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AI songwriting and musicianship - let the discussion begin (er, continue...)?


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  • 2 weeks later...

Math is cool.

There is a term in computing called seeding for random numbers. You inject something... anything... and it helps get something different. 

It works both ways. Computers can inspire us too.

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I have no issue with AI music as long as people don’t claim they created it. I’m not talking about AI tools for fixing stuff like noise or distortion. Those will be useful. Even AI background vocals could be ok.

But having an idea and actually turning that idea into something by playing instruments will always matter to me versus asking software to do it all for you.

Unfair? Many things in life are unfair. Like poisoning the AI databases.

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We'd just gone through the song, when a voice was heard that broke over the humming tube amps...

It was our drummer and sure enough, he had a brilliant suggestion to make.

"That's genuinely stupid" I thought.

But then again, what else can you expect from the drummer...

Even though I did not utter word, every one in the room picked on it. 

Except the drummer of course.

So I know how to deal with genuine stupidity, but not AI.

Some people who are in the business of delivering a product can certainly find it useful. But that's a different mindset - one that I genuinely respect. I have been there.

But for me - and this is going to sound stupid and corny - music is a little like personal growth, or a little like praying. Which is why I no longer care about delivering. 

Imagine you're on a plane that's about to crash - who would ask AI to communicate their last thoughts?

Art is that to me. A chance to be absolutely real.

That's also why I am convinced that drummers are really absolutely stupid. ;) 

(Except Neil Peart, of course).

Edited by Rain
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Artists rip off others partial riffs, chord progressions and partial melodies, partial lyrics. Have for many years now. A site like suno.com will create something for you based on your (or just a story line, if you will) and your description of the style (hard rock, aggressive male voice etc.), you can even submit a snippet of your music to nudge it along.

What you get back in the form of at least two somewhat different attempts can be used as "writers block" springboard.

Sometimes an AI tool is just a tool (or a cigar 😄).

My two shillings opinion.

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I remember copying other musicians when I was young. I learned licks from the pop stars of the day, I digested sheet music and music books, and learned record solos note for note. 

I listened to sax players, guitar players, vocalists, in a variety of genre, and internalized all that.

The more I learned, the more I combined what I learned, until it was no longer recognizable as what influenced me, but was now my own.

From what I read, AI seems to be on this journey. 

I'm glad I'm a live, gigging musician, because I don't think AI is going to replace me very soon. 

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1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:

I'm glad I'm a live, gigging musician, because I don't think AI is going to replace me very soon. 

I think this is the real differentiator. Even before AI, I would typically bucket folks into "live" or "studio" (aka, post production) bins. DAWs just made post-production simpler and more accessible, and AI will streamline that process, but (good) live performance will always be at the top of the pecking order IMO.

Shifting gears a bit... back in the day, a student that turned in a paper that seemed out of character could be checked for plagiarism (Google helped with that). AI tools just make that checking harder, and is not "creativity" but sheer indolence. Even lawyers have been caught doing this; turning in court documents that reference non-existent case files. Paying someone to be lazy goes well beyond my level of tolerance, but some instances even cross the line into legal ramifications.

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So here is an example (I'm not going to use it, BTW) where I fed using my full lyrics and told it to do an 70s or 80s (I don't remember which) Bue Eyed Soul style.

Is it the worst arrangement ever? No. Is it the next big hit arrangement? No. Is it ok as a starting point to turn it into a real song by replacing all musicians with real players? Maybe. Then have a singer do their interpretation of a melody making it their own? Probably. Will I do it? No.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/389ows1puze8dw2odbgtw/What-s-So-Special.mp3?rlkey=hlrbof1g7phjl3qhiwepbkoe0&dl=0

 

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AI has the ability to be a fancier Band in a Box. As said, generating ideas is it's strength, but I am not going to use it as the final and complete track. I just don't see myself feeling like I truly accomplished anything. I've gotten better over the years but as a one man-band (occasionally two) I'm restricted in just about every aspect of music making.

I am also not a good singer. I can keep in tune but there is nothing especially interesting about my voice. I come off monotone no matter the dynamics of the singing. That's where I would certainly get someone that is interesting to sing it. But just generate it all via AI? It's not what I want. I prefer to keep working to get better. The journey is part of the appeal.

I can also see the fancy results from AI actually being depression since I could never accomplish that. Now a band playing and improving one of my songs? That would be very pleasing.

Still Bapu's creation is catchy!

Edited by Terry Kelley
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I've done studio work for independent studios and Motown when they were in Detroit.

I enjoy studio work, but I like live performance in front of an audience much better. 

Since the words are the last thing I listen to in a song, and sometimes never get to them, I'm not a songwriter. I play songs written by others, sometimes the "Brill Building" folks, sometimes famous singer/songwriters, sometimes jazz folks, sometimes Tin Pan alley, sometimes people who don't speak English and I don't speak their language. So if AI writes a good, popular song, I have no reason not to learn and play it. 

I do feel badly for the songwriters they may put out of business, but times change, and survival means to change with it.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

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