AI Harmonica: A Smart Electronic Harmonica for Music Learning and Co-Creativity

Sherry Ruan

Keywords: AI harmonica, electronic harmonica, digital wind instruments, music education, intelligent tutoring systems, human-AI co-creativity

Abstract: We introduce the AI Harmonica, the first electronic harmonica prototype augmented with AI for live, personalized music education and performance feedback. Diatonic ten-hole harmonicas are among the most widely played instruments worldwide, valued for their portability, affordability, and expressive capacity. However, learning the harmonica is challenging due to specialized techniques such as bending, overblows, and phrasing, as well as the scarcity of personalized instruction. Our prototype combines an electronic harmonica that senses breath pressure and hole activation and converts them into MIDI signals, and a web-based AI tutor that analyzes performances in real time via WebMIDI. This system lowers the barrier for beginners, supports skill development, and helps establish a new class of AI-augmented wind instruments.

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Submission Number: 64