7:26 it does have 8 syllables. I think what you are wanting to ask for is for the stressed syllables, not the non-stressed. Also you can ask ChatGPT to explain itself. The phrase “where the whispers kiss the waves” has eight syllables, broken down as follows: • where (1 syllable) • the (1 syllable) • whis-pers (2 syllables) • kiss (1 syllable) • the (1 syllable) • waves (1 syllable) Total: 8 syllables.
Yes ChatGPT admits it’s wrong ! Let’s break it down again more carefully: • where (1 syllable) • the (1 syllable) • whis-pers (2 syllables) • kiss (1 syllable) • the (1 syllable) • waves (1 syllable) It indeed totals 7 syllables, as you said. I miscounted earlier. Thanks for pointing that out!
Great well considered arguments as always there Anthony! I was lucky recently to write a songs lyrics quickly without AI but definitely will take your approach in the future at least to get started, when hitting that mental block or feeling the realisation of procrastination
Thanks very much for the feedback! Yes, I think that's exactly the right approach - using AI to provide a jump start whenever you find yourself staring at the page with that glazed expression ;)
I also view this as a variation on the Eno Oblique Strategies method. I find that I start with a lot of AI generated phrases, but then I end up replacing so much that I'm left with only a phrase here and there. But that is OK, since it performs the function of jump starting the creative process. And it is good for getting you out of the ditch when you are stuck on a rhyme or have run into a dead end. Used properly it is just another tool, similar to a rhyming dictionary. However, if you let AI write the entire song, the results are laughable. You've found a method that works for you, and I'll think I'll try it out. Your method is more micro than the more macro method I have used and that seems to be a better way to go. On another note, your Arturia tutorials are simply the best.
Excellent video. Another point is that being a not native English speaking person wanting to write the lyrics in English, it can help to generate a correct English. But still there is a problem to judge how does it sound to a native English person... I can feed AI with ideas but as a foreigner I would need AI to be this judge and it seems to be impossible. :-) For example Daddy Cool by Boney M is not the best lyrics ever (written by a German). The song is very good, but I have no idea how a native English reacts to the lyrics like this. How do you like it? :-)
Fascinating and thought-provoking video. I agree with your assessment that the lyrics generated through this process, left unmodified, are a little quotidian but this seems to me to be potentially a wonderful tool for chasing away writer's block that could be used similarly to Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies cards. Really interesting, Anthony, your continuous generosity in sharing your process is remarkable and very much appreciated.
I think Nick Cave's description of AI lyrics as “bullshit” and “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human” is most true when the AI is generating the ideas themselves. I find that it is much better at solving technical issues within poems or lyrics - such as generating alternatives with a specified phonetic content, giving suggestions for rhymes or half-rhymes etc. The other thing it really can't do at the moment is write any kind of poem / lyric that doesn't have massive clunky end rhymes - even if you specify 'unrhymed' or 'with no end rhymes' etc. I think what you do here is a half-way house - you are guiding it and giving creative input. But - referring back to Nick Cave's comments - I personally still feel that a more human and worthwhile result comes from leaving the 'filling the blank page' part to the human brain, even though it is difficult, and then using AI to improve targeted parts.
Fair enough. Personally, I find the blank page part of the process so miserable that I often end up writing instrumentals instead, so this is a compromise with which I'm happy. It's also why I showed the scan of my post-AI hand-written process (which is likely to go on for weeks, and multiple revisions). As I said in the video, if you enjoy that part of the process (which I don't), all power to you. Using this method, however, my total net joy is higher, so it's a win for me.
Very interesting video. I might give that a try (getting started is a big problem for me too). But I think you should be more polite to chatGPT or you will accelerate the uprising. 😊
