Last month we released Magenta RealTime 2 (MRT2), our state-of-the-art open live music model and real-time neural synthesis engine. When developing MRT2, our priority was to create a model that was flexible, controllable and powerful enough for anyone to build their own instruments with it. In the month since the release, we’ve had a lot of fun engaging with the wider community and seeing all the incredible projects that people around the world are already building with MRT2. Here’s a roundup of what we’ve been up to, and some of our favorite community projects so far!
Music Hackspace Hackathon
Right after the launch, we stopped over in Boston for the AIMS Summit and Music Hackspace Hackathon hosted at Berklee College. We challenged participants to come up with a new musical instrument or live experience that leveraged the power of live music models while centering the human side of making music: embodied, social, and interactive. We were really excited to see that our challenge got the most interest from participants, with 20 projects making it through the finish line. Among these, three were awarded the top prizes:
- Space JAM - Connecting People and the World Through Real-Time Sound
- Hit the changes - Gamified jazz improvisation training app
- C.O.S.M.I.C - COmic Soundtrack MusIc Composer
Alongside these, Emotional Magenta took home the MIDI Association’s Most Accessible Product Award.
Beyond the winning projects, plenty of others caught our attention, including a solo practice companion (Jamigo), a generative loop station (Unrealtime), and a live jamming app (Adaptive Band).
During the week leading up to the hackathon, members of our team also joined the AIMS Summit to share more on our work on real-time, human-in-the-loop live music systems through talks and performances. Following the hackathon, we re-engaged with the Music Hackspace growing community of artists and developers for a hands-on workshop on building real-time, AI-assisted music systems. You can find the recording of this session here.
BCI Summer School
Later in the month, we traveled to Florence, Italy, for the 2026 AccelNet Summer School on Human Data Management & Modelling / AI. Co-organized by the AccelNet program, the University of Houston, Università degli Studi di Firenze, and the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music, the summer school brought together researchers, doctoral students, and postdocs at the intersection of neuroscience, AI, and the arts.
In this hands-on workshops, we explored integrating MRT2 with brain-computer interface (BCI) systems for real-time music creation. We used EEG hardware to capture real-time brain activity—specifically mapping emotional valence and arousal—to dynamically guide MRT2’s generative audio pipeline. By mapping these emotional states to musical chord progressions, we created a bio-feedback loop where the user’s felt emotions shape the generated music in real time—taking an exciting first step toward intuitive brain-controlled musical expression.
Community Contributions
Beyond in-person initiatives, we also welcomed plenty of contributions from the open-source community. We were particularly delighted to see efforts to widen access to MRT2 by providing ports to various platforms – including iOS, Windows (via HF Transformers or WSL2), HuggingFace Spaces, and FastAPI – alongside projects exploring live accompaniment and gesture control. And finally, we were thrilled to see many taking MRT2 for a spin!
We look forward to sharing more updates in the next few weeks. To stay in the loop, join our Discord at g.co/magenta/discord.