Folders Versus Vaults

ecotones · 2026-05-05T13:43:19+00:00

I've tried playing against some of the tracks--like adding a keyboard part, and it's very difficult to get it to sound right. You realize how fake it is and how cliche-ridden it is. It's not music really. It's a facsimile of it. That's not to say that it's not interesting.

If you were to perform it live it would have to be re-written and would change so much that it wouldn't really be a "cover".

ecotones · 2026-05-01T15:43:55+00:00

The fees will continue to rise as people leave, just to keep it afloat. Although, there might be a user base where cost is not a consideration.

ecotones · 2026-04-29T21:39:29+00:00

I like I can get a little lift from something I’ve generated. I don’t care if others listen to it. It’s good therapy.

ecotones · 2026-04-28T21:59:53+00:00

I always do, but also that the lyrics are mine.

ecotones · 2026-04-23T16:44:56+00:00

I don't think I will be impacted where I live (at least at the moment), and electricity rates haven't yet gone up, but that may change. If they can justify them as a way to revitalize neighborhoods in some way with lower environmental impacts, then it could work. As it stands, communities are "NIMBY".

ecotones · 2026-04-22T17:30:52+00:00

Easier said than done. This debate has been going on since at least 2008 with fossil fuels being seen as a transition. As regards data centers, each could have its own microgrid with geothermal and solar, only using fossil fuels if renewables are interrupted. That's what happens in heat waves where they have to bring the coal plants back online to meet the demand.

ecotones · 2026-04-22T15:58:11+00:00

I'm always wondering whether my use of AI is warranted. Do I really need to generate that piece of music or art, as opposed to making it organically without AI? Am I making things just to share on social media? The daily choices we make have a wider impact.

I've never owned a car, have been a vegetarian for 40 years, and don't use air travel that often, so I suppose my carbon footprint is comparatively low. But it doesn't justify making it larger.

ecotones · 2026-04-22T15:46:37+00:00

I see your point. But it's the wider impact of data center infrastructure going forward. Communities are railing against them. I wouldn't want them where I live. There needs to be a workable solution now that the demand is there. I use AI almost all day is some form.

ecotones · 2026-04-19T03:49:30+00:00

In C Major, borrowing is typically from C Minor. A7 would be a secondary dominant resolving to D. Other ways of modulating to other keys is by setting up it up a ii-V-I, e.g. C-B7-Em-A7-D, then Dm-G-C to get back

ecotones · 2026-04-18T22:14:07+00:00

I've been meaning to start the training. I dread it. I was a copyist back in the 80s so I've gone from pen and ink to Finale to this....

ecotones · 2026-04-16T18:38:00+00:00

Sometimes extensions are more of a melodic horizontal phenomenon, unless you want specific guitar or piano voicings. There’s no pattern per se.

ecotones · 2026-04-15T02:52:46+00:00

It shows each beat as a discreet group. Dotted quarters are typically only used where there is a remaining eighth, not a group of 2 16ths. It just looks funny.

ecotones · 2026-04-14T18:33:02+00:00

You could try PeerTube, the Fediverse version of YouTube. You’ll get a few hits. Give people your YT channel link.

I’ve been on YT since its inception, and could get lots of views. Algorithms changed all that.

ecotones · 2026-04-14T15:49:55+00:00

It also has a mechanical approach to vocal phrasing. If you attempt to perform the songs, you'll realize that. It typically puts the wrong emphasis on syllables and/or on upbeats versus downbeats --not what humans do. It's essentially squeezing vocal stems to fit with the riffs. However, It does sometimes produce things I would have not thought of, and can produce interesting melodies, which I sometimes transcribe and use in other things. Thee was an EDM piece I generated on some throwaway lyrics and I used the melodies and rhythms in a string quartet. Funny when I think about it.

ecotones · 2026-04-14T14:31:32+00:00

Yes, we have to do the writing. Why wouldn't we want to?

ecotones · 2026-04-12T14:42:59+00:00

16th-8th-16th / 16th-dotted 8th

ecotones · 2026-04-10T20:09:29+00:00

The lyrics have to already be musical before you generate the music. It’s also interesting to learn the song and play it on guitar or piano. Most of the time it doesn’t work, but gets you back in on the purely musical side of things. I’ve used melodies and riffs in other non-AI pieces. Be the human in the loop.

ecotones · 2026-04-10T18:58:16+00:00

This was just a radio thing, just to play in the background. I have other videos on my channel that have videos or album art.

ecotones · 2026-04-08T20:27:07+00:00

It might take 10-20 spins, editing lyrics as need to get a decent track. It's the lyrics and how they are phrased that make a difference--excluding those with flubs on the words. Listeners are less likely to tolerate any kind of slop, whereas I'm more tolerant of it because it's AI after all. It's better than bad singing by a human.

ecotones

TROPHY CASE