IF YOUR performance of a Beethoven concerto would have the composer rolling over in his grave, take heart. There’s a new computer orchestra that can accompany you while you practise, no matter how novel your interpretation of the piece.
Every musician has their own idiosyncratic style, and this can easily confuse conventional electronic accompaniment systems. The software tries to match what you are playing to an electronic version of the score held in memory. Once it has found a match, it begins playing the accompaniment. But deviate from the score by as little as lengthening a note, and these programs…
