LONDON (AP) 鈥� Samuel Smith spent years writing songs with a guitar in his hands.
Now, the London-based singer-songwriter is using tools to help him continue making Americana music after largely took away his ability to play guitar.
Smith, who was diagnosed with the progressive neurological disorder in 2020, recently released his second album, 鈥淭he Art of Letting Go.鈥� For one of the eight tracks, an instrumental piece titled 鈥淗orizon,鈥� he relied on platforms that use AI to generate music to create demo arrangements that would convey his vision to the musicians who recorded the song.
The demos he created by humming rough melodies into his phone and uploading the recordings into song generators and Udio weren’t for mixing into the final studio version of 鈥淗orizon,鈥� Smith stressed. But tremors, stiffness and fatigue, which are common symptoms , caused his guitar skills to deteriorate during the more than a year he worked on the album, he said.
鈥淪o then I鈥檓 faced with a question,鈥� Smith, 49, said. 鈥溾�楧on鈥檛 play, don鈥檛 be creative, or find a way out, find a route.鈥� And for me, this was the route.鈥�
has divided the music industry, whose artists and have complained of their copyrighted work being used to train the models behind AI-powered music tools. Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records in June 2024, although Universal later reached a settlement and with Udio and Warner did the same with Suno.
Less discussed is what those platforms can do when employed by a serious musician like Smith, whose disease affects the tools central to his songwriting and identity as a guitarist: his hands. He released his debut album, 鈥淚n the Springtime,鈥� in 2023, saying he wanted to give his two sons a way to remember when he could perform and record music himself.
鈥淚鈥檇 always written, I鈥檇 also played, I always sung,” he said. “And immediately it became clear to me that I was in trouble, that my music was going to be seriously compromised.鈥�
From prompts to convincing demos
AI music generators use systems trained on large datasets of recorded music and audio. The platforms analyze patterns in melody, harmony, and rhythm before generating new audio based on prompts or uploaded recordings. Users to end up with a serviceable song, or even a popular one.
Smith said producing convincing demos from the synthetic tracks the apps generated often required 鈥�50, 100, 150 attempts鈥� and extensive editing “to get something that sounds close to my music.鈥� After humming a song into his phone and uploading the recording, he gives prompts describing instrumentation, mood and style. .
鈥淎I is not replacing anything for me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unlocking, it鈥檚 enabling. It鈥檚 allowing me to keep writing. I upload my lyrics; AI doesn鈥檛 create my lyrics. I upload my music; AI does not create my music.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t then brings it to life in a way that I can play to session players and say, 鈥楬ere, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 thinking, that is what I鈥檓 hearing.鈥欌��
A bittersweet guitar duet
The album was produced by Grammy-winning pianist and producer Matt Rollings, who assembled a group of established roots and bluegrass musicians for the project. They included dobro player and 16-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas, Grammy-winning banjo player Alison Brown, fiddler Stuart Duncan, guitarist Bryan Sutton, bassist Viktor Krauss and singers Jonatha Brooke and Glen Phillips.
For Smith, the experience of singing in a alongside musicians he had admired for decades was “an extraordinary moment.鈥�
Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage, known for his jazz and acoustic recordings with Blue Note Records, performed on the album鈥檚 title track and on 鈥淗orizon.鈥� The latter recording became a bittersweet high point in Smith’s career; despite the progression of his disease, he managed to play a guitar duet with his friend.
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 been able to play for months, but I kept telling myself that if I wrote something to take to the studio, perhaps the clouds would part for a few minutes,” Smith said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happened. I had a window of about 10 minutes in the studio when my arm freed up. … So in the end, I was able to capture the last breath of my guitar playing.鈥�
New possibilities and perils
Experts said AI-assisted music tools could benefit other people with disabilities or illnesses.
Ruaidhri Mannion, a composer, music producer and sonic artist who teaches at Brunel University of London, said technology like affordable digital recording software “effectively democratized the making of music鈥� in recent decades. By helping songwriters and musicians communicate ideas and collaborate more easily, AI tools that generate polished-sounding material from voice or text prompts could work in the same way, he said.
鈥淚f these tools are able to enable people to be able to participate with other creative groups and encourage more people to feel confident to be able to reach out to an ensemble or an orchestra or something, then I think that is all for the better,鈥� Mannion said.
But an could intefere with the trial and error, frustration and synergy that are necessary parts of a musician’s artistic development, Mannion said.
鈥淲hat makes a lot of music-making meaningful is the collaborative element,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of experimentation and development and failure that鈥檚 part of musical discovery.鈥�
Udio and Suno have denied copyright infringement allegations and said they wanted to work with the music industry, not in opposition to it. Some musicians are unconvinced. A group of recording artists and activists, including singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, David Lowery of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, and ECR Music Group President Blake Morgan, published an open letter in February under the heading 鈥淪o no to Suno.鈥�
鈥淢any in our community are embracing responsible AI as a tool for creation, and as a means for fans to explore and interact with our artistry. That鈥檚 wonderful,鈥� the letter read. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not the same as creating an environment where AI-generated works sourced from our music are mass distributed to dilute our royalties or, worse yet, reward those actively seeking to commit fraud. Artists need to know the difference.鈥�
鈥楽how us what you can do鈥�
Smith said he thinks his experience demonstrated how AI could benefit society and expand creative access, if it’s developed responsibly.
鈥淢y message would be that if these companies want to show they鈥檝e got a place, a role in society, then step up,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淓ngage with health professionals, engage with music therapists, engage with society and show us what you can do.鈥�
On May 21, Smith collaborated with the Berklee Music and Health Institute for an event in New York that brought together music industry leaders, researchers and clinicians to examine how music can support people living with neurological conditions. Smith discussed his experience living with Parkinson’s and sang again alongside musicians who played on 鈥淭he Art of Letting Go.鈥�
Creating music is crucial to the legacy Smith hopes to leave for his children, ages 4 and 17.
鈥淢y 4-year-old is probably never going to remember me playing, and it鈥檚 heartbreaking,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e been able to pull this into something and refuse to be defined by this disease.鈥�
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