A couple of weeks ago, I asked the AI ChatGPT to write an essay. Today I gave Bard, Google’s AI ChatBot, a shot at the same prompt.
I asked both to “Please write an essay about the John Wright piece ‘La Salle St After Hours'”. ChatGPT provided “alternative facts”, in the words of KellyAnne Conway, or “hallucinations”in the words of those who pay attention to AI. Here is Bard’s contribution:
John Wright’s piece “La Salle St After Hours” is a beautiful and haunting piece of music that captures the essence of a late night in the city. The piece is slow and reflective, with a jazzy feel. The instruments are muted and understated, creating a sense of stillness and peace. The lyrics are sparse and poetic, and they seem to be about a person who is lost and alone in the city. The piece is both comforting and unsettling, and it leaves the listener with a sense of longing and nostalgia.
The piece begins with a slow, meandering melody on the piano. The melody is simple and repetitive, but it is also very beautiful. The piano is joined by the bass and drums, and the three instruments create a lush and atmospheric sound. The lyrics are sparse and poetic, and they seem to be about a person who is lost and alone in the city. The lyrics are sung in a soft, soulful voice, and they add to the sense of longing and nostalgia that the piece evokes.
The piece builds slowly and steadily, and it reaches a crescendo in the final few minutes. The instruments become more intense, and the vocals become more powerful. The piece ends with a slow, fade-out, and it leaves the listener with a sense of peace and tranquility.
“La Salle St After Hours” is a beautiful and haunting piece of music that captures the essence of a late night in the city. The piece is slow and reflective, with a jazzy feel. The instruments are muted and understated, creating a sense of stillness and peace. The lyrics are sparse and poetic, and they seem to be about a person who is lost and alone in the city. The piece is both comforting and unsettling, and it leaves the listener with a sense of longing and nostalgia.
The piece is a great example of Wright’s unique style of music. Wright’s music is often described as “jazzy” or “soulful”, but it is also very atmospheric and moody. Wright’s music often deals with themes of loneliness, isolation, and longing.
“La Salle St After Hours” is a great example of Wright’s ability to create a sense of place and time. The piece evokes the feeling of a late night in the city, with its slow, reflective pace and its muted instruments. The piece also evokes the feeling of loneliness and isolation, with its sparse lyrics and its soulful vocals.
“La Salle St After Hours” is a beautiful and haunting piece of music that is sure to stay with you long after you have heard it.
Bard did a bit better than ChatGPT. It recognized that the piece is music, not an oil painting. It describes the lyrics as “sparse”. Since there are no lyrics, “sparse” is an understatement. Bard was quite repetitious, as though it were “proud” of its word choices. In seven paragraphs, it called the piece “beautiful and haunting” three times. “Stillness and peace” is there twice, as is “sparse and poetic”. The piece opens with bass but you wouldn’t know that from the essay.
Overall, it strikes me as an essay assigned with with a minimum word count, by someone who didn’t have enough to say to fill that count.
I asked (the night before on a different device) using the word “composition”, as I did the second time I gave ChatGPT a shot at it. The result was factual regarding the recording date and personnel. It identified that La Salle Street is in Chicago. I can find no evidence that the piece was covered by Coltrane, Monk, Davis, or anyone else. I can’t tell you what key it’s in. (Maybe someone out there can tell us if Bard was right about that.) I don’t know that I’d call him a “prolific composer”, as I can find 21 compositions attributed to him and a larger number of covers he has recorded.
John Wright’s “LaSalle St After Hours” is a jazz composition that was first recorded in 1960. The song is a slow blues in the key of G minor, and it features Wright’s piano solo backed by a rhythm section of Wendell Roberts on bass and Walter McCants on drums.
The song is named after LaSalle Street in Chicago, which was a popular nightlife destination in the 1960s. The song’s title reflects the late-night atmosphere of the street, with its smoky jazz clubs and its hustle and bustle.
Wright’s piano solo is the centerpiece of the song. He plays a series of bluesy phrases that are both soulful and technically impressive. The rhythm section provides a solid foundation for Wright’s solo, and they also contribute to the song’s late-night atmosphere with their use of syncopation and improvisation.
“LaSalle St After Hours” is a classic example of Chicago blues. It is a slow, soulful song that features a virtuosic piano solo. The song’s title reflects the late-night atmosphere of LaSalle Street, and it is a perfect soundtrack for a night out in the city.
The song is also a great example of Wright’s playing style. He was a master of the blues, and his playing is characterized by its soulfulness, its technical proficiency, and its use of improvisation.
Wright was a prolific composer, and he wrote many other great jazz compositions. However, “LaSalle St After Hours” is one of his most well-known and beloved songs. It is a classic example of Chicago blues, and it is a perfect soundtrack for a night out on the city.
The song has been covered by many other artists, including Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. It is a standard in the jazz repertoire, and it is sure to continue to be enjoyed by audiences for many years to come.
I could believe that this was written by someone who listened to it and had some understanding, but also someone who padded their work in hopes that they wouldn’t get caught when they made stuff up.
Since Bard showed some promise, I asked it to write “a personal reflection” on the piece. Here is the result:
I first heard John Wright’s “La Salle St After Hours” when I was in college. I was walking through the park one night, and I heard the music coming from a nearby building. I stopped to listen, and I was immediately captivated by the piece.
The music is slow and reflective, with a jazzy feel. The instruments are muted and understated, creating a sense of stillness and peace. The lyrics are sparse and poetic, and they seem to be about a person who is lost and alone in the city.
The piece struck a chord with me because I was feeling lost and alone myself at the time. I had just moved to a new city, and I didn’t know anyone. I felt like I was wandering around aimlessly, trying to find my place.
“La Salle St After Hours” helped me to feel less alone. It reminded me that everyone feels lost and alone sometimes, and that it’s okay to feel that way. The piece also helped me to appreciate the beauty of the city at night.
I’ve listened to “La Salle St After Hours” many times since then, and it always brings me back to that night in the park. It’s a reminder of a time when I was feeling lost and alone, but also a time when I was starting to find my way.
I’m grateful for “La Salle St After Hours”. It’s a beautiful and haunting piece of music that has helped me through some tough times.
It was still the Bard identity that heard non-existent lyrics; but it showed the ability to reflect. It made up circumstances and emotions and could talk about the source of those feelings and when they recurred. If not for the part about lyrics, I might actually believe this “person”.
Half-fast Cycling Club 