Listen to the duo's two minds

1 · Recognise the voice

Beginner

What can the melody of a single solo identify?

The musician playing The current take The tune being played

2 · Measure a note's surprise

The model measures a note's surprise in bits: −log₂ P, where P is the probability it gave that note.

Intermediate

One note had a one-in-eight chance, another a one-in-two chance. How many more bits does the first carry?

4 bits 6 bits 2 bits

3 · Unmask the fake duet

The authors compare a solo with the partner's next solo, then with the same partner's solo from another take: a fake duet. The rhythmic distance, which is 0 for two identical profiles and 1 at most, goes from 0.116 to 0.238.

Expert

What does the fake duet show that the partners' mere similarity did not?

The partners are copying each other's notes Their rhythm comes from playing together Their melody is shared as well

4 · Follow the hand-off

The saxophonist has just played a solo far more surprising than their average. Across the 415 hand-offs, the correlation is −0.19 for rhythm.

Expert

Why do the authors call this complementarity rather than imitation?

One spends surprise while the other saves it The pianist picks up the saxophonist's notes Both end up equally surprising

Duo heard

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