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#music#creative#ableton#generative#control#song#play#mcp#composition#different
Discussion (27 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
1. Generating track layouts (add tracks + empty audio/midi clips throughout)
2. Generating MIDI sequences
3. Generating Serum patches
4. Extracting stems from existing audio
5. Automating common workflows (eg sidechaining)
6. Semantic search of sample library
That being said, I don't think I want a full agentic workflow for vibe-producing. Point solutions seems like a better fit for me, personally.
[0] https://variousbits.net/2026/02/22/building-generative-music...
https://www.muse.art/home
Me, I'm having a blast with claude code, MCP, and Ableton. I'm directing harmony and asking for arrangements and variations in rhythm, mixing, and production. Don't know if that counts as "making it myself", but then I was writing music before I could actually play any instrument at all, so :shrug:
For me personally, music composition begins and ends with the motif - the melody itself. It’s the part I enjoy the most, and it’s also the part I have the most individual control over since I can sing.
Everybody makes music differently, but if you lack the ability to play an instrument and you also can’t whistle or sing, it’s hard for me to imagine how you’d have any meaningful control over the melody.
How would a non‑musician express an actual melody that they came up with (beyond simple things like instrumentation and general “feelings”) in text? RED RED RED BLUE. (Sorry couldn't resist a Mission Hill reference here.)
With all that out of the way, there's still lots of room for using AI in music. I’ve used it to take some of my existing songs, mostly pianistic in nature, and swap out instrumentation and arrangements just to play around with different soundscapes. It's like BIAB on steroids.
Like if at some point I can just say “Generate a song similar to Smooth Criminal, different enough to not trigger copyright claims” and it just works, and everyone loves it… well is that creative thinking?
It is NOT a digital tool to create art. Yes, people used to be snobbish about digital art. Some still are. This doesn't say anything about generative AI because that isn't a tool.
The closest equivalent is hiring someone on fiverr to create music for you and claiming you created the music because you wrote the "prompt".
There is nothing creative about using generative AI. Is is a form of management. The difference is that instead of extracting labor directly your are extracting dead labor from the million of artists whose work was stolen to train the AI.
[1] http://www.computermusicjournal.org/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cope#Emily_Howell
[3] http://autechre.ws/
Addendum: I would highly recommend the Margaret Boden book referenced in the wiki on David Cope/Emily Howell, which is an absolutely fascinating read and was incredibly far-sighted in its enquiries on this topic.
A dishwasher that may have been taught about Markov chains ...
To me, it seems like the "do it for me" aspect is similar, just at different levels of abstraction.
* I suppose in the early days, running on an mainframe would belie the definition of ownership per se, as it required access and was limited to that specific machine/institution, but then we are talking about a time where personal computing wasn't available.
But I realize I have not seen any criticisms of AI generated music that are meaningfully different from criticisms I've heard of other advances/changes in music technology, whether performance or recording.
Sampling, scratching, drum machines, autotune, electric guitars even.
If all you care about is the raw sound file created and you don't care about the connection you might feel with the artist behind it then maybe intent isn't relevant to you.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46428922
The chat messages I sent to Codex to make this:
in ableton, make a self reflective song, with audio vocals (via macos say) and chip tunes and 80's drum machines. should be a real edm banger
i want midi for everything but vocals please, with ableton devices. not prerendered audio for instruments
needs some fills
and should hit way harder after "3-2-1 i become the sound"
the vocals are squished too much (read too quickly), give them a little more length
add some dynamics, the song is basically one volume. and some pumping side chain
improve dynamics of the clap, seems a bit flat and indistinguished, want it harder after the 3-2-1 drop
introduce a new element on a new track after the 3-2-1 drop, that comes in but then recedes before the final exit
doesn't seem like the new thing has any notes
the element is a bit muddy/indistinct. perhaps it needs simplification and more space, different instrument choice, i dunno
Never.
I'm afraid Codex ignored that one.