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Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
Betty Kingsmith remembers her husband Gordon as a man who couldn\u2019t say no \u2014 and wouldn\u2019t let her say it either.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he had something big he\u2019d planned for the day \u2026 He\u2019d say, \u2018Oh, yes, you can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The 91-year-old resident of Calgary\u2019s Wentworth Manor shared the memory during an AI song-writing workshop this month and, soon enough, there was a new tune about it echoing through the large workroom.<\/p>\n
It was in the form of an old country ballad.<\/p>\n
\u201c… later came Gordon with a sparkle in his eye; a man who chased the sunset, reaching for the skies. ‘Oh, yes, you can,’ he\u2019d always say.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kingsmith listened and wiped a tear away.<\/p>\n
Educator and musician Bruce Callow created this workshop and has been running it with seniors, people with disabilities and people who are new to Canada. He says it can be a magical way to help people express themselves, because music makes those memories come alive in a different way.<\/p>\n
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Educator and musician Bruce Callow runs workshops to help people turn memories into songs using artificial intelligence. (Elise Stolte\/CBC)<\/p>\n
In the workshops, Callow or another volunteer will ask questions to get people talking and take notes about the memory they want to share.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, they paste those notes into the Suno app, select a genre of music and, within minutes, they can play the song.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there are a lot of people that are worried about AI and, in the music industry, it’s causing quite an upheaval. But for this purpose, I think it’s pure and ethical. No jobs are being lost and memories are being recorded and spirits are being lifted,” said Callow.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven my most reluctant musician friends have to admit what I’m doing here is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Doreen Goodmanson says creating the song brought back memories of the ‘wonderland’ that was the Saskatchewan farm she grew up on. (Elise Stolte\/CBC)<\/p>\n