Exploring Text-to-Music Technology: How Close Are We?

[gibacot]

Hello everyone.

Has anyone experimented with text-to-music software or AI tools that convert written text into musical compositions? I’ve been curious about how these systems translate words, emotions, or themes into sound.

When we talk about text to music, how do these tools manage to capture the essence of written content and turn it into a musical piece? Do the lyrics, tone, or context of the text influence the music's style and genre, or is it more about structural patterns?

I’d love to hear opinions on whether these tools are creative or just a mechanical way of generating music.

Excited to hear your thoughts and experiences!

 

[PLX]

I usually just get drunk and play my guitar like a maniac.

 

[Frodebro]

If you want to express yourself through the written word, learn to write poetry. Study the greats. If you want to create emotive music, put down your damn phone and learn to play an instrument.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Oh man, I am SO against this shit!

Writing music is an art form, and should remain the domain of humans, not computers, in any form. If you can't write music or lyrics, then you're not an artist. And that's fine. Not everyone can do it.

Plus, if you entered anything into some kind of software, and it spit out a song for you, how could you possibly be proud of that? Or even begin to take ownership of it?

It would be like me feeling like I wrote moondog's latest lyric, just because I had the idea.

 

[Sleezy E]

Real musicians have nothing to worry about...

..but once AI discovers jazz cigarettes and goes through its first breakup, all bets are off.

 

[PLX]

Real musicians have nothing to worry about...

..but once AI discovers jazz cigarettes and goes through its first breakup, all bets are off.

 

[Aelred]

Well, there are certainly a few of them out there now! I have no idea how copyright etc. works online these days after Ola Englund had his original music slightly altered by AI - then hit with copyright strikes. I thought at least one purpose of such sites was to enable "content creators" to add some music to their videos without fearing the copyright hammer. So many such sites advertise themsleves as "royalty free" and I doubt they mean Prince Harry.

As for AI generating actual songs as pure music for art's sake, Nick Cave had a few words:

Nick Cave - The Red Hand Files - Issue #248 - I work in the music industry and there is a lot of excitement around ChatGPT. I was talking to a songwriter in a band that was using ChatGPT to write his lyrics, because it was so much 'faster and easier.

Dear Leon and Charlie, In the story of the creation, God makes the world, and everything in it, in six days. On the seventh day he rests...

www.theredhandfiles.com

 

[maguchi]

Hello everyone.

Has anyone experimented with text-to-music software or AI tools that convert written text into musical compositions? I’ve been curious about how these systems translate words, emotions, or themes into sound.

When we talk about text to music, how do these tools manage to capture the essence of written content and turn it into a musical piece? Do the lyrics, tone, or context of the text influence the music's style and genre, or is it more about structural patterns?

I’d love to hear opinions on whether these tools are creative or just a mechanical way of generating music.

Excited to hear your thoughts and experiences!

I have limited experience with AI. I have tried to get AI to write the outline of an article just to give me ideas and a direction. What I got was usable only after proofreading and a lot of corrections. The outline I got back was pretty basic with flaws and mistakes due to AI confusing words and phrases with something similar, or homonyms and other confusing words. And getting incorrect info from unreliable sources or from sources that were similar but incorrect. AI has impressively come a long way in the last few years. However in my opinion it still has a long, long way to go before being able to "translate words, emotions or themes into sound".