Artificial music is the last place you should look to find a new song. And AI companies that claim to help you “create” your “own sound” tell you right up front they don’t have new music. Here’s an example:
This company says their AI is “trained on a catalog of 8 million music tracks and harnesses our database of 170,000 audio sounds to create complex AI music compositions in under 5 seconds.”
Amadeus, Johann, and Ludwig are rolling over in their graves.
Let’s say I take a stylistic license with their compositions, mash a little Mozart here, jiggle (pronounced yiggle) a little Johann there, and ladle a little Ludwig into the mix. But I make sure to only play my “new creation” on a device those guys never even heard of. And that’s easy. Just about any keyboard I’ve ever owned will do.
No harm. No foul. Because that “new” mix would never have reach the airwaves if it weren’t for me.
So, I alone (along with my artificial music mix) am the “song” writer.
There’s a guy I watch, once in a while, on YouTube, who talked about how artificial music or AI assisted music could possibly do away with the need for actual musicians. And he added how he could see some ways good musicians could utilize the technology to create some interesting stuff, which I agree with.
He also mentioned how he’s “been telling you about how AI is the biggest threat to musicians.”
Well, I said that, 5 years ago, before the gigantic onslaught of artificially generated art of all kinds.
Yeah, I said this.
“I’m gonna move my music back into physical places. Places where they can be seen and held. Like in the good ol’ days of records, tapes, and CD’s. This digital world has some cool advantages. But sharing my musical projects ain’t one of them.
This isn’t some sort of rant or anything like that. I understand how well the online world works for so many businesses and endeavors. But the “free” mentality, when it comes to music, puts a serious damper on songwriters and music creators. So, while my “fix” for this might not be the popular one, I’m confident it’s the right way to go.
And that’s why my songs are beginning to fade away. I took a bunch of my song videos off my YouTube channel today. I’ve made the free versions mostly unavailable from here on my website, too. Because if my music only has a digital “free” value to you, you’re probably not my audience anyway. The good news, though, is I’ll be doing some fun stuff to make songs available in other ways. Thanks for understanding. And thanks for your support.”
Then, I wrote this rhyme about AI. And I called it…
Invisible Song Machines
The times will come in everyone’s life
When changes have to occur.
The reasons could be obvious, or
They might even be a blur.
One of those times is happening now
It’s somewhere behind the scenes…
Where the melodies quickly become
Invisible song machines.
Value is lost down deep in a world
Increasingly wanting “free.”
So, I’m moving my music around
To places listeners can see.
Places where I think they’ll connect
With those who connect with me.
If you believe I’ve got it all wrong
Then certainly, by all means,
Continue to get your free songs from
Invisible song machines.
© 2019 Tony Funderburk
By the way, I love to connect my thoughts and opinions to what God says about things in life. And He actually talks about this in a song He inspired King David to write. The song is also known as Psalm 33. And David’s lyrics talked about the sovereignty of the Lord in creation.
It goes a little something like this. One, two, three, four…
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
Hmm, an instrument of ten strings sure sounds different from a database of 170,000 audio sounds. But maybe that’s just me. Maybe I’m biased because I had to make a living in music the old-fashioned way. I had to learn and play the songs myself. And then I had to learn how to write songs and even figure out what people liked to hear so I could write better songs.
But the best part about all that hard work is this. Each new song I write is a new song I write. Not a compilation of sounds from any databases.
Just to be clear, I don’t play an instrument of ten strings. The piano I used to own had lots more than that. But these days my instruments are digital. And, some might say that’s cheating, too. Because I’m not using a physical instrument for every part of my songs.
But here’s the thing.
I play and sing the notes. And I arrange the way the lyrics will follow or lead the instruments. And I determine whether the time signature will be 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, or even (after I take five) 5/4. Plus, I don’t type any prompts into any artificial music GPT either.
As I said a little over 5 years ago, thank you for understanding. And thank you for your support.
Speaking of that, if you haven’t already, jump on the The FunderFlash. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.
Stay tuned,
