AI Song Generation

[Barry Yasika]

I’ve dabbled in songwriting for a long time, doing what I can up at the house. Out of curiosity, I recently used AI to build a song based on the words and chord structure I created. Within just a few minutes, it generated two different versions of the same song—and they sounded amazing.

I’ve spent time in studios helping with demos and small projects where the artists I supported would often spend between $800 and $1,000 PER SONG on studio time, musicians, and mixing. Even though some of those recordings along with recordings I've heard other people bang out all turned out pretty good, none came close to what AI produced in just minutes—and it was completely free. Good luck competing with that. It's like anyone can type and idea or words in the these modelers and come out with a pro-sounding composition.

I’m still unsure how I feel about it all, but it’s clear that the demand for musicians, studio time, and mixing services is already, or soon will be, drastically reduced. AI’s capabilities are impressive even at this early stage, and it’s fascinating—and a little unsettling—to wonder what the next five years will bring.

It makes you question whether pursuing music will be anything more than an expensive hobby to enjoy at home. I’m not saying AI will completely replace musicians, but I’ve noticed many smaller acts using sequencers to create backing tracks for studio layers. Now I’m seeing the same trend with AI.

It’s incredible stuff—so fast and cost-effective that no musician can match it. The downside is that music created with AI tools isn’t entirely original. But honestly, most listeners probably don’t care where the music comes from as long as they can dance to it.

In the end, like everything else, only time will tell.

[Fred Treece]

It might be interesting to reverse engineer an AI generated song with humans performing it live, and compare the results. I would imagine that even if the humans learned every note and played it back with what they think is the same dynamic expression, it will never turn out the same. Better or worse would be in the ear of the beer holder.

I also wonder about the legal issues of copyright and publishing, deciding how to form a tour band that will represent the AI-generated band’s material, etc.

[Bill McCloskey]

I think a time is coming when everyone in the arts is replaced by AI. I expect the first AI generated movie, with people who look and sound real, is just around the corner. I wish I could predict the future but I can’t, but I do know it is happening faster than any of us imagined.

[Fred Treece]

Hmm, good point, Bill. Maybe instead of a human band touring in the name of the AI generated recording, there will be a movie release of the album’s name with the actual images of the fake band members playing their tunes.

[Larry Dering]

I've already come across AI generated fake performances on YouTube done by Google. Look at Guitar Girl and tell me that isn't fake. Also a lot of music including steel guitar pops up on my suggestions list that are AI. I have a problem with this format. The music mogels will blanket the market until all the real players are gone. Lets h t fool ourselves into acceptance. It's another war machine insult to real musicians.

[Barry Yasika]

AI movies?

You’ve got a point, Bill—I never really thought about that. I’ve heard a lot about this new “Wizard of OZ” in 5D. Wouldn’t surprise me if AI had a hand in it. There are even warnings for folks with certain phobias—it might not be the best idea to go. Sounds like a flight simulator on steroids
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But here’s the thing: AI can’t be someone like Townes Van Zandt. A man who could sit alone on stage and silence an entire room. That kind of presence—raw, human, imperfect—is beyond the reach of algorithms. So yeah, there’s still hope for the mortals. After a while, all that high-tech polish starts to feel pretty A-typical.

[Don R Brown]

Out of curiosity, I recently used AI to build a song based on the words and chord structure I created. Within just a few minutes, it generated two different versions of the same song—and they sounded amazing.

I have to wonder if the all-powerful AI might "learn" or archive everything it is asked to do or learn, and then spits it out for the next guy. Barry, let's say you've really worked hard, got a really good set of lyrics for example, and you're close to finishing the project. You turn to AI for some "help" with the music.

Tonight I sit down and ask AI for a song about a topic similar to what you had made. So AI spits out your song, or most of it, back to me as a suggestion.

Food for thought.

[Barry Yasika]

Tonight I sit down and ask AI for a song about a topic similar to what you had made. So AI spits out your song, or most of it, back to me as a suggestion.

Food for thought.

Don, I don’t quite understand which songs you’re referring to. In my initial post, I didn’t describe any song theme or chords. I simply mentioned that I input some words into an AI along with the basic feel or melody I wanted, and from that, AI created two different versions.

The model I used wouldn’t let me download the songs unless I paid for a subscription, which I wasn’t willing to do. So, how do you know that your songs are the same two as mine? Just curious, man—no challenge to what you’re saying.

[Frank Freniere]

I expect the first AI generated movie, with people who look and sound real, is just around the corner.

The casting has already begun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urKfqv_L680

[Don R Brown]

Barry, no offense taken whatever! I was asking in a more general way, and using some of what you had posted as an example. We're all good.

I'm an old guy and not well versed in the latest technology, but do try to understand it even if I don't use it myself. Maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works.

Let's say I write a song. For discussion, let's pick something real silly - pink puppydogs playing polkas on a push-pull. I've got great lyrics, but I'm stuck on a tune. I presume I'd upload the lyrics, and make a selection of what genre, tempo, and instruments I want? And AI would "think" and search, and give me one or more melodies.

Now somebody else is looking to write a song, maybe he wants a couple of those words in it - puppydogs, push-pull, and maybe he already has a polka melody but asks AI to come up with lyrics. AI searches the universe, and lo and behold, somewhere it turns up my lyrics which I put in to some site or other looking for a tune. Is it possible the second guy would be offered some, or most, or all, of MY lyrics as a suggestion?

If I'm out in left field on how it works I apologize. Someday I will find the time to dig deeper into the whole process (which by then will probably have changed anyway). Right now I just don't have the hours of time to find out how it works (and that is no dig whatever at those who do). Altho I guess to some degree, merely by following this thread and posting, I am ALREADY trying to understand how it works! Thanks for furthering my education.

[Barry Yasika]

Don, I think I see what your saying. Your basically questioning how AI comes up with (AI uses the word "Models") the different models in creating songs. At least from what I can digest, that's what I was able to digest.

AI-generated songs are created by training models on huge libraries of existing music—lyrics, melodies, vocals, and instrumentation. The AI learns patterns in how songs are written, structured, and performed. When you give it a prompt (like a theme or mood), it uses those learned patterns to generate new content that sounds original but is built from statistical similarities to what it’s seen before.
So yes, repeatability and word similarity are common—especially in lyrics—because the AI leans on familiar phrases and structures to stay coherent. It’s not copying, but it’s echoing what’s statistically likely.

I guess since AI is still pretty new, it’ll keep getting better as it builds up a bigger and bigger library of everything it uses to create songs. Here’s a bluegrass track AI made—I found a bunch like this on YouTube under a channel called “AI Harmonix.”
https://youtu.be/lt-BdDOZLtM?si=bupiVHRHsuzWv5ud

It sounds nothing like the songs I write, but there’s definitely some similarities across this and other songs on that channel. Honestly, I probably don’t know any more about this stuff than you do, but I’ve been keeping an eye on it because it’s as fascinating as it is a little scary. I’m weird like that—part adrenaline junkie, part glutton for punishment

For now, I remain cautiously optimistic. Only reason I wanted clarify there was no hostility intended is because you never know what kind of personality your dealing with on the forum. Glad we're all good!!

[Don R Brown]

Barry thanks for the overview of AI - it works about like I was guessing. Searches the universe for past examples and patterns, and uses that to anticipate what would most closely fit the parameters of what is requested. I suppose the available pool of ideas is so incredibly vast that there's little chance it would take my (hypothetical) lyrics and offer them to someone else.

You said

I guess since AI is still pretty new, it’ll keep getting better as it builds up a bigger and bigger library of everything it uses to create songs.

I guess that's a pretty good description of the "learning pedal steel" journey itself. I'm gradually expanding that "library" of my own capabilities, and sometimes I can reach for the right shelf for what I need before the song is over.

Thanks for that link - whatever computer wrote that first one has been reading my mail for sure! Hard to believe those lyrics didn't come from a human. "I'm retired and tired - mostly tired!" Awesome!