I am hobbyist when it comes to music, yet I am a musician under every definition of the word. I just don't make money at it.

I have also been interested in "computer music" for decades, despite my preferences being in jazz, classical and acoustic music. To say I have eclectic tastes would be an understatement.

I have been using a program called "Band in a Box". I first used it decades ago when it was barely able to make MIDI music and the interface was in B&W (at least on my MAc plus).

This program, which was born as a Jazz oriented tool, is capable of creating melodies and solos in the style of great jazz players, it can take a chord progression and create very realistic arrangements (on YouTube look for "Backing track". Half of them or more are made with BIAB).

While BIAB is very jazz oriented and struggles a bit with other genres, it is a fantastic tool for songwriters (assuming they have the $1,000 to buy the entirety of their arrangements).

Rather than AI based, it is algorithmic, but since as of late it splices together real instruments and musicians, the result is very convincing.

Now, if an AI could create a convincing singing voice to sing lyrics and play arrangements, it would be a great tool for songwriters. Not so much to put out songs, but to hear how ideas could sound in reality.

Am I concerned that in a near future most of the top 40 will consist of AI generated music? A little bit, but in my experience these tools like BIAB (and its imitators), drum machines, bass/drums generators, DAWs, loop arrangements programs that let anyone compose EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and so forth have been a boon to musicians rather than a detriment.

When I was a teenager, I had to learn my instrument, study music, then train my singing voice, find a bunch of people I could make music with and only then I could hear my music performed.

Today, if I have an idea for a song, I need no one else to put down a rough interpretation of a song I composed.

My only limitation at the moment is my voice, which while not unpleasant, it a male baritone (not exactly top 40 material). That's very problematic if I am writing a song for female voice.

I know of a lot of teenagers that come up with great music (if not in my favorite genre) without ever knowing a lick of music theory, let alone being able to read a score or even play an instrument (besides a basic mini-keys keyboard and a pad controller).

Yet their ignorance or proper music education is what lets them explore their creativity by recombining loops into quite decent songs and come up with original compositions.

When I try doing the same, it seems every song I make is either "Life on Mars" by David Bowie, Hello" by the commodore or some other hit from my youth.

I wish I had a less conditioned mind to come up with truly original compositions.

Plenty of people can learn to do that, but only a few can make it a career, in a way similar to when I grew up, except that I had to attend conservatory to acquire the minimal set of building blocks and practice for days on end. I think these tools have democratized songwriting.

The thing I am really afraid of is what corporations with do with the technology if the public responds positively to AI generated hits, or AI images, logos or articles.

Somehow I suspect we'll became attuned to AI products and look for human generated ones.

We have been down this road before.