Helped a musician with Parkinson's finish his new album when he could no longer play guitar

Samuel Smith, a London-based Americana singer-songwriter, has found a new way to continue writing after Parkinson's disease largely eroded his ability to play guitar. Diagnosed in 2020, he released his second album, The Art of Letting Go, and for the instrumental track Horizon he used AI to generate demo arrangements that would guide the musicians who recorded the final version. Smith hums rough melodies into his phone, uploads the recordings to generators like Suno and Udio, and refines the results into workable takes. He stresses that the demos were never meant to replace live guitar, but to communicate his vision despite tremors, stiffness, and fatigue.

Artificial intelligence has stirred debate in the music industry, with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records suing Suno and Udio in 2024; Universal later reached a settlement with Udio and Warner with Suno. Smith emphasizes that AI does not create his lyrics or core music, but unlocks new creative routes when his hands falter. The process often requires dozens of iterations and careful editing to approximate his sound, and he notes the importance of collaboration with human musicians to finish the track while navigating ownership and rights concerns.