Exploring the Needs of Practising Musicians in Co-Creative AI Through Co-Design

Recent advances in generative AI music have resulted in new technologies that are being framed as co-creative tools for musicians with early work demonstrating their potential to add to music practice. While the field has seen many valuable contributions, work that involves practising musicians in the design and development of these tools is limited, with the majority of work including them only once a tool has been developed. In this paper, we present a case study that explores the needs of practising musicians through the co-design of a musical variation system, highlighting the importance of involving a diverse range of musicians throughout the design process and uncovering various design insights. This was achieved through two workshops and a two week ecological evaluation, where musicians from different musical backgrounds offered valuable insights not only on a musical system's design but also on how a musical AI could be integrated into their musical practices.