AI can sound like a violin but it's not the violinist
I was listening to a Porcupine Tree song on my Chennai Metro commute when an interesting analogy occurred to me.
Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright, PT’s Richard Barbieri, Deftones’ Frank Delgado and more legendary rock musicians used synthesizers. Our own Ilaiyaraja rewired Tamil Nadu’s soundscape with synthesizers and other electronic wizardry. He has probably done more with synthesizers in Tamil film music than most people realise.
But here’s the thing. Raaja later criticized the growing dependence on computers and programmed music, urging composers to hire and work with real musicians. The argument was that synths were ruining careers. Yet, Raaja still uses synths. But he prioritizes real musicians. Good composers are Pro-electronic but not Pro-electronic-substitution.
Synths were heavily criticized and demonized by purists who claimed they were not real music. If you look at Pink Floyd, PT, Deftones and other great bands you won’t feel the synths screaming at the forefront. They sit subtly behind, setting the mood, soundscape, texture and emotion. Bands knew how to use the synth as an instrument and in which capacity. Synths are just another instrument.
And the irony is that live musicians haven’t disappeared. Composers still hunt for particular musicians and specific instruments to get a certain sound. It’s what made me wonder about synthesizers and AI.
I think of AI more like a synthesizer than a replacement for the musician. I know the analogy isn’t perfect. A synth changes the palette. AI can change the work itself. A synth can reproduce the sound of a grand piano. But the synth and the pianist aren’t doing the same job.
With AI, though, the playing field has shifted to a different level. It can do an astonishing number of tasks that used to require me. It can sound like a violin, but it isn’t the violinist. It can do most of my daily workload. But it’s simply not me. I can make use of it. It can change what my job looks like. It can even make some of what I currently do unnecessary. But it doesn’t become me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MjEp_SAfS0&t=2115s
Wake me up when a synth can accurately replicate what Mahler’s First Symphony, fourth movement, Stürmisch bewegt makes me feel. Until then, I’m happy to have both the synth and the orchestra.
If you want to enjoy a beautiful marriage of synths and analog instruments, check out The Spoils by Massive Attack.