Rediscovering Big Band Music: A Journey with AI and Creativity
Updated: Sep 7
If you follow my website, www.minicooperproductions.com, you already know that besides writing novels and pet columns for USA Today, I am also a musician. Now, some people may take exception to this claim because I am a drummer, not a piano player or guitarist. Some do not consider drummers musicians, but I think Ringo Starr would argue that point with his multi-millions he earned as the drummer for the Beatles and as a solo performing artist. (If you don't know who the Beatles are, ask your grandparents.)
The Drummer's Perspective
Even though I am "just" a drummer in several bands and sometimes have studio projects, I have written more original songs than any of my bandmates. My writing partner, Robert Kramer, is located in Chicago, where we both grew up. Bob (as I call him) and I have played music and written songs together for about 50 years.
Most recently, I found a box of reel-to-reel tapes that contained recordings of Bob and me playing our original songs from 1979. Him on guitar and singing, and me on the drums. The songs, although very good, were also quite simple due to the lack of production and other musicians on the recordings.
I took the reel-to-reel tapes to Reel Time Studios in the Ormond Beach, FL area, where my good friend Mark Ignoffo converted the tape content to MP3 digital files. Once completed, I emailed the files to Bob for his review.
A Blast from the Past
Not only was Bob enthralled to hear the old recordings again, but he began to think about how to bring the songs back to the forefront with the use of AI. Ironically, I was already using Suno, an AI music composition program, to generate newly produced versions of the songs.
Neither Bob nor I believe in creating songs solely with AI, but taking a song we wrote and played and uploading it into Suno to see how it might enhance the production quality, we feel is acceptable. Using AI is really no different than hiring studio musicians to play their parts, albeit bass guitar, brass, background vocals, etc. Not to cut into the earnings of the studio musicians (being one, I know how that feels), but being able to reinvent over 80 songs within a couple of months for about $150.00, versus several years for many thousands, was our chosen route due to a lack of financial resources.
If we can generate interest in a few of the songs, then we will rerecord in a studio with hired guns. Or, whoever is interested will produce the song the way they want it to sound with their own choice of musicians.
The Creative Process
Bob and I often write songs individually from each other, but like Lennon and McCartney, we credit both of us regardless. (Again, if you don’t know who Lennon and McCartney are, ask your grandparents.)
One of the advantages of a program like Suno is that you can access stems of the recording, which are simply separate tracks of each instrument or vocal. You have the ability to edit, enhance, mute a track, or replace it with a different track.
Using this method, I wrote several songs in a big band style (if you don’t know what big band is, ask your great-grandparents) and asked a female vocalist to sing with the track. Her name is Rhianna James. I have always enjoyed big band music, but seldom are new big band songs released to the general public. If you are a fan of this genre, then you have to seek out new big band releases.
Now, in full disclosure, the music for these songs was created using Suno. I hummed or sang using a microphone, and it took it from there. The results were mind-blowing. Rhianna then sang the lead and background vocals of the lyrics I wrote, and the final songs have been shared and listened to by thousands of people using SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and about thirty more streaming platforms. All the songs are available to listen to or download from my website: https://www.minicooperproductions.com/purchase-music.
Embracing AI in Music
In addition to the big band songs, all of the Kramer and KuKes songs are available on the website as well. Over 80 songs on eight different albums.
AI is very controversial these days, mainly because attorneys can’t figure out how to benefit from the process financially. It really has very little to do with how the song was created. If I like a song, I will not dislike it because it was produced with AI. I like what I like. Many professional recording artists are now using AI to develop their songs. Once AI has created a basic version of the song, the artist will take that version and record an enhanced version with musicians and other artists.
If AI is considered cheating, then so is the use of drum machines, synthesizers, plug-in effects, home studio programs like Audacity or Pro-Tools, etc. When the first synthesizers were introduced, piano players could suddenly produce trumpet and saxophone sounds. Of course, brass players were up in arms, thinking they would never play again, but they were wrong. There is an evolution of how music is created, and it's been going on for hundreds of years.
The Evolution of Music
It’s a different world today than it was just 50 years ago, when kids would purchase 45s and albums by their favorite artists. Then the next generations would purchase eight-tracks, then cassettes, then CDs, then downloads, and today, stream their favorites on playlists from their preferred streaming platform. How the music was created was just as different as the method to deliver the music to the listener.
If you have an opportunity to check out my music, I’d be honored to have you hear it. Whether written by me, Bob, or both of us, we hope you will enjoy the end result, with and without the assistance of AI.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! My journey through the world of music, AI, and the timeless charm of big band tunes. I hope you find joy in the melodies we’ve created and maybe even discover a new favorite song or two.
Have a wonderful day!
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