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Music

AI in Music
By: Levi Enderle
05/30/2025

Hello everybody, and welcome to the final edition of the Griffin Post music section in the 2024-2025 school year! Today, we will be discussing the impacts of AI on music in today's world, and whether it should be used.

 

AI was invented in the 1950s, but it began to get popular more recently, with more and more people using it today. But how does this affect music? One of the biggest things AI has been doing in music is making it easier for anybody to jump in and start making music. Think about it. If you wanted to make music before AI was accessible, you would have to buy fancy equipment, study music, take classes, and spend lots of money just to make a good song. Now, with a push of a button, AI can make music in minutes just from an idea, allowing anyone to start a musical career with little to no effort. But, this brings up the question: Who owns the music?


The quick outburst of AI in music definitely has some gray areas. A big debate right now is about ownership. If AI makes a song, who owns it? The person who gave the AI the idea? The company that built the AI? Or, is it free for everyone to use? Our current laws are struggling to keep up with this, causing legal problems for human artists and AI-based musicians. People also worry that AI, which learns from previously existing music, might accidentally or even purposefully copy different artists' styles or even whole songs without permission. 

 

In conclusion, there is no definite answer as to whether AI should be used in music. On one hand, it can be really beneficial to some people who can’t necessarily make music, or even people who just want to mess around. On the other hand, the musical artists who do make their own music could have unfair competition, resulting in lots of mixed opinions. I personally think that AI-generated music should only be used to a certain extent, not to make money or get famous. But what do you think?

 

Sources:

Staff, C. (2025, May 23). The History of AI: A Timeline of Artificial Intelligence. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/articles/history-of-ai?msockid=07f34fbea8d96b4f207d5a19a9a76a7c

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Keithboyd. (2025, April 29). Copyright and AI-Generated Music: legal battles, ownership, and the future of creative rights. Breakthrough      Guitar | Online Guitar Lessons. https://breakthroughguitar.com/copyright-and-ai-generated-music-legal-battles-ownership-and-the-future-of-creative-rights/#:~:text=Potential%20Ownership%20Models%201%20User%20as%20Owner%3A%20If,AI-generated%20music%20should%20enter%20the%20public%20domain%20immediately.

The Life and Works of Ludwig Van Beethoven
By: Levi Enderle
05/16/2025

Hello everybody, and welcome to the 3rd edition of the Music section! Today, we will be talking about one of the most impactful musical composers of all time, Ludwig Van Beethoven.

 

Beethoven was a German composer who lived from 1770 to 1827, widely considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time.  Beethoven is famous for his amazing pieces and his contributions to classical and romantic music. He started music at the very young age of 9 years old. According to Skagitsymphony.com, “Around the age of nine, Beethoven began composition lessons with the court's organist, Christian Gottlob Neefe.” Beethoven also began writing some of his first songs in the next 4 years, publishing his first song in 1783. Some of his most famous works include Für Elise, Ode to Joy, Moonlight Sonata, Appassionata Sonata, Waldstein Sonata, and Beethoven’s Turkish March. My favorite song of his is Moonlight Sonata, a beautiful piece consisting of three different movements (or sections), with the first one starting the song with a mysterious mood, the second movement changing to a joyful and playful feeling, and the third and final movement with a violent and intense feeling, ending the piece of music with a bang. 

 

Another interesting thing about Beethoven is that in his musical career, he started becoming deaf but still continued to compose music. In the 1800s, when he lived, not many people understood deafness, and he struggled to communicate with people and even stay connected with music. 

He began losing hearing in his 20s and had already gained popularity with his career. However, according to Californiasymphony.org, “The cause of his deafness remains a mystery, though modern analysis of his DNA revealed health issues including large amounts of lead in his system. At the time, people ate off of lead plates — they just didn’t know back then.”  Amazingly, he continued to produce music and even kept performing, which was expected from musical artists in that time. After all, they didn’t have the internet back then, and the only way to publicize music was through performance. While still hiding his deafness, he struggled to keep up, eventually ending his music career by age 45, and he became extremely isolated, only allowing certain people to visit him, and speaking only through pen and paper.

 

In conclusion, Beethoven was an extremely impactful composer of his time, producing amazing music and entertaining others, all while struggling against hearing loss. He revolutionized classical and romantic music and left the world with an immense amount of impact.



 

Sources: 

The Importance of Music
By: Levi Enderle
04/25/2025

Hi everybody, welcome to the second edition of the Griffin Post "Music" section! In our last edition, we discussed the origins of music and music genres throughout its history. But why is music important? Today, we will explore and discuss the importance of music throughout its history and learn why it is so important to cultures and individuals around the world today.

 

Music has been an essential part of culture since it originated around 40,000 years ago, having the power to affect society emotionally, morally, and culturally. Music is something only we humans can make. After all, it's a social activity, and humans are social creatures. Studies have suggested that playing music and singing can help bring people closer with the release of endorphins, your body’s natural mood boosters and pain relievers. Another way that music is important is that when people collaborate and use their talents, skills, and understanding to work together on something, a lot can happen. This makes sense because, since we are social creatures, we are going to want to socialize with other humans. 

In addition to being impactful on cultures, music is also essential to individuals. We can use music to relax, express ourselves, and face our emotions. According to Savethemusic.org, “Music has the ability to deeply affect our mental states and raise our mood. When we need it, music gives us energy and motivation. When we’re worried, it can soothe us; when we’re weary, it can encourage us; and when we’re feeling deflated, it can re-inspire us.” This shows us the impact of music on our feelings and emotions, proving that music can help us significantly, offering us a chance to keep ourselves busy, relax, and even improve our mental health.

 

In conclusion, music is a force that brings people together and enhances our lives, individually and socially. It connects people and allows changes to be made. From entertaining to improving our mental health, music has always been helpful and always will be.


 

Sources: 

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Huerter, Autumn. “How Music and Culture Work Together: Science Behind Music.” Music House School of Music, 26 Oct. 2020,                           www.musichouseschool.com/how-music-and-culture-work-together-science-behind-music.

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Peralta, Lia. “How Does Music Affect Society?” Save the Music Foundation, 31 Jan. 2024,      

     www.savethemusic.org/blog/how-does-music-affect-society.

The Origins of Music

By: Levi Enderle
04/04/2025

Music has been around for approximately 40,000 years and continues to be important in cultures around the world to this day. It has evolved drastically since it was created, becoming a very important part of cultures around the world. Music allows people to share stories, express emotions, and keep their culture alive, but where did it come from?

 

Music originated around 40,000 years ago, likely for many reasons, such as having a way to express emotions, or for religious/entertainment purposes. Scientists have found ancient instruments such as flutes made of bones and mammoth ivory (a material found in a mammoth’s tusk), showing early musical development. In addition to early ancient musical instruments, when studying fossils, we have seen that our ancestors had a bone in their throat, similar to one we have, that likely allowed them to sing over 530,000 years ago.

 

We already talked about where music came from, but where do genres come from? When you hear music, one of the first things you think of is what type, or genre of music, you’re listening to. But where do these different genres come from? Genres like rock and roll originated in the 1950s in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Other genres, like jazz, originated in the late 1900s to early 2000s and originated in African American culture. Some traditional music also originated from religion and past cultures, such as gospel, which is often played in Christian churches around the world.

 

In conclusion, music has a long and interesting history that shows how important it is to people around the world today. From ancient flutes made out of bones to the large variety of genres we have today, music has always played an essential role in connecting cultures, generations, and feelings

 

Sources:

     Prasad, Aarathai. “When Did Humans First Make Music?” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 12 July 2023, www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/when-did-humans-first-make-music.

     Musicians Institute. “The Evolution of Music Genres | Musicians Institute.” Musicians Institute, 10 Jan. 2024, www.mi.edu/in-the-know/symphony-change-tracing-evolution-music-genres.

     Clark, Brian. “A Brief History of Music – From Origins to the Present Day.” Musician Wave, 29 Aug. 2023, www.musicianwave.com/history-of-music.

     Gorlinski, and Virginia. “Gospel Music | Definition, Artists, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Mar. 2025, www.britannica.com/topic/gospel-music.

---. “A Brief History of Music – From Origins to the Present Day.” Musician Wave, 29 Aug. 2023, www.musicianwave.com/history-of-music.

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