Switching to his MIDI controller, Brandon layers in the electronic portion over the guitar sound. The small keyboard becomes his interface between mind and machine. He describes this as “a human feeling [he] can transmute with artificial intelligence to compose something cyberpunk.”
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In this photo essay we compare the steps it takes for musicians Kailyn Auplan and Brandon Menard to create a song. While many artists are turning to AI to create music, others are sticking to traditional ways.
Follow along to see the differences in how these artists showcase their creative process.
Kailyn begins her songwriting process by jotting down her thoughts in her notebook and scratching out what she no longer wants to use as she goes. This usually always takes place in her room on her bed. Her inspiration comes from her own experiences and words she finds interesting.
Brandon powers up his DAW workstation to start creating music at home. His dual monitors come to life and he’s fueled by what the future holds for him and other AI creators.
She experiments with her guitar as she reads over what she’s written down. The goal is for the instrumental to match the tone of the lyrics. She even hums as she plays to see what melody sounds right.
The program he uses to begin this process is FL Studios, a powerful digital audio workstation that allows him to layer sounds and arrange melodies. He has an AI-powered platform called Suno running in the background, where he grabs the stems he prompted to add to the current beat.
Kailyn moves from her bed to her desk to transfer the lyrics into her notes app and create a title for her song. She experiments with other instrumentals in GarageBand and places the song where she thinks it should be on her upcoming album. In order to figure out how the new song will fit into the project she has to revisit her older ones and make comparisons.
Brandon uses Suno, an AI-powered platform, to generate different audio tracks. He prompts the ideas he wants and incorporates them into his beat by dragging in the samples. He is working on a hardtekk beat, which is a subgenre of techno music that originated in Germany in the early 2000s. Brandon likes to use Suno because it allows him to quickly experiment with a variety of sounds and rhythms, customizing each sample to fit the fast aggressive energy typical of hardtekk.
When she’s comfortable with how the song sounds she begins to document it. This is done so she’ll have something to show her team and promote on social media. Consistently posting online helps her build her audience and brand.
Brandon picks up the guitar to relay some ideas he has in his mind, and experiments with a few chords. He plays different melodies that could harmonize well and rehearses them a few times before adding a new element.
After promoting her work she assembles a team to help her bring her vision to life. She utilizes the nature trail near her apartment to execute her story. She also appreciates feedback along the way.
Switching to his MIDI controller, Brandon layers in the electronic portion over the guitar sound. The small keyboard becomes his interface between mind and machine. He describes this as “a human feeling [he] can transmute with artificial intelligence to compose something cyberpunk.”
Kailyn practices playing the song with a band and performing it in front of an audience. This gives her the chance to further promote her work to team up with other rising artists.
Brandon takes center stage at Skateburn, one of Miami’s most popular fire jams featuring fire performers and flow artists. He DJs a high-energy set, weaving the final version of his newly created song into the mix.
Brenda Miranda is a senior at Florida International University who is passionate about storytelling and news. She has experience both on camera and behind the scenes and enjoys anchoring for Newsbreak. She pitches stories for Caplin News about community issues, the arts, and human-interest features.
Miranda will graduate from the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor’s degree in digital communication and media in Fall 2026.
V’Tilya Minnis is a junior at Florida International University who is interested in multimedia production and psychology. Minnis enjoys photography, fashion and creating social media content. She hopes to work as an editor, writer or marketing specialist in the future. Minnis will graduate from Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media with a bachelor's degree in Digital Communications & Media with a minor in Psychology in Fall 2027.
