Using AI to turn my stammering poem into a song

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Robin

Robin Grigsby tells us how an artificial intelligence website helped give a voice to his words.

My name is Robin and I've been a stammerer all my life, always finding it tough, no matter the situation. But my stammer has given me a gift — the gift of poetry and songwriting. 

I found this gift in my mid-teens when I started to write poems as a way of getting my feelings out. Some time later, I felt I needed to write a poem to help others understand my struggles around stammering and how it's affected my life. That poem was titled 'Words'. I continued to write poetry and found it helped me to cope with the many challenges I've faced throughout my life. 

Not everyone is convinced by the idea of AI, but, to me, it finally gave me a voice.

Last year, I found a website called Suno, which allows users to create songs using AI. Not everyone is convinced by the idea of AI, but to me, it finally gave me a voice. I was able to input my lyrics, structure the song and give instructions for how I wanted it to sound and then AI does the rest, giving it a melody, vocals (not mine) and instrumentation.

I decided to use it to turn my poem about stammering, 'Words', into a song. I added a short four-line chorus and built the structure. Finally, I had a voice. As I stated earlier, the poem is about my struggles with my stammer, be it simple everyday things such as using a telephone or having a conversation. Even now they can be a struggle, even though I have tools to make life easier after referring myself to speech therapy in my early thirties.

You can listen to my song 'Words' below:

I hope anyone who stammers can relate to my song. Maybe this article might encourage others to explore websites that help to create AI songs, giving them a voice and a way to express themselves too. 

Three years ago, after a really tough time losing my stepson to Covid, I decided to leave my career of thirty years behind. I went into education as a Teaching Assistant in a Special Education Needs school, something I never thought I'd do. It was the best decision I ever made. It pushed me way out of my comfort zone and is making me a more confident person. Though the song 'Words' will always be something that truly describes me, and countless others who stammer.

You can find more of my songs on my YouTube channel. I've also just released my first physical CD 'Let's Get Rocked', available direct from elasticStage.

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