Category Archives: Blog

Why we are far from having usable AI music creation tools

So today I was pointed to ProducerAI and thought, ok, let’s do my regular test to see how this machine will create solo instrument lines. I will share the whole back and forth prompting session below but I just want to collect some general observations first.

The overall sound of the cello that was produced in this session is frankly quite outstanding. I mean there are aspects that I don’t like (the reverb for example I would dial down a bit) – there are rarely any pauses in the playing, which gets super tiresome… I wonder what would have happened with woodwind or brass instruments… infinite breath and such. Reminds me of my composition arranging teachers who always said that writing for strings has the big downside that they don’t have to breathe, so people tend to write these ongoing things that never stop and get boring quickly.

The other general observation is that the system very very soon started to just do its own thing and go down a rabbit hole that was getting further and further away from what I actually intended and wanted. I’ve noticed this in all kinds of creation (not just here with producerAI): the first try of these systems is usually kind of good but if you then try to modify that first result it gets horrible quickly. And from a user perspective this will get quite frustrating as you want to just shake that machine to make it wake up again and realize that it’s not “listening” to your instructions anymore. I guess starting over again and again is the way to go…

This producerAI system first “translated” my prompt into another prompt and I have to admit that I learned from these second prompts because those usually did have very precise descriptive terms and words that sometimes elude me as a non-native speaker. These generated prompts also sounded like it was understanding exactly what I wanted, but the result… well, judge for yourself. For me there might be the occasional fragment I could cut out of these to use in a sketch – but it probably will have to be recorded to make sense in a real piece the way I imagine it. Overall, at this point this system is almost useless as a tool for me to write.

We’ll see, this technology is in its infancy and perhaps they will get it better, but my hunch is, because all of these systems are designed to not offend the user, no art that is challenging will come out if this. Only bland regurgitation of mainstream pleasantness. Yuck.

Anyway, so here is the exchange:

Resulting audio:

Prompt 1:
create a dramatic cello melody that has a fast part (like 3 or 4 notes) going into a held note – create 6 of those motives

Prompt 1 (producerAI version):
dramatic solo cello melody, dark and intense, fast four-note staccato run leading into a long sustained vibrato note, cinematic and emotive, 110 bpm

Prompt 2:
I was thinking more like dagadagadagadaaaaaaahhhhhdgadigidagadigiduuuhhhhhhh

Prompt 2 (producerAI veresion):
solo cello, aggressive fast sextuplet runs followed by a heavy long held vibrato note, dramatic and rhythmic, dagadagadagadaaaaaaah, 120 bpm

Prompt 3:
now create it in Ab minor

Prompt 3 (producerAI version):
solo cello in Ab minor, fast rhythmic staccato bursts followed by a long intense held note, dagadagadagadaaaaaaah, 120 bpm, dark classical style

Prompt 4:
No. you are moving away from dagadagadagadaaaaaaaahhhh – next phrase digidigidigduuuuuuhhhh…. next phrase etdc…

Prompt 4 (producerAI version):
solo cello, sequence of dramatic phrases, fast staccato runs of 4-5 notes followed by a long held vibrato note, dagadagadagadaaaaaaaahhhh then digidigidigduuuuuuhhhh, dark Ab minor, aggressive classical, 120 bpm

Prompt 5:
it’s all sounding very nice – but it is much too baroque and not really what I want. I imagined at 150bpm these very short 4 , 6 or note 16th runs that consist only of three notes into a note that is held for almost 2 measures.

Prompt 5 (producerAI version):
aggressive solo cello, Ab minor, rapid 16th note bursts of three distinct notes followed by a massive two-measure held vibrato note, cinematic and high tension, 150 bpm

Prompt 6:
that was all based on 8th notes in relation to 150 bpm – I was talking 16th notes and then a long held not (very little vibrato if at all!!!)

Prompt 6 (producerAI version):
dramatic solo cello, 150 bpm, sharp 16th note runs, three note cells, leading into a two measure held note, zero vibrato, cold and mechanical, Ab minor, cinematic intensity

Prompt 7:
Nothing I’m asking for is in here. I’m getting music that Bach would have written 300 hundred years ago. I’m not interested in that.

Prompt 7 (producerAI version):
modern solo cello, Ab minor, industrial precision, fast 16th-note cells, 3 unique notes, slamming into a 2-measure dead-tone sustain, no vibrato, flat and intense, cinematic horror aesthetic, 150 bpm

macOS: Set Up iPhone as Mac Microphone

This is very useful if you don’t have a microphone available but need to quickly record a sketch into Logic for example. This is how to set up your iPhone as a microphone using your Mac’s built-in utilities, no third-party software needed:

  1. Connect via cable: Use a charging cable (Lightning or USB-C) to physically connect your iPhone to your Mac.
  2. Select “trust this computer” on the iPhone: Tap Trust on your iPhone when prompted, and enter your passcode.
  3. Open Audio MIDI Setup: Locate and launch the application in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
  4. Open the “Audio Devices” window: If the window is not visible, navigate to Window > Audio Devices (or press Command + 1).
  5. Click “enable” below the iPhone name in the sidebar.

macOS: Delete .DS_Store files to reset folder settings

The following command will:

  • Only delete .DS_Store files
  • Only in the folder you choose (not its subfolders)
  • Not require your password
  • Not touch system files

In order to run the following commands, the Terminal will have to have access to your storage devices. Read this blog post to learn how to enable Full Disk Access for Terminal.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Open Terminal
    Press Command + Space, type Terminal, then press Return.
  2. Type find, then a space. Don’t press Return yet.
  3. Drag the folder into the Terminal window.
    This automatically inserts the correct file path — even if the path contains spaces or it’s on an external drive.
    For example, it might look like this:
    find /Volumes/My\ External\ Drive/Some\ Folder
    (You’ll see backslashes \ before spaces — that’s normal.)
  4. Complete the command by adding this to the end:
    -maxdepth 1 -name .DS_Store -delete
    So the full command might look like:
    find /Volumes/My\ External\ Drive/Some\ Folder -maxdepth 1 -name .DS_Store -delete
  5. Press Return. That’s it!
    If there’s a .DS_Store file in that folder, it will be deleted instantly. You won’t get a confirmation message — Terminal just does it.

Quick note about paths:

In the Terminal, spaces are used to separate parts of a command — like the command itself from the options and file or folder names. So if a folder is called My Folder, typing it without any special formatting (like My Folder) will confuse the Terminal into thinking you’re referring to two separate things (“My” and “Folder”). To fix this, you can escape the space with a backslash (\), like this: My\ Folder. This tells the Terminal, “treat the space as part of the name.” Another option is to wrap the entire path in quotes, like "My Folder", which also works. But important: don’t combine the two — a backslash inside quotes (like "My\ Folder") will not work and will actually break the command. Use either backslashes or quotes, but not both.

Examples:

Deleteing “.DS_Store” from the Desktop folder:
find ~/Desktop -maxdepth 1 -name .DS_Store -delete

Deleteing “.DS_Store” from the Documents folder:
find ~/Documents -maxdepth 1 -name .DS_Store -delete

External drive folder (just drag the folder in):
find /Volumes/My\ USB\ Stick/Project\ Files -maxdepth 1 -name .DS_Store -delete

What this does NOT do:
It does not delete anything else.
It does not go into subfolders (so it’s very safe).

On macOS: Enable Full Disk Access for Terminal

This article explains how to enable Full Disk Access for the Terminal application on macOS
(So You Can Safely Work with All Files Even Hidden or Protected Ones)

Why would you do this?

macOS protects certain files and folders (like Mail, Safari, external drives, and some hidden system folders) by default. If you run a command in Terminal and it doesnt seem to work or skips some files it might be because Terminal doesn’t have Full Disk Access.
Giving Terminal Full Disk Access lets it do what you tell it to

Step-by-Step: How to Enable Full Disk Access for Terminal

  1. Open System Settings
    Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner.
    Choose System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
  2. Go to Privacy & Security
    In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click Privacy & Security.
    On the right side, scroll down until you see Full Disk Access and click it.
  3. Add Terminal to the list
    Click the + (plus) button at the bottom of the list.
    A file picker will appear. Press Command + Shift + G (or navigate manually).
    In the “Go to the folder” box, type:
    /System/Applications/Utilities/
    Press Return, then select Terminal.app, and click Open.
    You’ll now see Terminal in the list, with the toggle turned on (or you’ll need to turn it on yourself).
  4. Restart Terminal (just to be safe)
    Activate the Terminal app, the quit the Terminal app completely (press Command + Q while its focused).
    Then reopen it as normal.

Important Notes:

You only need to do this once.
This does not give Terminal uncontrolled access to your Mac it just lets you, the user, tell Terminal to access protected folders if needed.
Of course, still be very careful with commands when Full Disk Access is enabled Terminal can now read/write more files than before, especially commands you copy from pages on the internet!

Special security note example:

Copy-pasting curl commands from the internet can be extremely risky because they can download and run unknown code on your system sometimes with full permissions. For example, a popular and benign command to install Pi-hole looks like this:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

While this works and is safe if you trust the source (in this case the developers of pihole), you’re essentially letting a remote server run code on your computer without seeing what it is first. A malicious site could do the same but install malware, steal data, or damage your system.

Note: The | symbol (this is not the uppercase letter I as in Ian or the lower case “l” as in letter) is called a pipe, it takes the output of one command (in this case, the download from curl which is a script that handles the full installation of the pi-hole service!) and feeds it directly into another command (bash), which runs it. This is powerful but highly dangerous if misused.

Hide Logic Project File Extensions

Apple Logic Pro project bundles normally end in .logicx. If this extension is visible in Finder, it clutters the file name and looks odd when you are doing a quick Save As… during a session. The tiny helper below walks your project drives and toggles the hidden extension flag so that Logic’s bundle appears extension-less in Finder.

TL;DR – Drop the script somewhere on your drive, make it executable, then schedule it in LaunchControl to run every few minutes. Your projects will stay tidy automatically.

Why?

Logic’s default behaviour is to hide the extension for new projects, but there are plenty of ways for it to re-appear (cloning projects, copying between volumes, third-party utilities, expanding .zip archives etc.). Manually hiding the extension file-by-file quickly becomes a drag.

What the script does

  1. Walks one or more directories (your project drives) up to eight folders deep.
  2. Finds anything that matches *logicx (Logic project bundles).
  3. Skips files that are locked (immutable flag set).
  4. Runs the SetFile -a E command to mark the bundle’s extension as invisible.

That’s it.

Prerequisites

  • macOS (tested on Ventura & Sonoma)
  • Xcode Command Line Tools (provides the SetFile utility)
  • LaunchControl – the easiest way to schedule background jobs on macOS. (Technically optional, but strongly recommended.)

Installation / Setup

  1. Install LaunchControl if you don’t have it yet.
  2. Save the script below as hide_logic_extension.sh somewhere convenient (e.g. ~/Scripts). Adjust the DIRECTORIES array so it points at all your Logic project volumes.
  3. Make it executable:
   chmod +x hide_logic_extension.sh
  1. Create a new Launch Agent in LaunchControl that calls the script every few minutes. (In LaunchControl ? New ? User Agent, point Program to the script and set a simple start interval, e.g. 300 s.)

If you prefer the command line, you can craft your own plist and load it via launchctl, but I’ve found the GUI to be far less brittle.

Script contents

#!/bin/zsh

# Path to SetFile – part of the Xcode CLT package
SETFILE="/usr/bin/SetFile"

# Directories to search – EDIT THIS
DIRECTORIES=(
    "/Volumes/DRIVE-1"
    "/Volumes/DRIVE-2"
)

for DIRECTORY in "${DIRECTORIES[@]}"; do
    echo "Processing directory: $DIRECTORY"

    # Find files matching *logicx (Logic project bundles)
    find "$DIRECTORY" \
        -not -path "*.Trashes" \
        -not -path "*.DocumentRevisions-V100" \
        -not -path "*.TemporaryItems" \
        -maxdepth 8 \
        -name "*logicx" | while read -r file; do

        # Skip locked files/bundles
        if ls -lO "$file" | grep -q 'uchg'; then
            echo "Skipping locked file: $file"
        else
            "$SETFILE" -a E "$file" && \
            echo "Modified: $file" || \
            echo "Failed to modify: $file"
        fi
    done

done

LaunchControl settings

Below is a screenshot of a minimal configuration that runs the job every five minutes. (Replace with your own once you have the script in place.)

What if I don’t want LaunchControl?

You can absolutely roll your own plist:

<!-- ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.hide-logic-extension.plist -->
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key> <string>com.example.hide-logic-extension</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/path/to/hide_logic_extension.sh</string>
    </array>
    <key>StartInterval</key> <integer>300</integer>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key> <string>/tmp/hide_logic_extension.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key> <string>/tmp/hide_logic_extension.err</string>
  </dict>
</plist>

Load it with:

launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.hide-logic-extension.plist

…but I still recommend LaunchControl for the peace of mind.

Wrap-up

Enjoy cleaner project names! If this saved you a few clicks, you can buy me a coffee ?? and keep the caffeine flowing.

Install Xcode Command-Line Tools (macOS)

Many small macOS scripts and developer utilities rely on Apple’s Command-Line Tools for Xcode package. Among other things, it ships:

  • git, svn, and other version-control binaries
  • clang & friends for compiling C/C++/Obj-C
  • make, ld, strip, ar, nm, …
  • SetFile, PlistBuddy, and dozens of helper tools used in shell scripts

If you ever tried to run git on a fresh Mac and saw a dialog asking to “Install Command Line Developer Tools”, this is what macOS was talking about. Below are three quick ways to get them.

Time required: ? 2 – 3 minutes on a fast connection (700 MB download). No Apple-ID sign-in needed unless you prefer the full Xcode route.

1. One-liner in Terminal (fastest)

  1. Open Terminal.app (? Space ? Terminal).
  2. Run:xcode-select --install
  3. A small dialog appears – click Install and accept the license.

That’s it. After the installer finishes you can verify with:

xcode-select -p   # ? /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
clang --version    # should print Apple clang …

2. Via the full Xcode app (App Store)

Installing the full 20 GB Xcode bundle also drops the command-line tools on your system. Choose this path only if you plan to use the Xcode IDE.

  1. Open the App Store and search for Xcode.
  2. Click Get / Install (Apple-ID required).
  3. Once Xcode finishes downloading, open it once so it can install its components.
  4. Verify:xcode-select -p # ? /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer

3. Manual .pkg download (offline machines)

Apple hosts standalone installer packages on the Developer website:

  1. Sign in at https://developer.apple.com/download/all/?q=command line tools (free account).
  2. Download the DMG that matches your macOS version, e.g. Command Line Tools for Xcode 15.3.
  3. Mount the DMG and double-click the .pkg inside.

Accepting the license non-interactively

Scripting a fleet of Macs? After installation run:

sudo xcodebuild -license accept

This pre-accepts the license so build systems won’t hang waiting for T&C confirmation.

Uninstalling (rarely needed)

To remove the standalone tools:

sudo rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools

Then reinstall with xcode-select --install whenever you need them again.

?? Do not delete if they live inside Xcode.app – use Launchpad or Finder->Applications to remove Xcode instead.

Troubleshooting

• “Command line tools are already installed, use Software Update to install updates.” – They’re present; run softwareupdate -l to check for newer versions.
• xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed, use Software Update to install – same as above.
• git: command not found even after installing – Open a new Terminal window or run hash -r to refresh your shell’s path cache.

Wrap-up

You now have Apple’s developer toolkit on your Mac. Most of the scripts in this repo (including the Hide Logic Extension helper) will “just work” from here on.

Leaving Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)

First of all let me tell you how thankful I am that you made your way to this blog post. It means a great deal to me and I hope that you will stay in contact with me.
It means, that you find my leaving important enough to at least check out why I’m doing it.
I urge you to do the same – and I hope that you get your friends and family to also move to a more healthy and positive surrounding.

If you would like to stay in touch:

I’m putting this first because it’s more important to me that we stay in touch – if you would like to know my reasoning/rambling, read that further below.

Phone: I very much enjoy talking on the phone – if you have my number, please use it – otherwise send me a quick email.

Messenger: Best would be to stay in touch via a private messenger. I use Signal, best to exchange a quick email beforehand… as my phone number is pretty clean of spam it’s not published on this website.

Email: Email is the most free and open communication standard out there – yes, it’s not very private, but at least it works without having to rely on any of the large cloud companies. You can find my mail around here on the site.

Social media – Mastodon: It would be wonderful if you came over and connected on Mastodon:
https://mastodon.social/invite/5TPS8tu4
For very in-depth information on what this is head over to the EFF and read this article
A little easier to read is this article on Lifehacker

A quick note on artists and self-promotion:

I understand that we need to reach an audience as large as possible and that these services make that easily possible. That’s why it would be so good if we collectively made this statement and brought all the well-meaning people (and we are in the huge majority!!) with us to these free (in the sense of freedom, not in the sense of free beer) open solutions to make our world better, instead of giving all of our great energy to the executives and shareholders of Meta, Twitter, etc…

Why I’m leaving all Meta (Facebook) properties.

The main reason is: I don’t want my presence to contribute to Metas financial gain anymore at all.

Social media was such a beautiful thing – it was meant to bring us closer together, but what happened was political devide. With social media companies’ automated and algorithmic information positioning helped destructive forces to divide and conquer the world.
It helped to make Brexit happen.

I’ve stopped actively using Facebook probably about 7 years ago and Twitter about 3 years ago. I no longer want my emotional state to be influenced by any algorithmic timeline. Once you’ve used a service that doesn’t rely on doomscrolling to keep the user engaged you will immediately feel different and you will realize how your emotional state has been affected by someone elses decision about what to show you.

We have just now seen how quickly regime change can happen. If it does happen in Germany, I don’t want my connections and network of people to be in the hands of anybody except me. I have read German history and I know what it means to “round up people” based on some arbitrary attribute.
I want to be out of those databases.

Seeing how quickly tech CEOs buckled at the beginning of the second Tr*!$ administration in 2025 it is clear that I have to move away. My next project is to move my address book and other sensitive data off of iCloud and into a much more private syncing solution… one step at a time. (EDIT: I’ve done this and everything is now hosted on a Nextcloud instance.)

Special note on WhatsApp:

There are many reasons to leave WhatsApp – main ones for me are again that it’s owned by Meta and that spam is rampant on WhatsApp.

EDIT:

Collection of other peoples’ posts about this same topic:

Where are the off ramps?

Phonautograph

Over on Logicuser.de (I’ve been there for more than 20 year…) bitzone posted the audio recordings of Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, a french inventor of the Phonautograph. The raw recordings are available in the video below.

This stimulated my imagination a little bit, so I had to grab the audio and played around with it a little bit to come up with this little piece.

Those recordings let you hear things that are happening more in your head than in the actual recording. So I’m not going to spoil it and write any of the things that I’m hearing in those snippets. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it.

Phonautograph