Endel and adaptive AI soundscapes in Rangsit: how an app makes music that responds to time, weather and heart rate, and why Champ reads the tempo in his AI piano lessons

Champ is sixteen and studies for his university entrance exams at a cramming school in Rangsit. He finds it hard to concentrate with traffic noise outside the window. A friend suggested an app called Endel, which plays calm sound designed to help with focus. Champ tried it and noticed the music seemed to shift slowly as the afternoon turned into evening.

Sound that changes with your day

Endel was created by a company founded in Berlin, and its app launched in 2018. Rather than playing a fixed track, it generates soundscapes in real time. The company says the sound adapts to factors such as the time of day, the local weather and, if users give permission through a smartwatch, their heart rate and movement.

The aim is functional sound: audio meant to support a task such as focusing, relaxing or falling asleep. Endel draws on ideas about circadian rhythms, the body's natural daily cycle, and on research about how sound can affect attention. Champ was careful to note that the company's claims about wellbeing are its own and that people respond differently.

In 2019 Endel made headlines when it agreed a distribution deal with Warner Music to release a series of albums produced with its technology. Journalists described this as an unusual moment, since a major label was distributing music generated by an algorithm. The albums were mostly ambient sleep and relaxation recordings.

The deal raised questions that interest Champ. Who is the creator when software generates the music? How should royalties work? Some musicians welcomed new tools, while others worried about automated music filling playlists and competing with human composers. Champ wrote these questions down for his school debate club, which needed a topic for its next session.

He also noticed that adaptive music is not entirely new. Video game soundtracks have adjusted to players' actions for decades, becoming more tense during danger and calmer when exploring. Endel applies a similar idea to everyday life, using data about the listener rather than events in a game, and adds machine-driven generation to vary the result.

Champ's piano lessons began at ten, stopped during middle school and restarted this year through TiGA AI, an online piano learning app he uses to relax after studying. The app's AI piano teacher listens to his playing and shows where his timing wavers. He finds that ten minutes at the keyboard clears his head better than any background sound.

Before each practice session, Champ reads the tempo word printed over the opening bar before playing, whether it says Lento or Allegretto, and picks his first speed from it. Endel made him think about how pace affects mood. A slow tempo calms him, while a lively one wakes him up, and choosing deliberately helps him use music to manage his energy.

The structured piano course in the app introduced him to gentle pieces built on repeating patterns, which remind him of ambient music. He practises one of them as a short break between study sessions, keeping the volume soft and the rhythm steady. The app's feedback shows him whether his repeated notes remain even, which is the secret of calm music.

At the debate club, Champ argued that adaptive AI music is useful as a background tool but cannot replace the experience of creating sound with your own hands. His opponent argued that most people only want background sound anyway. The audience voted narrowly for Champ, after he played a gentle étude on the club's keyboard to make his point.

For a teenager who wants to learn piano, adaptive AI music raises an interesting contrast. Listening to generated sound can support concentration, but learning to play piano builds skill, memory and a personal voice. Many students find that both have a place in a busy life, as long as they remember which one helps them grow.

Champ's cramming school has no music lessons, so he and two classmates started an informal lunchtime group where they share playlists and little compositions. They take turns choosing a theme, such as rain, mornings or night trains, and each brings something to listen to or perform. The group has become the most relaxed part of Champ's week.

Endel still runs quietly on his phone during long study sessions. When he needs a real break, though, he switches it off and sits at the keyboard to continue his AI piano lessons. He likes to say that the app can play music for him, but only his own hands can play it the way he feels at that moment.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is Endel? A: Endel is an app developed by a company founded in Berlin. Launched in 2018, it generates personalised soundscapes intended to support focus, relaxation and sleep, using information such as time of day and, with permission, heart rate.

Q: Did Endel sign a record deal? A: Yes. In 2019 Endel agreed a distribution deal with Warner Music to release a series of albums created with its technology, which was widely reported as an unusual step for a major label.

Q: Is adaptive AI music the same as AI piano lessons? A: No. Adaptive soundscapes are designed to play in the background. AI piano lessons in an online piano learning app focus on teaching a person to play, listening to the learner and giving feedback.

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