Inking Erudus- Digital Tools for Crafting Music

Behind the Magic, Fire and Fur : Crafting a Fantasy World

Inking Erudus is a new series that looks behind the tools, and techniques that I use and explore for my fantasy tales. Today’s series deals with music.

I love music. As a child I played the violin throughout school and even traveled with the orchestra to Nashville for competitions. At home, I dabbled in piano and guitar. I recently started playing again with apps called Simply Piano and Simply Guitar. I am surprised how much I enjoy learning with these programs.

I also love listening to music, and try to enjoy it a little each day. Pieces such as Wake me Up by David Garrett (Youtube) and Something Just Like this by ColdPlay (Youtube) are some of my favorites.

Why did I choose to try music applications?

When I was preparing a couple social media posts, I was looking for music for the background. I had heard that creating music with AI is easy these days. Although I don’t agree with writing stories or lyrics with AI, I thought it might be interesting to find out what is available online. I was curious to find an orchestral piece to use in the background.

As the saying goes, I went down a rabbit hole, when I was researching apps. I researched several AI music apps and chose SUNO.

SUNO

SUNO is three tiered. The free account only allows you to create two songs a month and has limited instruments and genres. I subscribed to the second tier which is just over $10 USD. I am still in the trial phase. I may cancel it.

My workspace on Suno is pictured in the image below. As you can see I have been playing with the controls and have created several songs.

Because, I have not written any lyrics yet, I allowed the program to create the lyrics and sound, selecting genres I like. Then I gave the program a one sentence description of what I wanted. The resulting lyrics were strange, but the combination of the words and music was okay.

The AI Results

This is the first version of the audio. The program called the song Name Stitched in Starlight.

I changed the settings many times. I used male and female voices and a variety of different genres. I added to words to include. I added Jynx, Angelika’s lavender eyes and, Erudus.

Here is a different version of the music with a male voice. The program called the song In the Hush before the Heartbeat of the Dawn.

A totally different version of In the Hush in the Heartbeat before the Dawn. This version includes an electric guitar and a male voice.

Here is one of the final versions of The Hush in the Heartbeat of the Dawn.

I chose to do a couple of orchestral versions of The Hush in the Heartbeat of the Dawn. I really haven’t found one I’m happy with yet.

What Was My Final Conclusion?

I was surprised how easy it was to generate background music and to be honest alarmed. While I enjoyed playing with the application, I don’t think I will use it.

It bothers me that AI programs are writing stories and novels for people. While I can see using the programs to help with branding, and for research purposes, I believe that stories are richer and more complex when a human being writes their own words. I believe lyrics are the same.

As for the music behind the lyrics, I kind of feel the same way. I believe that musicians should be the one’s creating music. If I object to AI writing books, how can I not object to it creating music?

I know others believe differently - to each his own. Maybe, in the future I will change my mind. But today, on social media, I will post my content using the music that has been provided.

What do you think?

Good-bye for now. Today, may you take the time to dance with the melodies of spring, and may they fill your heart with wonder.