Mini lesson -

Ai and music generation

Overview

Estimated Time: 15–20 minutes

Learning Objective (SMART Goal):

By the end of this lesson, students will understand that AI creates music by following patterns made by humans, try out an AI music generation tool themselves, and reflect on how this affects creativity and fairness in music.

Materials Needed:

✔ Presentation

✔ Smartboard with internet access

✔ Optional: Laptops with headphones

Slide lesson: Ai and its water usage

This mini lesson introduces students to how AI generates music by copying patterns it has learned from human-made songs. Like with stories and pictures, AI does not invent from nothing but follows trends and mixes what it already knows.

This is just a short introduction that connects back to the rest of the framework. Since students have already explored AI-generated stories and images, this lesson builds on what they know while shifting the focus to music.

The goal is to give students a fun and thoughtful look into how AI tools can create songs, while also encouraging discussion about creativity, emotions, and originality in music. The lesson is teacher-led, with Artie guiding students through the content and simple reflections. Students try out an AI music tool and think about whether AI can truly replace music created by people. They also consider how this technology might affect real musicians and the future of music.

Presentation slides & Explanation

It is better to view the presentation through the Canva link, as links, animations, and videos do not work in the PDF.

Presentation PDF

Presentation Edit Link

Play the AI-generated song for the students. Once it finishes, give them a minute to talk to a partner about what they heard. Ask: “What do you think this song was made with?” and “What do you think today’s lesson will be about?” Let them share a few ideas before revealing that the song was created by AI.

SONG

Let them read Artie’s thoughts and tell them that we already learned about AI creating images and stories and today, we are learning about music.

Overview of todays lesson

Artie asks: “What do you need to make music?”
Let the students think and share. Guide them toward deeper answers like:
– A story to tell
– Emotions to express
– A reason or message
– Creativity and personal experience

This gets them thinking about what makes music meaningful before they see what AI can do.

Artie says: “Guess what. I can generate music too!”
Let students react and briefly discuss how they think AI can make music. You can ask: “What do you think it needs to make a song?” or “Do you think it sounds like human music?”

The teacher should connect this to prior lessons. Remind students how AI writes stories and makes pictures by copying patterns and mixing things it has already seen. Music generation works in the same way. Ask: “Do you think that means the music is really new or creative?”

This builds a bridge between past activities and today’s topic.

Let’s generate one song ourselves!

Option 1: The teacher opens the music generation tool (like Suno or a simple AI music demo) and creates a song together with the class. Ask students what kind of music, lyrics, or mood to include.

Option 2: If laptops and headphones are available, students can try generating a short song on their own or in pairs. They listen quietly and then write or draw what they think the song is saying or feeling.

This helps students explore how AI music sounds and whether it communicates emotion like human-created songs.

Important notes before generating a song:

Let students know that the AI tool used for creating music (like Suno) requires an account to sign in.

This means:

Students would need to log in with their own email, which must be arranged beforehand with parent or school permission.

An easier option is to create one class account that everyone can use.

During the testing phase, we found that generating one song together as a class worked really well. That is the recommended approach. It also keeps things simple and lets everyone reflect together.

The teacher should model how to use the tool step by step, since it is a bit tricky the first time. Be patient and guide students through the process slowly if you choose the individual route.

SUNO

Used Tools

AI can make songs that sound happy, sad, or exciting…Ask students:Can AI really feel those emotions?Let them discuss in pairs or groups. Prompt them to think back to earlier lessons—like how AI copies patterns in stories and pictures without understanding feelings.This reflection helps them consider whether music created without emotion is the same as music made by humans.

Use this question to spark a short discussion.

Guide students to think about how AI learns from patterns, which means it might accidentally copy parts of songs made by real people. Ask:

How would a musician feel if their song was copied?
Is it okay if AI didn’t do it on purpose?

Connect this to fairness and remind them that AI cannot tell right from wrong—humans have to make those decisions.

Use this slide to highlight that AI can create music that sounds emotional, but it does not feel those emotions or understand their meaning. Explain that music made by humans often comes from personal stories and deep feelings, which AI cannot copy. Also point out that AI does not create original music from scratch—it mixes and copies patterns it has seen before. Remind students that it is important to think about fairness, respect real artists, and always use AI tools responsibly.

Use this slide as a short wrap-up activity. Ask students to reflect on what they enjoyed about AI music and what made them stop and think. You can collect their thoughts verbally, in writing, or through sticky notes.

Examples you can give:

“I liked how fast AI made a full song.”
“It felt strange that AI made music without knowing how it feels to be sad or happy.”

Encourage honest answers and remind them there is no right or wrong. The goal is to help them think critically and personally about the use of AI in music.

Teacher Tip: If teachers want to add more slides, activities, or worksheets, Artie can be copied into Canva presentations and materials to keep the AI theme consistent and engaging. This allows for easy customization while maintaining a structured learning experience.

Final Word

Mini Lesson 6:

In this lesson, students explored how AI can generate music by copying patterns from songs and styles created by humans. With the help of Artie, they listened, created, and reflected on what music means when it comes from a machine instead of a person. By thinking about emotions, fairness, and originality, students were encouraged to look beyond the sound and ask deeper questions.

This mini-lesson is not about judging AI music as good or bad. It is about helping students understand the difference between human creativity and machine output so they can listen more thoughtfully and use music tools responsibly. If your students enjoyed this activity, check out the additional activities or resources to keep the learning going.

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