Timothy Van Cleave

There’s been quite a bit of noise lately about music, AI, and this thing called vibe coding. I think it’s worth paying attention. At their intersection is a toolkit that’s powerful, playful, and increasingly accessible to creators who don’t come from a traditional tech background.

Do I think AI-composed music is the most artistic thing in the world? Probably not. But that’s not really the point. What AI has done is open a door! It helps folks like me with little or no experience in HTML, CSS, or Java Script, to bring ideas to life. My high school computer literacy class didn’t cover any of those languages. Maybe it does now. But even if it did, the game has changed again.

This week, AI helped me prototype something I’ve been thinking about for years: a metronome that listens like a human. Sure, it clicks on the beat like a standard metronome, but flip it into human mode and now we’re talking. It allows subtle tempo fluctuation from beat to beat, simulating the feel of playing with real people. Slide the fader left and it’s like jamming with someone who has impeccable time. Slide it right and you’ll feel the difference.

Enjoy it. Play with it. Let it mess with your groove a little. Just don’t tell your teacher you practiced with a robot.

Check out my new metronome creation here