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Summary
Many fear that AI might stifle human creativity.
However, my personal journey with creative hobbies and AI tools tells a different story.
I Always Fancied Myself a Creative
Animated movies were a huge part of my early childhood.
I, too, wanted to bring the worlds in my head out into the open.
I wanted to tell people, Hey, I created something.
Come take a look (or listen).
I ended up zoning in on my passion for storytelling.
If you do something for long enough, you get good at it.
Eventually, I landed my first paid writing gig in college.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
Fast-forward a decade from then, and here I am, making a living writing on the internet.
But heres the twistwords were never my biggest passion.
I always felt a stronger affinity towards music and art.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
So why didnt I prioritize those over writing?
Simple answer: I couldnt!
Creative Hobbies Have a Barrier To Entry
Money was tight when I was growing up.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
Creative pursuit felt like a luxury expense.
Take digital art, for example.
To get started, you need a decent computer, access to professional software, and adrawing tablet.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
Thats a substantial investment before you even begin to learn the craft.
Music production was even more expensive.
Doing that by learning an instrument didnt seem practical.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
You know what wasnt expensive, though?
So, I bought lots of paper.
Writing became my sole outlet for creative expression.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
But it became a problem of time, or more truthfully, priority.
In my mind, I wasnt trying to become a professional artist or musician.
I wanted to do this recreationallyat most to amuse my friends and family at gatherings.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
I didnt want to be a big rock star living in hilltop houses who drove 15 cars.
So, investing years in just learning the ropes felt too much of a commitment.
I told myselfmaybe in another lifeand I just gave up!
That is until AI came into the picture.
It rekindled the lost spark and helped explore new art forms and music styles.
It all began withMidjourney.
I started using the tool in March 2023, when version 5 dropped.
Then, about a year later,Suno v3dropped, followed byUdio.
I have been using these AI text-to-song generators for three-four months now and have alreadygenerated over 1000 songswith them.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
Its extremely fun and addictive.
Now, all these toolsMidjourney, Suno, Udiostart at $10 a month, making them extremely affordable.
This is true, but only if you desire surface-level results!
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
So, to actually get what I want, I need to bemore articulate with my prompt.
The image looks a bit more cartoony and animated in my head.
If you have an idea, AI can help you visualize it.
Dibakar Ghosh / How-To Geek | Midjourney
However, if you already have a visualization, AI cant 100% accurately materialize it.
I also have the same trouble with AI music generators.
Also, I wanted some sections with actual cat meows!
However, that means I already need to know how to play music, which I dont!
This brings us back to square one.
To accurately express the songs in my head, I need to know how to play an instrument.
To accurately materialize the scenery in my mind, I need to know how to draw them myself.
As such, Im ready to buy my first musical instrument.
I don’t think they are the creative powerhouse some people make it out to be.
However, at the same time, they aren’t an enemy to creativity nor a useless gimmick.
This allows you to infinitely experiment with different art forms and ideas to potentially discover something about yourself.
I draw a lot of satisfaction and happiness from this process.
And this self-discovery aided in my decision to buy a keyboard.
This is again where AI can come in handy.
I can use the keyboard to lay down the specific melodies and tunes I want.
At the end of the day, its all about creative expression.
Now, we have many instruments and equipment to help us express ourselves.
AI is just a new one on that list.
I personally feel that AI isnt a replacement for traditional methods of creative expression.
However, both can work in tandem to help us explore even deeper parts of our creative selves.
This process can potentially help us come up with something truly unique and personal.
