After 3 days of experimenting with the Suno AI music Generator I have a lot of thoughts.
The thing is about Suno AI is that I can get an organic feel that I could not with MIDI. Previously, if I had an idea and wanted that organic sound, I would have to either record it with an actual instrument, which limits me to the instruments I have and can play: guitar (acoustic & electric), bass, drums, uke, mandolin, and piano.
I’ll admit I’m a bit old school and never mastered MIDI and sampling, but I have spent hundreds of hours in my DAW trying to get the sounds I want with MIDI. It’s amazing for some things but not for acoustic organic vibes. Using AI is unlocking things I’ve wanted to do all my life but was never able to. For me, it’s like having access to a whole orchestra and being able to instruct not only the styles but the vibes and tones I want.
I made this whole instrumental album in two days, going for a kinda Buena Vista Social Club meets old Bond film meets old Western film Mexican gunslinger vibe. It sounds way more natural than anything I could do with software instruments.
I’ll link to this album I made in two days, along with my album that I produced myself, which for the most part was played with real instruments and some software instruments.
Album I made with AI in Two days (it doesn’t suck I promise)
https://suno.com/playlist/03cf8f66-7bac-4fc7-a279-73aab7eb0734
Album I self-produced and performed with real instruments and some software (doesn’t suck but I settled in some areas where I didn’t have the instruments to complete my vision and got bored with editing the same parts 100 of times)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lBD7ObAjHdB2C4yrGEi0M?si=eJcY4PmhRA-WlY9N9HcDBg&pi=u-NHf7nO-HScOz
I’m not trying to promote my stuff; I could care less, but I am saying as a musician and producer I’m more excited about the AI age of music. I think we get the same cookie-cutter crap from the industry titans. I’ll be happy to see the current paradigm fall. I think performing music is more of a communal thing, and ever since the invention of recording and marketing music as a product, bands and musicians have this idea to make an album and play the same music over and over indefinitely.
I think with the saturation of new ideas coming from people using AI, the paradigm of performing your album over and over again will fizzle. Eventually, the megastars will fade, and the human experience of performing music will again become a communal experience of learning your fellow musicians’ language rather than their songs.
I named my first album that I released in 2012 “Bored With Songs.” This is a sentiment I’ve held for some time.
I think that AI music will be different than the AI art generators where small artists are affected by their ability to make money off things like commissioned work.
Here, the music industry will freak out and fight back and, frankly, have more power than the “art industry.” But the people who will be fighting back are the superstars that turned music from art to crap. I think your average musician, like me, will embrace this new amazing tool, and smaller musicians will make money playing live with a focus on becoming amazing live performers in a wider spectrum rather than beating the dead horse of an album they are not really making any money from.
Anyone agree or disagree? I will say, if you are a musician or producer-songwriter, before making up your mind on whether AI music is going to ruin everything, spend a couple of hours messing with Suno. Once you get a nice mix of ingredients, I think it’s easy to get ideas across. I’ve only been using it for three days and I’m feeling my brain unlocked in new ways. The proof is in the music.
I think people will have to decide for themselves but I think artists should really spend some time messing around with AI music generators before deciding.
Soon you’ll be able to give the AI a melody idea to influence the output. As more time goes on I really think that musicians, even old school ones like me will embrace using AI especially because many old school dudes like me that play instruments have had frustration using software instruments when trying to reproduce acoustic natural sounds. Software instruments are great for many things but definitely lack an organic aspect that I’m now convinced AI can achieve (scroll through the AI album if you don’t believe me, midway through it goes more acoustic vibes)
I just can’t imagine getting some of the organic feel with software instruments there are just so many dimensions to a real instrument…software instruments are like checkers, when a real instrument is like go.
Just like with image generators AI is great at creating a realistic looking photograph the same is true when it applies to music & instruments even though this technology is in its infancy.
Let’s face it most AI music does suck if you scroll through what the Suno features on its page, but that’s why musicians should start using this tool, I’m convinced if you are a musician and especially one that has played in bands or collaborated with other musicians, it’s a process that is familiar, describing the vision you have to someone else then realizing that vision through collaboration.
We are in a new paradigm now and there is no going back, I’d rather see great musicians, producers, songwriters & artists be empowered by this than feel left behind. I hope the superstar hit makers that helped turn music into a commodity do get left behind. There are some real artists at the top but generally if you are trying to appeal to a mass market through ear worms you aren’t focused on making art. I will never release a single on a streaming platform because I want my music to be digested in a larger context than the singles format, though to he competitive and feed the playlist algorithms this is what artists are forced to do. I hate the machine that exists now and I think this new machine of AI will kill what has been killing the art in music for so long and give those focused on the art the ability to create the visions they’ve always had.
In the end most of us make music because we love it, not cause it pays well. Most of us perform because we like the feeling and community it gives us, I don’t think that is going anywhere. Maybe less people will learn instruments because they can think their ideas out, but if that’s the case I think those who perform live will only find their skills more valued.
Thoughts?
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