Cara Buck ‘29
Nov 14, 2025
Whether music is your passion or simply background noise, you will not be able to escape the fact that artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how music is created and experienced. While many already use AI as a tool for learning music’s mechanics, its impact on the industry goes far beyond convenience. The true question is, can it actually help improve our musical abilities? From generating sheet music to replicating the voices of specific artists, AI is already blurring the line between human creativity and machine imitation.
Shami Beni, Director of Band, said, “I do think it is a little weird. For example, during the whole Drake and Kendrick beef, when Drake used Tupac’s voice in one of the songs.” In pop culture, the use of AI-generated voices, especially those of existing artists, is widely controversial. Yet, in educational settings, AI can serve a very different purpose.
“I had a couple of kids in my mixing music class use AI for their voice component for their project,” Beni said. At Mercersburg, students are using AI as a creative support tool rather than as a shortcut. Cellist Thomas Zhu ’26 believes AI has the potential “to inspire more people in general to be able to create music.” By lowering barriers to entry, it can make music more accessible to everyone.
AI can even help complete unfinished music or that lost to time. Beni noted, “You can recreate someone’s music from thirty years ago that isn’t alive now.” Similarly, Zhu added, “Those symphonies that composers didn’t finish and died—AI took inspiration from their previous work and kind of finished it.” This demonstrates that when used with a clear, direct purpose, AI can be of good use: to preserve and extend musical legacies.
On the other hand, not everyone sees AI in music as a positive development. Karin Sugiyama ’27 expressed skepticism. “I think it’s good for friends and just for fun, but I don’t see the reason why people would have to use AI to create [serious] music when there are so many wonderful musicians and artists around the world,” she said. James Coors ’27 echoed her sentiment, pointing out, “I would worry about whether or not it will put real artists out of a job.”
Although the thought of AI replacing real hardworking artists is intimidating, AI-produced pieces lack the human essence of authenticity and feeling. Without personal subtle flaws and imperfections, music would simply be bland and distant from the audience. Sugiyama said, “It just destroys the whole purpose of having human artists if we can just use AI to make anything.”
At Mercersburg, we value human creativity and experience. However, AI can responsibly be used by those who are experimenting and learning. If you are using AI to practice or make music, it is important to use it as a tool and not a replacement. As Beni stated, “It will definitely bridge the gap between people who have the resources to learn about the music industry and the people that don’t.”