A new file format has been developed that has intriguing possibilities. Dubbed MXP4, this format changes the way recorded music is experienced, providing a more interactive experience by playing multiple variants of a song as you play it - simulating the spontaneity of a live performance. Rather than listening to same song - the same way - multiple times, users can choose between various versions of the song using a download-able software player or online widget.


The potential for musicians is amazing. An artist could, for example, offer rock, metal, reggae, and pop versions of the same song. Furthermore, the artist could also assign weights to song "skins" providing a different experience with each playing. To elaborate, suppose a song had multiple skins for a particular guitar solo within the song. If the artist preferred one instance of the solo more than others, they could assign it a weight of 50% while assigning other solos a lesser weight. Then every time that particular song was played, the listener would hear the version of the song with the more heavily weighted guitar solo half of the time, but other times the song would feature an entirely different guitar solo, based upon how the skins have been weighted.

Personally, I think this kind of technology (not necessarily MXP4 itself, but the concept) has tremendous potential for education in the form of learning objects - one file, multiple possibilities, all weighted by the teacher or student.

But what do you think? How could you use this kind of technology to teach or to learn?

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