Just as an aside I think that its shifted over cousin
vi--IV--I--V
...has now taken over. Add them together and I can't even imagine how many songs use it...

Anyway, back on topic; I'm sure this will be a really fun tool for many and that's all that really matters. There's so much background noise of mediocrity out there now a little bit more is not going to make one bit of difference and you never know, somebody might use this thing to come up with something really interesting.
This almost takes making basic music into the realm of an interactive game which is probably how they really should market it. Fun for non- musicians and "producers".

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2025

Aha, see, THERE'S the problem

 

Yep

 

You're right, this falls into the area of the entertainment industry and toys for the home computer, as a pastime and hobby.

The AI is hardly going to teach people how to write music, it's going to do it for them. In the end, you only need to tell the AI with the name “Make your first chart hit” disco, 128 BPM and the name drum track - the AI will take care of everything else.

Surely the AI will also deliver text modules such as the well known:
I love You, I don't love you, I don't love anymore and You're stupid, for Fuck You please press the additional key FY.

I'm waiting for the day when the AI scans our forum and incorporates the ideas and know-how we have here into its AI.

 

I agree that sound design and production have somewhat become a bigger focus than songwriting in a lot of todays music. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just is. Theres still plenty of great songwriting out there, and creating an overall feeling, vibe, with sound design etc is still very important.

I don’t think chord generators are the root cause of sameness, the I–V–vi–IV progression is popular because it works. it’s emotionally effective, easy to topline over, and has been used in hit songs for decades. Even without MIDI tools, musicians and aspiring producers would still gravitate toward familiar and effective progressions . As far as interesting structure and arrangement, if anything, that falls on the consumer. Tiktok generation does not listen to 5 miinute long songs.

If someone takes a chord generators output and does nothing else with it, sure, the result might be generic. however, great producers and artist use tools like these to spark ideas, then transform them into something unique. The same argument could’ve been made about samplers in the '80s, DAWs in the '90s, or even drum machines. But in the right hands, these tools have led to incredible innovation.

as far as knowing people who can shred with no formal training... idk what to tell you, its true, i have a few friends / writing partnerers that are extremely gifted with playing by ear. Sure, maybe not EVERY instrument. They arent going to pick up and shred the bagpipes or trumpet, but can play the guiter, keys, bass, even drums. They just have the ear for harmony, melody, and have the groove inside them.

 

Midi chord packs, and generators HAVE actually taught me a lot about music theory over the years. ive always known the basics, but studying interesting progressions, seeing how different types of chords are formed etc has been invaluable to my personal growth as a producer.

oh, and the AI already pulls from this site haha. Im not sure if it was incorporated in its training, or it just pulls quotes from searching, but chatgpt has directed me here a couple times.

 

I think with modern DAWs, virtual software synthesizers and virtual drum machines etc. we have a lot more people making music today than before the internet. Since about 1998 it has been possible for many people to become creative themselves, even if they are not real musicians in the classical sense, but it is a cultural progress due to technological progress.

Music is music - it gives people pleasure and can be a meaningful purpose in life.

I am happy @shinyzen about your contributions, because it also broadens my horizon of consciousness.