Literary Technology to Get Excited About: TransPose: Turning Literature into Music
Wordfest is excited about some recent developments in the technological world that relate to…what else? Literature! This two-part mini-series will look at how technology is transforming the way literature is consumed.
TransPose is a program which converts literature into music. TransPose does this by reading a novel, and detecting eight different emotions (joy, sadness, anger, disgust, anticipation, surprise, trust and fear) and two different states (positive or negative) that are rooted in the story. This information will determine the tempo and octave of the music generated. The program’s reading is then transformed into a chronological musical account of the novel, usually around a minute in length.
To satisfy your curiosity, here are a few of the novels TransPose has read and converted. These novels have been widely read, so judge for yourself whether or not the program has done an adequate job of “transposing” these literary works:
If you want to take a look at more of these literature-generated songs, check out the TransPose website, and let us know what you think! Is a computer is able to sufficiently transform literature?
