How to use ChatGPT to create audio in DAW

When it comes to creating audio in a DAW, ChatGPT is a surprisingly constructive tool. Its main strength lies in translating musical ideas into technical language, which is useful for shedding light on how to create sound effects.

Instead of rotating buttons and moving sliders randomly hoping to get a sound you like, you can use ChatGPT to suggest values ​​and start experimenting. It also provides a useful resource for learning more about the many types of sound effects parameters you encounter in the DAW.

ChatGPT in music production

Working with ChatGPT in music production is an interesting use case. Because ChatGPT is trained on a huge corpus of text from around the Internet, it understands the expressions we use to describe music, as well as the technical parlance used to describe effects plugins in a DAW.

This is not to say that ChatGPT can reveal the secrets of Frank Ocean's production style or Billie Eilish's vocals. But it can help you find the right plugin settings for the type of sound you want to create.

ChatGPT can turn ideas into actual implementations written in decibels and hertz. Saves you the time you would have spent searching YouTube or Google for the answer to "How do I make X effect?".

You can listen through the playlist below for a quick preview of the results in action. The article created a sound effect by asking ChatGPT for various recommendations, then dialing in the plugin and recording the results.

In the title of each track is the name of the plugin used, such as distortion or delay, plus the keywords used in the prompt, etc.

P. · ChatGPT Sound Design in LogicPro

Reminder Format

There are many ways you can ask ChatGPT to help you create audio. After successive tests, the article came up with the following concise reminder format, and generated all the necessary information.

Prompt : I want to create a [describe the effect or sound] in [name of DAW]. What settings do you recommend I try? Summarize your answer in a table. Here are the plugin settings: [list plugin settings, including the unit].

=> I want to create [description of effects or sounds] in [name of DAW]. What settings do you recommend I try? Summarize your answers in a table. Here are the plugin settings: [list plugin settings, including devices].

For the first part of the prompt, you want to describe the effect or sound you're trying to create. A few keywords will do the trick. The example tried words like "watery and psychedelic" to describe the delay effect, and in other tests the example used phrases like "bright, sharp, and cuts through the mix" .

In the second part of the prompt, you need to provide ChatGPT with a list of the most important parameters that you are using inside the plugin of your choice. You can choose any plugin you want. Open it to see the available settings and record the parameters.

One important thing to get it right is to include the unit of measure along with the name of the parameter. For example, for the chorus plugin, you can list parameters like Rate (Hz), Intensity (%) , and Mix (%) . Some settings like Tempo Sync have no units but can be turned on or off (ChatGPT seems to understand this on its own). Let's start with a plugin with few settings to tweak to simplify the reminder writing process!

If you don't include the unit, then ChatGPT will elicit its own name and unit unrelated to the existing plugin. Hallucinations, as the name suggests, is one of the problems ChatGPT has encountered as it continues to grow.

Remember that each plugin is unique and will have different types of controls with different names. So fill in the blank of the prompt a list of parameters that match the plugin you are using.

Apply settings to the plugin

If you use the prompt format from the previous step, ChatGPT will create a neatly organized table with plugin parameters listed in the left column and recommended values ​​in the right column.

Here is the prompt that was tried and the result looks like this:

Prompt : I want to create a dense and rapid delay effect in Logic Pro X. What settings do you recommend I try? Summarize your answer in a table. Here are the plugin settings: Tempo Sync, Delay Time ms, Smoothing ms, LFO rate Hz, LFO Intensity %, Flutter Rate Hz, Flutter Intensity %, Feedback %, Output Dry %, Output Wet %

I want to create a quick delay in Logic Pro X. What setting do you recommend I try ? Summarize your answers in a table. These are the plugin settings: Tempo Sync, Delay Time ms, Smoothing ms, LFO rate Hz, LFO Intensity %, Flutter Rate Hz, Flutter Intensity %, Feedback %, Output Dry %, Output Wet %.

How to use ChatGPT to create audio in DAW Picture 1

As you enter ChatGPT's recommended settings, listen to the results and see what you think. Here is the result of the above tried prompt:

P. · Acoustic - Guitar - ChatGPT - Delay - Dense - Rapid

In general, ChatGPT will list values ​​with a small range, so you have some room to try out suggestions. Of course, you don't have to heed these suggestions, so feel free to use them as a starting point and adjust as needed.

Here's the advice ChatGPT applies to every response:

"Remember, experimentation is key, and these recommendations serve as a starting point. Have fun exploring and finding the perfect sound for your music!"

Tips and tricks

In addition to the basic prompt format stated, there are a few more things you can experiment with. These tips and tricks will help you try or expand on ChatGPT responses.

Ask for an explanation

Want to know more about the functionality of plugin parameters or why ChatGPT chose those settings? Simply ask it to include an explanation. You can do this by adding a phrase that includes explanations at the end of your prompt.

How to use ChatGPT to create audio in DAW Picture 2

Seamless questions

Sometimes the explanation can be inaccurate, so if you want more information about a certain parameter, ask ChatGPT seamless questions. You can treat the AI ​​chatbot like a real person and ask it to explain something in depth. If ChatGPT starts to use too much jargon, ask it to write answers in simple terms or use metaphors.

There are several suggested techniques for ChatGPT that can help you refine the information you are looking for.

Check out other versions

A good way to get different results is to ask ChatGPT to regenerate its response to your prompt. The Regenerate response button is right above the text box, and you can click it to get a slightly different response.

How to use ChatGPT to create audio in DAW Picture 3

Also, look for a few arrows near the top left of the ChatGPT response. You can use them to move back and forth between different results.

Samuel Daniel

Update 24 July 2023