NoRe: Augmenting Journaling Experience with Generative AI for Music Creation

Abstract: Journaling has long been recognized for fostering emotional awareness and self-reflection, and recent advancements in generative AI offer new opportunities to create personalized music that can enhance these practices. In this study, we explore how AI-generated music can augment the journaling experience. Through a formative study, we examined journal writers' writing patterns, purposes, emotional regulation strategies, and the design requirements for the system that augments journaling experience by journal-based AI-generated music. Based on these insights, we developed NoRe, a system that transforms journal entries into personalized music using generative AI. In a seven-day in-the-wild study (N=15), we investigated user engagement and perceived emotional effectiveness through system logs, surveys, and interviews. Our findings suggest that journal-based music generation could support emotional reflection and provide vivid reminiscence of daily experiences. Drawing from these findings, we discuss design implications for tailoring music to journal writers' emotional states and preferences.