“We should stop being so afraid and complaining so much about what’s still to come,” says Brazilian musician Daniel Lopes about the use of AI. While Europe tries to find a balance between creators’ rights and the use of artificial intelligence, many artists are doing more with the technology than just creating fake Studio Ghibli images that don’t even resemble the originals.
This time, Lopes showed how AI can be the perfect art companion by combining nature, creativity, and technology. In an Instagram Reels post, the musician revealed that he captured the song of the Uirapurú, a Brazilian bird found in the Amazon Forest, and used AI to create music from it.
While AI couldn’t figure out the exact notes of the bird’s song at first, Lopes interpreted the melody with his own piano playing. Then, using a prompt that included “orchestral, modern, intellectual, elegant, piano,” he use AI to generate music based on the Brazilian bird’s song.
“It’s a movie soundtrack,” he says. “I think we can make many creative uses of AI. This is one of them. In this case, the Amazon Forest’s bird is the song’s author.”
There are still several debates about crediting songwriting and music rights when using AI. That’s why European creators are pushing for a standard to protect their music while allowing AI to enhance the field without stealing others’ work.
What’s also interesting is that while Lopes created something unique, he wasn’t the first to be inspired by the Uirapurú’s song. Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist Heitor Villa-Lobos composed a symphony based on this bird’s song in the past century.
Either way, Daniel Lopes’ video is a strong example of how AI can be used creatively. Another is Peter Jackson’s work isolating John Lennon’s voice from a demo, which led to The Beatles’ final song, “Now and Then.” While my colleague Andy Meek believes The Beatles didn’t deserve a Grammy for this AI-driven music, I see these as great examples of how AI can support artists, rather than replace them.
