In this fourth iteration of exploration of bird song, AI platforms and music composition (see post one — post two — post three), I took some of the concepts of bird song sounds and music composition into the AI song-making platform, Suno, and gave it instructions about making a gentle folk song, with the And Then There’s The Cuckoo title from yesterday’s podcast remix, added some of the informational text from my earlier use of Google’s Learn About and NotebookLM, and hit “create”.
You can take a listen to the song it created.
I mean, Suno does a decent job with that I gave it. Each time I use Suno, I get the same sense that this is pretty amazing (and that the quality improves every few months) and also, I worry about whose sounds have been gulped into the machine to create this AI music. The vocals here sound familiar to my ear, but I can’t quite place whose voice it sounds like. The piano is rather lovely, too. And there are little touches here and there that make it for an interesting listen.
The lyrics below are what the Suno AI generated with my prompt.
And Then There’s The Cuckoo
[Verse]
In the hush of dawn’s first light
Where oak and willow stand tall
Composers find their dreams alight
With the thrush’s beck and call[Verse 2]
A robin weaves a melody
So raw
Untouched by man
Its notes inspire symphony
In hearts where dreams began[Chorus]
And then there’s the cuckoo’s sound
Echoing through the wood
In its song
A truth is found
Where nature’s voice stood[Verse 3]
The blackbird’s tune
A haunting thread
A whisper of days gone by
Its cadence fills the heart with dread
Yet lifts it to the sky[Verse 4]
Beneath the lark’s ascending glee
A composer pens his line
Caught in the wild’s euphony
Where thoughts of rapture twine[Chorus]
And then there’s the cuckoo’s call
A note so pure and clear
It rings within the concert hall
And chases away the fear
Peace (and song),
Kevin
Cory Doctorow has a term for AI generated creative stuff. He calls it “slop”. Yeah, it’s an ugly word but might be a good starting place for discussions with Jennifer. I can send links to Doctorow if you like. I know you are a busy boy so don’t feel obliged. A friend of mine had been out of teaching at Uni for six years. He went back and the biggest change he felt was–AI. He said it changed his whole idea of what it meant to be a learner much less a teacher.
It is an ugly word. I’ve seen Doctorow’s take on AI. He’s much more negative than I am (not that I am a rah rah cheerleader). I see possibilities where he only sees theft.
Kevin