Artificial intelligence has been sneaking up on us for years, but now it’s been emboldened and going mainstream! As a songwriter and producer, I’ve been struggling to get a grip on this. The fear from my colleagues in music is palpable and strikes fear into the heart of every creative musician I know. I’ve been trying to keep an open mind though, and let you, the reader, decide for yourself as I try to come to terms with it all.
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‘The trend is cashing in on those wanting to write songs’
OMG! An acronym for “Oh My God” has been around for a while too and wasn’t invented by Gen Z, Millennials or even Boomers. It was first coined in letters written by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Those reading who aren’t familiar, please reference the recent portrait of the Roaring Lion, stolen from Rideau Hall and returned by an amicable Italian. A wartime prime minister never faced such a foe as this. The trend is cashing in on those who wanted to write songs, but had little imagination or enough skills to carry their dream to fruition. It’s most controversial among
musicians, especially those who take the art of songwriting seriously. So, I wanted to include a tale involving two of my close friends – but when they heard I might be using their names regarding music and AI, one of them was afraid they’d get hate mail! For their benefit, I am leaving them out of this conversation. Most recently I was set up on a blind date who, I discovered, was a lyricist. This was almost as exciting as discovering an animator who still draws every frame. After our brief date she was kind enough to send me her vast collection of more than 100 produced songs. I was
impressed by her body of work (no you don’t!) and I started to comb through the various demos which were well-produced with superb vocals and musicianship. I wanted to say a specific song was my favourite, but after thirty or so, I couldn’t fi nd one that stood out. Her lyrics were quite good but the melody and feel of each song were mundanely similar. She had paid her Nashville partner for all of her many demos, but it did seem that he wasn’t interested in creating a melody or song that would wow her listeners. It was purely a job for him. My Trisektor Projekt band member
friend, a technical scallywag, had already taken the liberty of running two sets of her lyrics through an AI site called Suno.com. The results shocked me. The songs’ two variations were quite good, I enjoyed them. I felt horrible for liking them. I tried my own at the Suno site; I typed in “Playing Piano in Kitsilano” and got a seven-minute perfectly produced song demo with killer vocals in just a couple of minutes. “@###&!!!” I said to myself.
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‘Humans need to express themselvesMy musician friends swore out loud something I can’t repeat here when they heard my faux song. So, when I suggested to the lyricist that she might listen to something “disturbing but interesting,” her curt response was, ‘How Dare You!” and my love aff air was dust. “I wasn’t suggesting you use AI!” I tried pathetically to explain, but it was too late. And it’s too late for us all – AI in music is quickly becoming our new reality. Artifi cial Intelligence like music streaming, death, taxes, gyros, but maybe not black velvet paintings of Smurfs, are here now and there’s no place to hide. My Techno-Nerd friend is perhaps more delighted than I am, but there is a truth I want to share and, perhaps, it will help to alleviate some unnecessary fear.
Expression
Humans need to express themselves, as I am now. This helps to quell my own fears as well as I write this. We don’t have to stop writing songs or painting masterpieces. Great human music and art will continue. I pledge not to stop and I probably have up to 12.5 listeners by now. It’s not about the money or the competition. We are still bound to create and share with other humans. AI is just another tool. I thought I’d warn you today, but I want to ask everyone not to be afraid. Neil Young won’t be using AI and Hell won’t freeze over. Perhaps maybe, any bad music is going to get just a little better?
