Customized Music Composition for Children: Are Artificial Intelligence-Generated Compositions Capable of Expressing Love?
The Songs of Love Foundation, a nonprofit that creates personalized, upbeat anthems for children with serious illnesses and now for older adults with memory loss, has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to help scale its operations and diversify its music offerings.
The foundation, which was founded in 1990 and has produced over 46,000 tailor-made songs, has partnered with AI music platform Suno to assist in creating music for its target audience. The partnership allows volunteers, without requiring extensive songwriting skills, to quickly produce custom songs that include the recipient's name, favourite activities, and musical styles evocative of their youth or preferences.
The benefits of using AI compared to traditional songwriting include scalability and speed, stylistic versatility, inclusivity, and the restoration of voices for those who have lost their natural singing voice due to illness. However, there are challenges or limitations as well, such as emotional nuance and authenticity, the risk of generic output, and dependence on input quality.
Despite these challenges, the foundation embraces AI to massively scale and diversify its personalized music offerings while still striving for emotive impact. This hybrid approach supplements traditional songwriting with innovative AI-generated compositions that preserve music history and promote emotional connection.
The foundation's work provides some of the same benefits as music therapy, according to a 2024 study from the journal Palliative Medicine. Sangeeta Swamy, a music therapist, agrees that AI-generated songs are missing the connective, human element.
The foundation is not a music therapy organization, but it values the depth of relationships in its programming. Dan Rubins, co-founder and executive director of Hear Your Song, another nonprofit working in the "music as medicine" space, shares this sentiment and is cautious about putting AI tools in the middle of those relationships.
Some nonprofits working in the "music as medicine" space are wary of using AI in their work due to potential copyright hazards and the risk of eroding the human connection between songwriters and the at-risk people they serve. AI companies, including Suno, are currently embroiled in lawsuits for allegedly training their large language models on musicians' work without authorization.
The foundation still welcomes contributions from musicians who wish to create songs in more traditional ways. Singer-songwriter Jones, for example, uses AI tools from Suno to create Songs of Love tracks, while composer Ross Orenstein prefers creating songs the old-fashioned way and is not a fan of using AI to create songs for sick children.
Logan Becker, a 9-year-old with a rare connective tissue disorder, received a personalized song from the Songs of Love Foundation in 2020. The foundation's work has made a significant impact on many lives, providing comfort, joy, and a sense of connection for those who need it most.
References:
- Suno partners with Songs of Love Foundation to bring personalised songs to people in need
- Songs of Love Foundation teams up with Suno to scale volunteer programming, bringing personalized songs to more people in need
- The Songs of Love Foundation, in collaboration with AI music platform Suno, is diversifying its music offerings by using technology to create personalized songs, enhancing education about the therapeutic benefits of music and health-and-wellness.
- The foundation's partnership with Suno allows volunteers to easily produce custom songs with the recipient's name, favorite activities, musical styles, thus integrating technology into entertainment and the science of music therapy.
- Despite concerns about emotional nuance and authenticity during AI song creation, the foundation continues to explore this technology, recognizing its potential for scalability and impact within the health-and-wellness sector, while preserving the traditional art of music and human connection.
