| name | local-music-generation |
| description | Generate cheap/local procedural background music as WAV/MP3 with genre presets, humanization, anti-loop rules, and public listen links. Use this for lo-fi, cozy background music, ambient beds, simple game/menu music, and rough punk/pop-punk demos without Suno. |
| tags | ["music","procedural-audio","lofi","background-music","local-generation","mp3","python","creative"] |
| triggers | ["generate background music","make lofi","local music generation","procedural music","cheap alternative to Suno","make a music link","render mp3","youtube background music"] |
| related_skills | ["strudel-music","songwriting-and-ai-music"] |
Local Music Generation
Use this skill when the user wants cheap/local generated music rendered to audio files, especially background music, lo-fi, ambient, cozy loops, game/menu music, or rough punk/pop-punk demos.
This is not a replacement for Suno/Udio-quality full songs with vocals. It is useful for:
- background beds
- lo-fi/study music
- cozy app/site/video music
- ambient loops
- simple game/menu tracks
- educational demos
- cheap iterative sketches
Core principle
Do not generate “one random loop repeated for 2 minutes.” Generate a small arrangement:
Intro → A → A' → B → A'' → breakdown/bridge → final A/B → ending/fade
Even background music needs subtle movement.
Rendering backends
Backend A — Pure Python synth
Use when speed/reliability matters. No extra dependencies beyond Python + ffmpeg.
Good for:
- lo-fi beds
- ambient pads
- cozy/simple game music
- drones
- procedural texture
Weak for:
- realistic rock guitar
- vocals
- acoustic realism
Backend B — SoundFont/MIDI
Use when a more instrument-like sound is needed. Local system may have:
/usr/share/sounds/sf2/default-GM.sf2
/usr/share/sounds/sf2/TimGM6mb.sf2
/usr/share/sounds/sf3/default-GM.sf3
Good for:
- piano/electric piano
- bass
- strings/pads
- GM drums
- simple pop/rock demos
Weak for:
- convincing distorted guitars
- modern production polish
Backend C — Sample-pack hybrid
Best long-term option if free/licensed samples are available.
Good for:
- real drum one-shots
- vinyl noise
- texture loops
- lo-fi percussion
- guitar/piano phrases
Rule: never use samples unless licensing is clear.
Genre presets
lofi-study
Target:
- soft, non-distracting, warm
- 70–88 BPM
- 60–180 seconds
- can loop, but with subtle variation
Use:
- dusty electric piano / soft piano approximation
- warm sine/triangle bass
- soft kick/snare/rim/hat
- vinyl noise / tape hiss
- subtle wow/flutter pitch drift
- simple 7th/9th chords if possible
Avoid:
- bright square leads
- aggressive saws
- hard distortion
- busy melodies
- big cymbal crashes
Arrangement:
0–8 bars: intro, filtered/chords only
8–24 bars: drums + bass enter
24–40 bars: melody fragments
40–56 bars: B section / chord variation
56–72 bars: return A with small fills
last bars: strip drums or fade
cozy-background
Use:
- marimba/pluck/bell/soft pad
- simple bass
- tiny percussion
- warm room/reverb
Avoid:
- harsh transients
- strong hooks
- dense drums
ambient-soft
Use:
- slow pads
- low drone
- sparse bell tones
- long fades
Avoid:
- obvious beat
- repetitive melody
- too much high-frequency hiss
simple-corporate
Use:
- muted pluck
- soft piano
- simple four-chord progression
- light kick/clap
Avoid:
- cheese if possible
- over-bright synth brass
- aggressive drums
2000s-pop-punk-demo
Use:
- acoustic-ish drums
- picked bass
- muted verse guitar
- open chorus power chords
- octave lead only in phrases
Avoid:
- game-like square leads
- excessive distortion
- same 4 bars repeated constantly
Humanization rules
Always apply some of these unless the user explicitly wants robotic/electronic:
- timing offset: ±5–20 ms depending genre
- velocity/gain variation: ±5–20%
- drum fills every 8 or 16 bars, not every bar
- chord voicing changes every section
- melody appears in phrases, not constantly
- vary hats/percussion subtly
- final section should differ from first section
- fade or deliberate ending, not abrupt stop
For lo-fi specifically:
- add vinyl/tape hiss quietly
- use wow/flutter: slow pitch/amplitude modulation
- slightly low-pass bright elements
- leave space
Anti-loop checklist
Before sending a generated track, ask:
- Does the same 4-bar idea repeat for the whole track?
- Is there an intro?
- Is there a B section or breakdown?
- Does something change every 8 bars?
- Does the lead shut up sometimes?
- Does the final section feel slightly fuller or different?
- Does the fade/end feel intentional?
For background music, repetition is allowed, but exact repetition is not.
Quality checklist
Listen mentally / inspect generation choices before publishing:
- No clipping; normalize below ~0.92 peak.
- Bass is not too loud.
- Hiss/noise is quiet, not masking music.
- Lead is not game-like unless requested.
- Distortion is minimal except punk/grunge.
- Drum transients are not painfully sharp.
- Track has a public MP3 link and a simple listen page.
Recommended workflow
- Pick preset:
lofi-study, cozy-background, ambient-soft, simple-corporate, 2000s-pop-punk-demo.
- Pick duration and seed.
- Render WAV locally.
- Encode MP3 with ffmpeg.
- Publish to
/home/hermes/apps/container-host/music/<slug>/.
- Create a simple listen/download
index.html.
- Verify local and public URLs return
200 OK.
Public host workflow:
mkdir -p /home/hermes/apps/container-host/music/<slug>
cp track.mp3 track.wav /home/hermes/apps/container-host/music/<slug>/
curl -I http://localhost:5090/music/<slug>/
curl -I https://container.omarbenaidy.com/music/<slug>/
Script usage
This skill includes a reusable starter renderer:
python ~/.hermes/skills/creative/local-music-generation/scripts/render_music.py \
--style lofi-study \
--duration 120 \
--seed 42 \
--slug rainy-desk \
--outdir /home/hermes/generated-music
Expected outputs:
<outdir>/<slug>.wav
<outdir>/<slug>.mp3
If the script is not enough for a request, modify or fork it, but keep the preset concepts and quality checklist above.
When to push back
Be honest if the user asks for:
- realistic vocals
- radio-ready pop/rock
- Suno-quality guitars
- exact artist imitation
Say: local procedural generation can sketch the vibe cheaply, but realism needs samples, SoundFonts, or a dedicated music model.
