How can students create music with generative AI?

Originally published on May 28, 2025

Overview

Generative AI (GenAI) models now write and produce songs according to user preferences, whether they enjoy classical violin or reggaeton or something in between. Can people without access to studios make music with AI? How do these new AI tools interact with the music industry landscape? In this lesson, students will expand their knowledge of the AI-generated music landscape and begin to explore how they can create their own music with AI.

AI & Arts
30 minutes

Created by Garrett Davidson
Adapted by 'Joba Adisa

Digital Materials

Teacher guide

Objectives

After this experience, students will be able to

Use multiple AI tools to generate their own music
Consider how prompt engineering can impact the song quality
Understand the concerns with training AI models on songs from popular artists

Questions explored

How can I create music with AI?
How does prompting impact the quality of AI-generated music?
How has AI conflicted with the music industry?

What are the ethics of AI in music?

Around the world, artists and regular people are using generative AI models to create new music. Unfortunately, AI poses risks to artists’ creative rights. What is more important: general access to music making or protecting the artists who make music? How can the music industry use AI responsibly? In this lesson, students will craft their own ideas about AI ethics in music, then defend their thinking in a debate.

Created by Garrett Davidson

How is AI transforming visual artwork creation?

Art has long been a uniquely human form of expression, but what happens when machines begin to create? From surreal portraits to abstract landscapes, AI is generating visual art that is changing our ideas about creativity. In this lesson, students will explore how AI is transforming art generation, examining its processes and how it’s reshaping the future of expression. Students will also examine how generative models, like Firefly, work and assess their global implications.

Created by Nadim Kassymov

Adapted by 'Joba Adisa

How can AI be used in music generation?

In this lesson students will explore AI created music and lyrics and compare it to human generated music. Students will analyze how well AI can mimic a genre/artist/song and what potential ethical controversies this could cause in our society. This lesson is used as a springboard for evaluating how AI can have both positive and negative effects and student’s ability to recognize both sides.

Created by Tim Ballert, CRAFT Co-Design Fellow 2023-2024

Adapted by Chris Mah