Microsoft Songsmith

Introduced at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft Songsmith allows users to create their own music. Users can select from thirty different music styles and then sing any song or melody into their computer's microphone. Songsmith analyzes the melody and then selects music chords that will complement the melody. Users can further customize their song by using sliders to select which chords and arrangement they want to use.Official Site: About Seattle Times: Microsoft's Songsmith gives amateur singers... (January 8, 2009)

In an ongoing series of videos, YouTube user azz100c has put the vocal tracks from popular songs into Microsoft Songsmith and uploaded the results. Frequently, the program switches the genre or style of the songs with amusing results, including a Latin reimagining of "Roxanne" by The Police or a polka rendition of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."

"So that's why this REAL commercial for Microsoft's new Songsmith software (you sing at it and it creates horrible musak to accompany you) is completely insane. Not only is it apparently earnest and not a parody, self- or otherwise, it seems like it comes from a bizarro parallel universe where irony was never discovered. It's like Microsoft found some kind of home-schooling Christian commune in the woods and hired them to make their commercial."—VideogumVideogum: Nothing Can Prepare You For The Microsoft Songsmith Commercial (January 12, 2009)