Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot can now create songs thanks to Suno integrationMicrosoft‘s Copilot chatbot has introduced a new feature allowing users to create new songs via text prompts. The tool is a result of a partnership with Suno AI, a generative AI music app made by “musicians and artificial intelligence experts”.

READ MORE: ChatGPT shows us how to make music with ChatGPT

“You don’t have to know how to sing, play an instrument, or read music to bring your musical ideas to life,” Microsoft states in a blog post announcing the news. All you have to do is leave the heavy lifting to Copilot and Suno, who will turn your musical dreams into reality based on the cues in your prompt.
To begin, simply visit copilot.microsoft.com, sign in with your Microsoft Account, and enable the Suno plugin or click on the Suno logo that says, “Make music with Suno”.
Here are a couple of prompts to help you get started:

Create a pop song about adventures with your family
Make a song that captures the spirit of growing up
Create an upbeat, motivational song designed for gym workouts
Make a soulful song about daily life from the perspective of a pet

“We believe that this partnership will open new horizons for creativity and fun, making music creation accessible to everyone,” Microsoft adds. “This experience will begin rolling out to users starting today, ramping up in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to see (and hear!) what you create.”

Music creation now made easier with @Suno_ai_ integration in Copilot. Learn more: https://t.co/QYH1w76y94 pic.twitter.com/hZuwkCY96b
— Bing (@bing) December 19, 2023

GenAI-driven music creation technology has been all the rage of late, with a recent study revealing ChatGPT to be the most-used tool among musicians currently.
But despite a growing openness to AI technology within the music community, the study also found that artists are hesitant about broadcasting their use of the controversial technology: Over 50 percent of musicians surveyed said that they would conceal their use of AI to others.
The post Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot can now create songs thanks to Suno integration appeared first on MusicTech.

Richie Hawtin and Erica Synths’ Bullfrog can easily help you teach and learn synthesis€500, ericasynths.lv
Is Girts Ozolins preparing to retire? On more than one recent occasion, the Erica Synths founder has alluded to the question of his legacy. “When you are in your 50s, you start to think about what you will leave behind,” he was recorded saying at this year’s Machina Bristronica show. Similarly, in a demonstration video of the Bullfrog, he cites the desire to “have something lasting – something that will outlive us and pass our knowledge to the next generation” as a primary impetus behind its development.

READ MORE: Native Instruments Kontrol S-Series MK3 controller lets you focus on your music, not your computer

The next generation is indeed the focus of the Bullfrog, so if you’re thinking it has less of the sleek, black finish of most Erica Synths instruments and more the look of a synth for children, that’s because, in many ways, that’s what it is.
The fruits of a collaboration with venerated British-Canadian synthesist and DJ Richie Hawtin, also known to many as Plastikman, the Bullfrog is more the locus of a wider vision to make education in synthesis more accessible than it’s ever been before.
In Hawtin’s words, the vision for the Bullfrog is “to inspire and welcome a younger audience into the world of electronic music.” The manual, for instance, is less a conventional instruction document and more a fully-fledged workbook, complete with an extensive (yet accessible) introduction to the behaviour of sound itself and the architecture of synthesizers, blank patch sheets and even a series of short tests at the end of each chapter. That’s right; if you’re a teacher or a parent looking for a way to educate younger players in electronic music, or if you’re an adult who is looking for a route into the craft of synthesis, this may well be the instrument for you. After all, be it for a child or adult, make no mistake, the Bullfrog is a fully-fledged, all-analogue synthesizer, and a powerful one at that.
Erica Synths Bullfrog with sequencer
It’s not the first foray into education for the Latvian synth powerhouse. Last year, the company ambitiously collaborated with German electronics whizz Moritz Klein to produce a line of DIY Eurorack modules: VCOs, VCAs, sequencers, filters and more shipped as kits, complete with extensive instructions not just covering how to build the things but detailing how and why their discrete components work together.
Now, though, Erica is going from the workbench to the classroom – literally and figuratively. The heart of the Bullfrog constitutes a single VCO, offering variable sine-shark fin or pulse wave over eight oscillators, a resonant low pass filter, a VCA section and a simple modulation matrix consisting of two cycling envelopes and a sample and hold. Atop these is an onboard delay, a noise generator and a clock divider.
Hawtin’s use of the word ‘welcome’ feels pertinent here; arguably one of the primary deterrents for newcomers and young people to the world of synthesis is how daunting and esoteric it can look. The 38-or-so centimetre-wide synth does everything it can to work against that. It’s big, spacious, colourful and, above all, it’s simple.
The Bullfrog also demonstratively chooses not to muddy the water with any normalised connections under the hood like a semi-modular, instead requiring patching to make even a basic sound. This is a wise move; after all, the goal isn’t to make sounds as quickly as possible here, it’s to enable the understanding of signal paths from the very first connection to the end result. The inclusion of delay then offsets this perfectly, adding just the right amount of drama to the Bullfrog’s output and, in many ways, demonstrating what it might end up sounding like as part of a wider arrangement.
Erica Synths Bullfrog
Ostensibly, the Bullfrog uses colour-coding to differentiate between its different circuits – something we daresay many experienced synthesists would also appreciate on their instruments.
Blue is for anything related to the VCO (such as tuning and FM), green is for the filter and red is for the VCA, including the delay circuit. That last inclusion could be confusing, since additive effects aren’t part of a conventional VCA section, but makes sense insofar as the notion of a VCA more or less just pertains to the levels of things. The main knobs for each – VCO tuning, VCF frequency cutoff and VCA level – are huge; just right for hands large or small to joyously grab and turn.
A built-in speaker means the synth can output sound without needing to be plugged in, perfect for classroom use and surprisingly powerful, yet capped at a reasonable volume, you’ll be pleased to hear.
There’s also a slot for various Voice Cards, not dissimilar to the Program Cards used by the coveted Buchla Easel. These can create instant patches (including a Hawtin-designed acid bass voice), and endow the Bullfrog with a sequencer or even a sampler with an onboard microphone. It means that the learning experience can start from either end – work at performing with a fully-fledged voice, tweaking on the fly, or learn how to incorporate other elements into your own original patch.
Erica Synths Bullfrog with accessories and manual
The educational potential doesn’t stop here: there’s also a humongous ‘XL’ version, unreleased at the time of writing and at least double the size of the regular Bullfrog, for educators to demonstrate patches on. Most certainly visible from the very back of any classroom, this boasts two larger speakers, modestly extended functionality and a generously sized onboard oscilloscope for illustrative purposes.
These are surely the building blocks of a dream scenario for anyone hoping to bring synthesis into the educational realm, or for those of any age who want to learn about it but have never known where to start. Many will understandably raise the issue of cost, particularly in these dark days of under-funded schools. Fair to say that, at €500 a unit, it’s unlikely many schools will be ordering Bullfrogs in batches of 20 with an XL version on top. But even without the educational discount promised by Erica Synths, in a vacuum, it’s important to point out that for what it is this synth is phenomenally good value. It’s well built, it sounds brilliant and it’s almost completely future-proof in its usability, which will only increase with the knowledge of its user.
Who knows, maybe in a decade’s time, many will be touting the Bullfrog as their ride-or-die instrument – the synth that started it all for them and one that they still use. Say it ain’t so, but if the Bullfrog is Girts’ swan song then it’s a fine one to be sure. However, with this project, he may have inadvertently created more demand for his and Erica Synths’ services than ever.
Erica Synths Bullfrog key features

A classic subtractive synth with built-in speaker
Wave-variable VCO
Resonant low pass filter
Two cycling envelopes plus sample and hold
Onboard delay
Voice card slots for ready-made patches or extra features

The post Richie Hawtin and Erica Synths’ Bullfrog can easily help you teach and learn synthesis appeared first on MusicTech.

Cableguys ShaperBox 3.5 update The latest ShaperBox update introduces some interesting new distortion and filter-based enhancements to the DriveShaper and FilterShaper Core modules. 

Art Rock LA is Center Stage at CenterStagingOn the evening of Saturday, Dec. 9, music and art collided in Burbank, CA as ART Rock LA took center stage at CenterStaging. The event was sponsored by Freckled Zelda, a recording artist and influencer, who captivated the audience in a Princess Zelda costume complete with antlers and elf ears.

Freckled Zelda not only sponsored the event but also delivered a mesmerizing performance blending original compositions with covers. The highlight was her new rendition of “Butterflies,” where the Ocarina, a sweet potato-shaped flute, added a magical touch to the evening.

Powerhouse vocalist EMM also performed. Sets by Trinity Bliss (Avatar) and Tim Johnson Jr. (Disney Channel, Nickelodeon) added to the musical diversity on show. Ryan Story closed the event with a set of classic rock favorites.

The primary focus of the evening, however, was to support The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s fundraiser, led by Myka Miller Jimenez. A silent auction that included signed guitars and memorabilia contributed to the noble cause of fostering music education.

The CenterStaging Artist Relations building, typically home to offices for brands like Roland, PRS, and Ernie Ball, was transformed into an art haven. The walls were decorated with framed art and canvases, showcasing the work of musicians who also paint. For example, JD Shultz, the singer-songwriter of Human Brother, contributed iconic classic rock star art on acrylic glass.

Rising art world star Jessica Downs displayed large canvases featuring abstract likenesses of deceased music legends, including Chester Bennington, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix. Separately, from Star Trek fame, 20-time Emmy-nominated Dan Curry showcased original art, including some of his Klingon designs. Music composer Joel Doeuk presented his own metal and resin sculptures in explosive imagery.

Marvel artist Christian Cordella showcased his Pennywise, the clown from the IT movies, while Madrid-based artist Kala Carela added a touch of gothy darkness to the artistic spectrum. From Matt Carmody, attendees saw drip-style pieces paying homage to Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Joe Cocker. 

FATHOM Art, curated by Francis Coiro, took over the space previously occupied by Fender, treating attendees to rare classic rock photos from the gallery’s Rock Iconix Collection. Also on view were dozens of paintings and fine art prints from FATHOM’s roster of international contemporary artists, plus a selection of work from seminal Los Angeles graffiti and mural artists. Notable images included a one-of-a-kind 3D rendering of Madonna before she became the pop icon we know today.

The ambiance and lighting of the event were provided by Modern Illumination, ensuring each painting in the entire Artist Relations building was individually highlighted. PRS Guitars Artist Relations executive Winn Krozack entertained with a mesmerizing performance on the 7-foot Yamaha Grand Midi Disklavier. Performing artists were supported by Renkus-Heinz Audio on stage.

The event’s production was a collaborative effort led by Sammy Oriti, CenterStaging’s General Manager Will Kerlick, and Freckled Zelda’s manager Rick Wilson. 

Though the holiday season has come and gone, we at Music Connection encourage readers to consider the gift of art. For those interested in exploring the collection further, private showings are available by appointment on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact info@artrockla.com or call 310-985-5511 to schedule your visit and bring the magic of music-infused art into your life.

artrockla.com

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Inventor creates the world’s smallest MIDI synth and it sounds rather adorableA crafty inventor has created the “smallest and silliest synth yet” – a USB-C MIDI Synth consisting of a USB-C connector, a miniature circuit board and a piezo buzzer.
The creation doesn’t appear to be much larger than a thumbnail, and yet although not practical it works just fine, and actually sounds quite cute.

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The miniscule creation was crafted by inventor and engineer Tim Alex Jacobs, as reported by Music Radar. The creator of mini synths runs a YouTube channel and website under the name of Mitxela, where he has documented his other tiny inventions.
The mini synth journey began in 2015 with Jacobs’ original mini MIDI synthesiser, which then progressed to a USB synthesiser. Of course now, his latest invention brings his mini creation to an even more modern stage.
“You might be thinking that this is utterly pointless, and you’d be right,” Jacobs says candidly in his video. “There is no device we could plug this into that doesn’t already have a speaker. There are no USB-C hosts that couldn’t already run a software synthesiser […] The only thing it can do is a monophonic square wave.”
You may be thinking that such a tiny creation would only be possible of creating incredibly scratchy and uncomfortably piercing sounds, but as Jacobs plugs four of the synths into a USB hub, and performs a Mario 64 video game theme tune it sounds sort of adorable.
“I was prepared for a horrible shrill chorus of four synthesisers screaming at once, and instead I get this adorable Mario song. I love it,” sums up one YouTuber user in the comments.
Watch the full video below:

Last year, scientists in Denmark created the world’s smallest vinyl record. It could barely be seen by the naked human eye and held just 25 seconds worth of the song Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.
You can find out more about Tim Alex Jacobs and his other creations via his website, Mitxela.
The post Inventor creates the world’s smallest MIDI synth and it sounds rather adorable appeared first on MusicTech.

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Party like it’s 2005 – Yamaha has just released a 5-disc CD playerDust off your Britney Spears albums and dig out your Motorola flip phone to tell your mates the news – Yamaha has just released a 5-disc CD player, the CD-C603, which allows users to change discs while another is playing via a Play X Change feature.
The new product offers both the nostalgia of a classic multi-disc player, but also brings modern features found in other Yamaha electronics. It even has a full opening disc tray which reveals all five discs at the same time.

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Onboard is Pure Direct, which is a popular feature included in Yamaha amplifiers and receivers. By pressing the button on the front panel or on the included remote control, it shuts down the digital audio output and turns off the display. This achieves the lowest possible noise interference and, therefore, the highest sound quality of the analogue audio output, according to the brand.
Two further design features found in single-disc Yamaha players today are also on offer – the Laser Pickup Floating Mechanism, which prevents operation from being affected by vibrations or movement, and the Intelligent Digital Servo, which offers a type of digital processing designed to detect and compensate for any signal, tracking or motor speed issues.
The CD-C603 can also deliver “high-quality” playback of music files such as MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, and FLAC stored on USB memory devices via a USB port on the front panel.
Physical formats are continually rising in popularity exponentially – vinyl records have been remaining constantly high in sales across recent years, with even cassette tapes having reached a 20 year peak, with an annual figure of 195,000 sales for 2022.
Pricing is yet to be revealed for the CD-C603 in the UK and US (but it is currently retailing at AU$899). It also comes in black or silver. You can find out more over at Yamaha.
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