Philippines)
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 26
Source title: Artificial Intelligence in Music Production: Innovations, Practices, and Industry Implications
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Randy Joy Magno Ventayen (Pangasinan State University, Phillippines)
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3373-6279-3.ch005

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Abstract

This study examined whether simple probabilistic models can generate coherent melodic fragments for AI-assisted songwriting. The work focused on building first- and second-order Markov chains, analyzing the statistical properties of their outputs, and comparing listener perceptions with human-composed hooks. A dataset of 20 popular MIDI melodies was standardized to C major and used to estimate transition probabilities, from which 30 sequences of 8–16 notes were generated. Structural measures showed that human melodies had higher entropy (2.29 vs. 1.80) and greater pitch diversity (6.37 vs. 5.92), while Markov outputs had higher repetition (0.43 vs. 0.34). A perceptual survey with 30 listeners rated human melodies higher in catchiness (4.19 vs. 3.78), musicality (4.33 vs. 3.63), and preference (3.98 vs. 3.68), though Markov sequences were still viewed as acceptable. Findings show that Markov chains capture short-term tendencies and can generate usable motifs but lack long-range structure, making them useful for low-resource music tasks.

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