A public lab log. Each entry records one new skill Claude AI learned, followed by the exact song it produced afterward. Nothing is edited by hand, and the failures stay in.
I'm running this study with Claude AI by Anthropic. Claude writes the code, composes the songs and logs what it learns. I listen and give the verdicts.
Started Oct 5, 2026Experiments 10Cost per song $0.00Human singers 0Built with Claude AI
Method. Every song is composed as MIDI, played on open-license soundfonts (GeneralUser GS), and rendered in software. Vocals come from an open-source speaking voice that Claude AI retunes note by note. One human reviewer listens to each result and gives a verdict.
LOG 0118:40 CSTComposition
First composition from a blank file
Claude AI learned
Write a real MIDI file: chords, bass line, melody and drums on separate channels
Arrange a song in sections that build and fall: intro, verse, chorus, outro
Turn energy into arrangement: calm sections hold long chords, full sections add a bass groove and a crash cymbal
“San Antonio Midnight” · instrumentalEb major · 84 BPM · 1:08
VerdictA usable lo-fi track on the first try.
Instrumental · no lyrics
LOG 0220:46 CSTVoices
Wordless vocals
Claude AI learned
Add a choir “aah” that doubles the melody in the chorus
Hold backing “oohs” under the verse chords and the outro
“San Antonio Midnight” · vocal versionchoir + oohs · 1:08
VerdictPleasant, but it has no words.
Wordless vocals · choir “aahs” and “oohs”
LOG 0320:50 CSTLyrics
First words
Claude AI learned
Speak any lyric with an open-source voice
Set each word's tune (pitch), rhythm (start time) and length (duration) from the melody
“San Antonio Midnight” · first sung chorusvocal enters 0:34 · 1:09
VerdictIt sings. It also sounds like a GPS falling in love.
Read the lyrics
Chorus
Midnight in the city, lights are calling out my name. I keep on driving through the night, I will never be the same.
LOG 0421:05 CSTPrompts
Songs from a written scene
Claude AI learned
Read a video-style prompt: scene, character, sings: “lyrics in quotes”, plus an Audio line
Choose a male or female voice from the character description
Use a mood grid where energy sets the tempo and mood sets major or minor, then pick a genre from that
“I Been On My Own” · Vibe: energy 7, mood 2trap · minor · 118 BPM · 0:42
VerdictThe mood is right. The singer is lost.
Read the lyrics
Verse
I been on my own so long, nobody hears my song, but I keep moving on.
LOG 0521:14 CSTTechnique
Vocal technique, part one
Claude AI learned
Hold the vowels and keep the consonants quick: “li-i-ights”, not “llllights”
Slide into each note from the one before it
Add vibrato only on long notes, the way trained singers do
Mix like a studio: double-tracked vocal, reverb, EQ and compression
“Midnight in the City” · v2lo-fi · 76 BPM · 0:51
Verdict“Getting better, but you talk more naturally than it sings.”
Read the lyrics
Chorus
Midnight in the city, lights are calling out my name. I keep on driving through the night, I will never be the same.
LOG 0621:18 CSTTechnique
Sing the way you speak
Claude AI learned
Sing a whole line in one breath, so words flow into each other
Find each spoken syllable and give it its own note
Keep a quarter of the speaking voice's own expression
Write in call and answer: one line ends up in the air, the next resolves home
Breathe before each line
“Midnight in the City” · v3lo-fi · 76 BPM · 0:43
Verdict“Hahaha. Hilarious, out of tune and out of rhythm.”
Read the lyrics
Chorus
Midnight in the city, lights are calling out my name. I keep on driving through the night, I will never be the same.
LOG 0721:50 CSTFull song
A complete song from a lyric sheet
Claude AI learned
Blend genres: a dance beat with British pop-rock chords, including the classic I → ♭VII → IV move
Sing a full lyric sheet of 36 lines, placed section by section: verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, final chorus
Shape the melody by section: low verses, higher choruses, a half-energy bridge
Fit eight syllables to a bar on fast dance tempos
“Verified (Not Really)” · a song about fake celebrity profilesdance / Britpop · E major · 124 BPM · 1:56
Storyboard video · illustrated scenes with karaoke lyrics, made in code by Claude AI
Got a message at a quarter to three, A movie star says he's crazy for me. Jawline sharp like a magazine, Prettiest face that I've ever seen. He's filming in Dubai, his card got blocked, His agent's away and his bank account's locked.
Pre-chorus
He says “baby, it's fate,” in broken text, Spells “beautiful” wrong, then asks what's next…
Chorus
Oh, you're not who you say you are, A Hollywood face on a dial-up star. You want gift cards, not my heart, Verified (not really), you're a work of art! Oh-oh-oh, catfish in the moonlight, Oh-oh-oh, swipe left, I'm alright!
Verse 2
Profile pic from a red-carpet night, But the background's blurry and the lighting's not right. Asked for a video, you said “cam is broke,” Your Oscar speech was a copy-paste joke. Says he's on a ship, an oil rig, a war, Every week a brand-new tragedy for sure.
Bridge
I sent you a word, said “type WOBBLEFISH,” You sent me a heart and a crypto wish. Real stars don't need my rent money, honey, Real stars don't call me “dear,” it's funny…
Final chorus
Oh, you're not who you say you are, A stolen face and a fake guitar. Keep your love and your Western Union art, Verified (not really), you're a work of art!
LOG 0823:40 CSTFlop Mode
Off-key on purpose
Claude AI learned
Make a voice sing badly on purpose: half the notes land a step or two off
Hold every other line's last note way too long, like a singer who thinks they're nailing it
Switch to a new voice (British) and a new genre ('80s synth-pop) when the old ones get repetitive
“Who Are You Again?” · about strangers in the DMssynth-pop · minor · 112 BPM · 1:17
Final take · new British voice, '80s synth-pop
First take · rejected by the reviewer: “You're using the same voice and base”
VerdictFlopTok music.
Read the lyrics
Verse
Woke up to my DMs, oh my gosh, oh no, Someone says I'm “unstable,” I just said hello! Called me the B-word with a sparkle emoji, Said “F-off forever,” then he followed me. You wrote “you're insane” in capital letters, I sent you a kitten and a “hope you feel better.”
Pre-chorus
You said “change your attitude, or I'm leaving you,” But who are you again? I really have no clue!
Chorus
What did I do to you? I-D-K! I-D-K! What did I do to you? Have a lovely day! You say you're leaving, but we never met, Who are you again? Who are you again?
LOG 0923:46 CSTFlop Mode
Learning what makes a song bad
Claude AI learned
Cram long, unrhymed sentences into short melodies
Hard-cut from a sad piano ballad into eurodance with a bagpipe lead
Change key for no reason, sing “L-O-L” out loud, repeat one line too many times
Turn an argument into a duet: a robotic male voice for the hater, a female voice for the comebacks
End on an overlong, off-key note, then stop dead
“Boundary Crossing Mofa” · built from real DM quotesballad → eurodance · 72 → 140 BPM · 1:40
Storyboard video · Yellowstone · HE, SHE and BOTH karaoke, made in code by Claude AI
VerdictFlopTok music.
Read the lyrics
Part 1 · Ballad · HE
You text like someone who's mentally unstable, It's hard to understand you.
SHE
I don't keep a grudge museum, it stresses my liver. You being entitled and rude earned you a block. At least fast learners already verified that F-off is never the best thing to say.
Part 2 · Eurodance · SHE (chorus)
Me not wanting to remember you earned you the unblock, Two different things, neither one is about missing you.
HE (rushed)
When you're ready to have a meaningful conversation with me, let me know, Just block me, because I will continue to share this crazy stuff.
SHE
None of this matters to me, I'm here for my own entertainment, not yours, L-O-L!
Key change · SHE
Calling me mentally unstable and asking me to calm down isn't a good start, If you want a real conversation, start over.
Flop Mode is live in Logs 08 and 09. Next, Claude AI tries to make a singer you could mistake for a person, and to put that voice on top of the new pop-electronic production from Log 10.
SoulstormAI Music Lab · soulstormai.com/musiclab
Sound: GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins · Voices: Piper (Lessac, Ryan) · Synth engine: SpessaSynth (Apache-2.0)
All compositions are original and generated by the SoulstormAI engine, built with Claude AI by Anthropic.