These 5 AI Tools Can Help Anyone Write Their First Song

Taking your first tentative steps into songwriting can be daunting, but luckily, AI technology is here to help. The following tools will generate a quick sketch to provide inspiration or even help you create a complete track.

BandLab SongStarter is designed to help you quickly generate musical ideas via a simple online interface. Start by entering a few basic cues about the type of track you want to write, and then you can experiment with different styles, tempos, and keys.

To start, I was asked to input a few of my favorite bands and artists and select a genre for my track. SongStarter immediately generated three tunes, including a laid-back R&B groove with swinging 8th notes on the hi-hats that would make a solid foundation for a full track.

I selected and clicked Edit in Studiowhich brought an online audio editor with individual tracks for melody, chords, bass and drums.

From SongStarter’s audio editor, you can record vocals, adjust levels, add effects like reverband tune your composition. While I didn’t choose to use it for a clean demo, it is is a powerful brainstorming tool that has helped me generate song ideas quickly and efficiently.

While ChatGPT is mainly known for generating conversational text, it is also capable of writing song lyrics and can also help you come up with sounds and melodies. You can send the AI ​​with different topics or even specific topics, and generate texts to suit your preferences.

While ChatGPT can create full verses, choruses, and even bridges, I believe it’s best used to spread inspiration rather than as a substitute for your own lyrics.

In the test, I prompted ChatGPT to write lyrics about Van Gogh’s Sunflowers using an AABA structure. While these lyrics seemed uninspiring to me, most lyrics do when they are not accompanied, and could quickly form the basis of a convincing song with some further editing.

I also asked the AI ​​to write a melody on Am7, D9, G11 and Am7 chords. Surprisingly, he wrote a simple melody in guitar tablature, which would have translated well as a vocal line.

ChatGPT can also help you overcome creative blocks. If you’re in the middle of a song, you can ask the AI ​​for suggestions on how to move forward.

While I was initially reluctant to use ChatGPT for creative purposes, I’ve softened to its capabilities as a useful tool for getting away from starting blocks or to inspire a new direction when your musical creativity wanes.

CassetteAI stands out as an innovative online platform that combines AI with MIDI technology to generate unique songs tailored to your creative preferences. The program is designed for beginners, but even as an experienced composer, you could use it as an inspiration tool and to quickly create professional support tracks for content creation.

I entered a couple of requests to test CassetteAI. The first was “Compone, a summer hit in A major with a beach vibe”, which gave impressive results. Even the MIDI guitar sounded quite convincing.

Next, I tried the more complex prompt, “Write a space-themed song with sci-fi elements and an intergalactic feel,” which I felt would work well as incidental music that fits various forms of media.

What sets CassetteAI apart is its ability to convincingly compose entire songs and its use of various “Finetuned” templates that work for different genres. You can also enter various parameters, such as the genre of the song, the time and the desired mood, with the click of a button. The AI ​​then handles the creation of the beat, the melody, and even the arrangement, with the option to further customize the song.

LANDR Composer is a premium AI-powered music creation plugin that lets you create a song from scratch or refine an existing composition. It generates arpeggios, basses, melodies and rhythms based on your input and is available in Audio Unit and VST3 formats for Mac and Windows systems.

Some of the standard features of LANDR Composer are its ability to generate intricate chord progressions, its intelligent MIDI sequencing and Song Mode, which allows you to create entire compositions from multiple musical ideas.

LANDR Composer is available for around $75 and is compatible with all major DAWs (digital audio workstations). While it is an effective tool for those starting out in songwriting, an understanding of the fundamentals of DAWs and plugins is necessary to achieve the best results.

Soundful is a user-friendly online platform for creating unique and high-quality tracks in various genres. For those looking for a solution that does all the heavy lifting with minimal creative input, Soundful is probably the most suitable program on this list.

After signing up, it’s just a case of choosing your favorite genre, selecting a style, and hitting it Create Preview button Your track will be delivered in less than a minute, and you can change many parameters, including major or minor chords, tempo and key, to tune it to your needs.

Once you’re happy, you can name your track and download it to your music library. The result was a compelling uptempo pop/rock track that rivals most karaoke backing tracks for quality and decent sound with vocal accompaniment.

Like most AI-generated music, Soundtracks lack the depth and complexity that a human touch offers. That said, it’s perfect for background music or quick projects like content creation, but professional musicians may find it limiting for more advanced compositions.

As a guitarist, I love that I can generate music in any key or tempo and riff on top when practicing my scales and modes.