gonifola/mbira-gpt

Mbira GPT DJ Station — African Music AI Platform. Interactive mbira variation explorer with tuning systems, artist style blending, and theory context. # Mbira GPT > *The machine that learned the absolute.* An interactive DJ station + AI music intelligence for Zimbabwean mbira. Six dials. Every tuning system. Every master's style. The full theory — encoded. ## What It Is Mbira GPT is the first AI system that actually understands mbira theory — not vibes, not genre tags, but the actual logic: chord progressions, kushaura/kutsinhira structure, tuning systems, variation rules, and artist style profiles. It lets you: - **Mix** mbira patterns across tuning systems, songs, and artist styles - **Explore** the theory interactively through 6 dials - **Reverse-engineer** any mbira recording (upload audio → get: song, tuning, progression, style) - **Generate** valid variations constrained by the tradition's own rules ## The Six Dials | Dial | Range | What It Controls | |------|-------|------------------| | Tuning | Gandanga → Nyamaropa → Samaita | Modal identity + pitch register | | Song / Progression | 60+ songs, Progressions 1–7 | Active chord sequence | | Voice Balance | Kushaura → Both → Kutsinhira | Part emphasis | | Variation Density | Sparse → Dense | Note substitution freedom | | Artist Style | Musekiwa / Forward / Nyamasvisva / Garikayi / Chris Berry | Pattern vocabulary | | Register Weight | Bass → Balanced → Treble | Spectral character | ## The Theory Mbira uses a **7-note scale** mapped to **7 chords** grouped into **7 progressions**. Every mbira song is an expression of one of these progressions. Same song in a different tuning = different progression number (not just transposition — a modal shift). The mixing engine uses this theory as its constraint system — the same way an LLM uses context to constrain next-token probability. Valid note choices are determined by: active progression × tuning × voice × variation density. ## Corpus Built from: - mbira.online premium archive (100+ songs, top Zimbabwean masters) - Andy Fowler / mbiramagic.com (248 videos, Forward Kwenda lessons) - YouTube channels: Chr …