Best AI tools for musicians

Artificial intelligence technologies are becoming more accessible to the general public. Some noteworthy AI tools include ChatGPT and DALL-E 3, Sora, or even Gemini which have gained great popularity recently.

People have already started to use these tools to write lyrics, or to create album covers. Yet such usage only scratches the surface of what creative AI can actually do. There are many tools available that can help you take your music and artworks to the next level. Imagine creating your music videos in minutes, or enhancing a track with perfect harmonies in seconds. By harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms, you can unlock a galaxy of possibilities and unleash your creative potential.

Let’s discover a set of AI tools that you need to know!

🎧 AI is already here in the music industry

Artificial intelligence has been used in the music industry for quite some time. The first AI-composed music, Illiac 1, was released in 1956 by Lejaren Hiller. It was also the first time a supercomputer was used by an academic institution.

In 2001, François Pachet, former director of Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Paris, released the Continuator. It is a musical instrument that learns the style of musicians and is able to improvise in real time along with them.

As innovation moves beyond its experimental phase, the AI industry is now booming. AI systems are trained with bigger and better datasets, and improved technologies. They are now poised to revolutionize creative markets.

❓ Generative AIs and what they imply

Generative AI has become a widely discussed topic, as evidenced by the controversy surrounding the fake collaboration between Drake and The Weeknd. This has raised serious questions for the entire industry on various levels, including ethics, legality, and artistic integrity.

Generative AI refers to a class of artificial intelligence models that can create new, original content, such as images, text, and music, by learning patterns from existing data. Recent advancements in deep learning techniques have resulted in outputs that closely resemble human-created content. In contrast, other types of AI do not generate content. Some are used for predictions (supervised learning models), while others process and analyze data, like Ria, the new AI from Bridge.audio.

Many AI applications are beneficial for musicians and can be considered assets that neither harm the creative process nor challenge an individual’s position. For example, an auto-tagging AI like Ria can categorize music, making it a perfect tool for streamlining your workflow. Likewise, using an AI to help choose the ideal settings for mastering can assist you without interfering with your creativity.

Moreover, some generative AI can be useful when employed ethically and intelligently. Using GPT-4 to adapt your biography or a meta-composition tool like Daci, which can help a musician enhance their arrangements, are good examples of “good” use of AI tools.

🌈 Say hello to Bridge.audio new AI

Bridge is releasing a new AI music analysis tool. It can analyze your music in a flash: genres, moods, instruments, BPM, vocals, image, textures… Ria has it all!

Ria is not a generative AI. It is designed to listen to your music, and to provide data that will assist you in organizing your work.

Developed over the past four years, our auto-tagging music analysis AI has been integrated into Bridge, it automatically tags imported tracks if desired by the user.

You can challenge the music analysis capacities of our AI with any track you want (including your own). Click here if you’re looking for tips when it comes to music tagging!

🎼 AI Tools for Music Composition

For several years now, the music industry has embraced AI tools for music composition. These tools can assist creators in many key tasks, from the creation of new melodies to analyzing audience listening habits. Using the right tools can definitely enhance musical creativity, and push its boundaries.

AIVA

AIVA is an AI tool that generates complete orchestral compositions. Users can select the desired musical style and mood, and the AI generates a corresponding musical composition. Although non-musicians can use it, it is also a useful co-creation tool for musicians.

Audialab

Audialab offers a plugin called Emergent Drums that generates original drum samples on demand. The plugin is available in various DAWs, including Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, Cakewalk, Maschine, and Cubase.

Audoir

Audoir is a powerful tool that combines both lyrics and music generation. Through machine learning algorithms, Audoir was trained with thousands of hit songs, allowing it to analyze and understand the patterns and structures of successful music pieces.

Daaci

Daaci is a tool that assists in music composition, and that has a meta-composition interface. It allows for real-time implementation of changes and iterations to your composition. You can play harmonies, add textures, and Daaci will pull everything together to create a unique and perfect song that fits your emotions.

💻 AI Tools for Music Production

Music production can be a lengthy and tedious process. However, AI tools can help musicians speed up this process by automating certain tasks. Usage range from adding the perfect stems to a song, to assisting with track mastering.

Here are some of the best AI tools for music production:

Landr

Landr uses AI to perform audio mastering, a process that was traditionally handled by sound engineers. Users can upload their music, then the AI will analyze the tracks and automatically apply the necessary effects to improve sound quality.

Amper Music

In addition to composition, Amper Music can also produce personalized accompaniments for existing songs. One can simply upload a track, and the AI automatically generates personalized accompaniments based on style and tempo.

Algoriffix

Algoriffix offers DAW plugins and a mobile app that recommend the perfect harmonies for your tracks, fitting your performance on any musical instrument.

🎹 AI tools for learning music

AI tools can also be used for learning music. Beginner musicians can use AI tools to learn the basics of music theory and instrument practice. Algorithms will detect how the user plays and give them precise recommendations based on their performance.

Some of the best AI tools for learning music are:

Yousician

Yousician is a music learning application that uses AI to provide feedback on playing technique. Users can upload a video of themselves playing their instrument, and the AI analyzes their technique and provides feedback on how to improve their playing.

Tonora

Tonora uses AI to track students’ progress, and to suggest personalized exercises. Users can track their progress in the app, and the AI will provide assignments to improve their skills.

Chordify

Chordify uses AI to automatically transcribe songs from audio recordings. Users can upload a song, and the AI analyzes the track and automatically displays the chords to play the song.

Flowkey

Flowkey is an AI tool for learning piano. Users can follow interactive lessons, and the AI provides personalized feedback to help them improve their playing.

🖌️ AI tools for Album Cover and Music Video

You may have tried using a text-to-image AI like DALL-E 2 to create art. You may also have heard about AIs that generate videos in seconds. Recently, Linkin Park released a music video for their single “Lost” which was made with the AI startup Kaiber. With a simple text request, you can have the perfect element to make your album cover stand out, or to create a video that fits well with your chorus!

Here are some nice AI tools for images and videos:

Kaiber

Kaiber can generate videos from prompts in any style you desire, from steampunk to 3D render. Well-known artists and bands (such as Kid Cudi in 2022, and Linkin Park this year) have already utilized Kaiber’s services.

Wonder Dynamics

Wonder Dynamics created Wonder Studio : a tool that automatically animates, lights, and composes CG characters into your footage with a stunning render. It allows you to add incredible VFX in your music videos.

DALL-E 3

Hit service of OpenAI - the company behind Chat-GPT - DALL-E is able to create realistic images and arts from a text description. Your wildest desires for an album cover are now within reach!

Sora

Sora is OpenAI’s (the creator of Chat GPT and Dall-E) newest breakthrough. Sora creates one minute long short videos from your prompts. This generative AI allows you creativity to flow through another medium which is video.

StarryAI

StarryAI is an AI art generator that creates art via a prompt. You can select between the dozens of styles available. The tool offers different variations that you can choose from, to make sure you get the very image you need.

👫 Bonus: AI Tools for Non-musicians

Video makers, video games creators, podcasts producers… They all need music for their content. Here are some AI tools that are able to generate royalty free music from scratch:

Evoke Music

Evoke Music - Amadeus Code’s successor - is an AI tool that generates royalty free music, currently offering a catalog of 60000+ tracks. You can order a custom track in the style of a music you like, or by describing it with keywords.

Amper Music

Amper Music allows musicians to create music in minutes using pre-existing templates. Users can choose the genre, tempo, and key of the music, and the AI generates a complete track. Amper Music is particularly useful for musicians who want to create music quickly.

MusicLM

MusicLM is a model able to generate high-fidelity music from text descriptions. Created by developers from Google Research, the model outperforms all previous AIs in both audio quality and adherence to the text description.

Revealed by Google in January 2023, this tool is yet to be released.

The emergence of creative AI may raise questions about the future of creative professions, in a world where anything can be easily obtained through a simple text search. However, the development of these tools also benefits creative processes. Latest tools can adapt to the creator’s needs, enhancing a work while maintaining the original style. Today there are tools that make all aspects of music creation, from production to promotion, easier. All of this makes artificial intelligence a real opportunity for musicians. Additionally, it serves as a gateway for music newcomers. It already started to revolutionize the way people learn music.

Regardless if you are a novice or an experienced musician, there is an AI tool available to assist you in improving your music.