Task 11: Generate music with AI 2026
Instructions for Option A: Compare AI and human music
- Pick one of your favorite music genres, such as trap, folk, country, etc.💡 It’s better to choose a specific style rather than a generic category like Pop or Classical.
- Now choose a musical work composed and played by a human that you think exemplifies the best traits of this genre.⚠️ Link to a recording anyone can play without logging in, such as on YouTube or SoundCloud. (Spotify requires a login, so don’t use it.)
- Go to Suno and create a free account.
- Use Suno to create a music track as close as possible to the human-created track you chose. Be sure to specify the same genre, and if possible other parameters like instruments, tempo, vocal style, and so on.
- When you’re happy with a track, copy its share link. 💡 You don’t need to download it; free accounts get only a handful of downloads, but share links are unlimited.
- In WordPress, create a post with a title like Task 11: Mary Gonzalez. Add the Task 11 category to your post.
- Under the heading Human-generated music, link to the human recording (via the ⛓️💥 button). Name the artist, title, and genre.
- Under the second heading AI-generated music, paste your Suno share link. Name the genre and any other information about the track.
- Under the third heading My evaluation, write a paragraph of at least two sentences contrasting the two tracks in detail. How well did the AI song capture the traits of the human one?
- Then write a second paragraph forecasting your thoughts on the future of music. How much will generative AI impact the genre of music you chose, for better or worse?
ℹ️ Who owns your song? On Suno’s free plan, Suno does: you may use it only for non-commercial purposes, like this assignment. Compare this week’s readings on AI music and the law.
Instructions for Option B: Create an AI soundscape
- Go to ElevenLabs Sound Effects and create a free account.
- Write text prompts to generate at least two ambient sounds related to a single scene depicted in any other exercise this semester (eg, from your actual soundscape recording, your hoax, or your “break a cliché” storyboard). Find the photograph you took or generated to represent this scene, and download the clips you want to use.
- In an audio editor, mix the clips. You can use the Audacity or ocenaudio app you downloaded for your previous Task.
- Listen to your mix and decide what to fix.
- Make some sort of change based on your evaluation. This could be adding a track, replacing a track with something different, or trying to refine a track with another attempt.
- Re-mix your results and export as an mp3 file.
- In WordPress, create a post with a title like Task 11: Mary Gonzalez. Add the Task 11 category to your post.
- Under the heading Subject of My Soundscape, add the picture and short text description for the scene your ambient sounds are meant to depict.
- Under the heading My Prompt and Results, add your instructions to the sound generator as well as your first and last mix.
- Under the heading My Process and Evaluation, add a paragraph of at least four sentences explaining how you tried to improve your first mix and evaluating the results, e.g.:
- Does the final mix include all the sounds that you would expect?
- Does it give the same sort of feeling of the scene that was depicted?
- Which sounds might be better off excluded or improved, and why?
- Compared to your actual field recording for a previous Task, did AI produce a stereotype of the environment’s soundscape or a revelation about it?
- Under this same heading, attach all of the individual audio clips (not the final mixes) used in your process.
FAQ
What’s the grading rubric for Option A?
| You named a human track with a specific genre and linked to a playable recording | 0–10 |
| You named the genre of your AI track and linked to it | 0–10 |
| You described the contrast between the two tracks in detail | 0–10 |
| You explained the impact of AI music on the genre you chose | 0–10 |
| Something in your evaluation is thoughtful or imaginative | 0–10 |
Your grade is the total of all points times 2, for a possible maximum of 100%.
Each week that this task is late subtracts 10 points from this total grade.
What’s the grading rubric for Option B?
| You added a picture and description representing your subject | 0–10 |
| You wrote a detailed prompt crafted to produce the best possible soundscape | 0–10 |
| You included your first and last mix, showing a progression from one to the other | 0–10 |
| You described your process and included individual clips for isolated sounds | 0–10 |
| Something in your soundscape or evaluation is thoughtful or imaginative | 0–10 |
Your grade is the total of all points times 2, for a possible maximum of 100%.
Each week that this task is late subtracts 10 points from this total grade.
ElevenLabs won’t let me download a clip. What now?
Play the clip on the ElevenLabs site and record it with your audio editor, or try the clip again later. You can also post questions to #troubleshooting on Slack.
Where can I get help with editing a soundscape for Option B?
Can I see a model answer?
As one example for reference, here’s a sample A+ assignment for Option B. Your submission may look quite different and still get a good grade if you follow the rubric. (☹️ Unfortunately there is no model answer for Option A yet.)