With the Metro Boomin’ track BBL Drizzy is currently getting major traction, it seems it’s not only Drake that’s in the firing line but potentially the entire future direction of music! The reason – The old soul sample that forms the main component of the track was AI-generated! While this represents the most obvious example of AI infiltrating the musical zeitgeist, music-creation tools that harness the power of machine learning are becoming increasingly prevalent.

In this post, we focus on a range of AI Tools that could help your beatmaking process and workflow.

AI Overview

These days It’s almost impossible to escape from the ever-encroaching reach of Artificial Intelligence. But how is AI’ influence being felt in the realm of beatmaking and production? AI has immense potential to revolutionize how music is composed, produced and mixed. This is done by utilising machine learning algorithms and extensive, ever-growing datasets. AI music creation tools have the power to analyze existing music patterns and generate original compositions and processing. These tools can assist beatmakers in many aspects of the creative process including creating musical ideas, harmonizing melodies, audio manipulation and processing.

So, let’s explore various scenarios where the power of Artificial Intelligence could help take your beatmaking to the next level.

Music Generation Tools

AI-generated music composition represents AI’s most obvious implementation when it comes to beatmaking. While AI music generators used to be rather hit-and-miss (putting it kindly) new tools such as Suno and Udio have seriously upped the game. These platforms rely on you inputting written prompts to generate fully-fledged musical compositions. The results can be staggeringly good! Udio in particular has the ability to accurately recreate almost any type of music. This power brings with it huge potential for sample creation as demonstrated with the recent BBL Drizzy saga. Check this article for the full scoop if this story has passed you by.
While the power and potential for these tools is mind-boggling there is one small thing that is preventing it from completely changing the game. And that is quality.

Prompting an electro pop banger in Udio


While these tools can accurately recreate almost any musical style and sound, including highly convincing vintage recordings, the audio tends to have a rather distinctive sound to it. Best described as a flammy slightly phased sound the audio is not currently high quality enough to generate fully finished sellable beats. In my opinion at least. They certainly wouldn’t be able to match to and compete commercially against fully mixed and mastered original beats.

They do however offer amazing opportunities for tailor-made samples including amazing vocals. Combine these AI samples with your own original elements or royalty-free samples and the amazing potential soon becomes clear. Do however check the AI generator’s end-user agreements and licences as these may impact how you can commercially exploit your AI integrated beats.

AI MIDI generation

AI MIDI generators can be a great solution as you are no longer impacted by the sound quality of the audio. As it is MIDI information you are able to select and sonically manipulate your virtual instrument choices. The most effective MIDI generation tools are available as plugins so they can seamlessly integrate with your DAW session. MIDI generators can make great song-starting tools and unlike midi packs they are 100% unique.

One of the most popular MIDI generators is Lemonaide. Lemonaide generates 4 bar loops and can produce Melody + Chords or just Chords or Melody. You can input information such as tempo, key and mood. Then just sit back and let the machine-learned algorithms do the work. Other AI MIDI generation tools worth checking are AIVA: AI MIDI DAW and Staccato: AI MIDI Maker.

Lemonaide seeding some unique MIDI info

AI Instrument/Tone generators

While the first 2 examples on our AI hit list focus on melodic and rhythmic composition AI tone generators aim to emulate and recreate specific instrument tones and fx. Think of them as tools to re-model your favourite instrument sounds. For instance, you may want to capture the sound of a specific synth pad from a favourite 90s rave anthem or a stab from a classic disco break. A key element to creating beats that sound current is having the right sounds at your fingertips. Sounds that are currently trending while at the same time original will help your beats to stand out.

A popular choice of AI tone generator is Dance Diffusion. This Open source tool allows you to feed it your own audio and generate new sounds from the audio recording. The results can be slightly random but there are often some audio diamonds in the rough. You may have to do a little bit of editing to prepare your samples but once extracted and trimmed you can be assured that the sample you’re using is 100% unique.

Lyric Writing/generating Tools

As a beatmaker lyrics might not be at the forefront of your mind. But, it’s important to remember that a killer hook can really help to sell your beat to a potential artist. But if you’re not a natural lyricist fear not – AI to the rescue!

When it comes to lyric-writing AI tools you are spoilt for choice. Established Text prompt generators such as Chat GPT or Bard can be a fantastic option if you just want to generate song lyrics. You could then record your own vocals based on these lyrics or hire a vocalist on a site such as Fiverr.

Alternatively, if you want to be guided by melody, platforms like Sudo and Udio will also craft bespoke AI-generated lyrical content. They can even generate backing vocals and harmonies. These sites can even produce usable acapella vocals that can be sampled directly into a beat. In my experience, however, it may take a few prompt attempts as platforms such as Udio seem slightly resistant to generating a clean pure acapella.

AI Music Mastering tools

Music and content creation is not the only area that AI excels in. AI music mastering tools have emerged as powerful assets for beatmakers. They offer a streamlined way to achieve professional-quality audio with minimal knowledge or experience. These tools analyze the sonic characteristics of your track and apply mastering processes that help enhance clarity, volume, and balance, all with minimal human intervention.

One of the most popular AI mastering tools is LANDR, which allows users to upload their tracks and receive a mastered version within minutes. It uses machine learning to mimic the techniques of professional mastering engineers, ensuring that your beats have the polish they need to compete in the commercial music market. While an experienced ‘human’ mastering engineer is generally preferable for a commercial music release when it comes to beat-making speed, efficiency and keeping costs down make AI mastering an attractive proposal.

The Landr mastering tool

AI Artwork and Video Creation

Being a prolific beatmaker is not all about the beats. In order to successfully market and sell your beats you need to consider how your beats are visually represented. This means paying attention to things like Thumbnails, cover art, motion graphics and video accompaniment. AI-powered artwork and video creation tools can help you produce professional-grade visuals that complement your beats and help enhance your online presence.

DALL-E 2 and MidJourney are two AI tools that have revolutionized the creation of digital artwork. These platforms allow users to generate high-quality images based on text prompts. For video creation, Pictory and Synthesia are worth checking out.

These AI tools not only save time and resources but they also ensure that your visual content has a consistent and professional feel. These often subliminal elements can really help you to establish a strong and memorable beatmaking brand.

Summary

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the landscape of beatmaking, offering tools that enhance and aid creativity, streamline workflows, and elevate the overall quality of music production. It is worth noting however that while these tools offer significant advantages it’s important to balance AI integration with personal artistry and creativity.

One of the key factors to becoming a successful beatmaker is maintaining a unique and authentic sound. So with this in mind, I would suggest using these tools as literally that – helpful and inspiring tools to improve on what you already have to offer creatively.

Remember – RouteNote Create subscriptions start from as little as $2.99. You also get 10 FREE credits to spend on samples along with access to our FREE sample pack bundle when you sign-up!

try free