I’ve been exploring prompt engineering this week in my efforts to learn more about the uses of AI – for personal interests and professional work. It connects to our thinking about the use of AI tools for instruction and by students – a recent study reported in Inside Higher Ed indicated that college students are far more likely to use AI than their instructors. Temple is ahead of the game in developing policies for student use of AI. But what does “use” mean exactly?
ChatGPT can do far more than write homework assignments. My early learning in prompt “engineering” through Coursera gets into these complexities and possibilities. I highly recommend it.
In learning about the Chain of Thought prompt, I asked ChatGPT to Provide steps for a novice viola player to take in practicing a part for in a chamber ensemble. Break out the practice routine into simple steps for 30 minutes of daily practice.
The prompt yielded this output:
Practicing a part for a chamber ensemble on the viola requires a structured and focused routine. Here’s a step-by-step practice routine broken down into simple 30-minute sessions for a novice viola player:
Day 1: Establishing the Foundation (30 minutes)
- Warm-up (5 minutes): Start with some basic warm-up exercises to get your fingers and muscles ready. Practice scales or simple finger exercises to improve dexterity.
- Review the Sheet Music (5 minutes): Spend a few minutes looking over the sheet music for your part. Familiarize yourself with the key signature, time signature, and any challenging passages.
- Basic Technique (10 minutes): Focus on the fundamental techniques such as bowing, finger placement, and intonation. Play through the section slowly, paying attention to correct fingerings and bowing direction.
- Rhythm and Timing (5 minutes): Work on the rhythm of your part. Use a metronome to ensure you’re playing in time. Start at a slow tempo and gradually increase it as you become more comfortable.
- Play Through (5 minutes): Play through the entire part at a slow tempo, concentrating on maintaining proper technique and rhythm.
Day 2-4: Refining Technique (30 minutes each day)
- Warm-up (5 minutes): Begin with warm-up exercises to prepare your fingers and muscles.
- Isolated Practice (15 minutes): Break your part into smaller sections or phrases. Work on one section at a time, paying close attention to intonation, bowing, and dynamics. Repeat each section until you’re comfortable.
- Integrate with Metronome (5 minutes): Combine the sections you’ve practiced with a metronome to improve your overall timing and coordination.
- Play Through (5 minutes): Play through the entire part at a slow to moderate tempo, focusing on smooth transitions between sections and maintaining correct technique.
Day 5-6: Musical Expression (30 minutes each day)
- Warm-up (5 minutes): Start with your usual warm-up routine.
- Expression and Dynamics (15 minutes): Pay attention to the musicality of your part. Experiment with dynamics, phrasing, and articulation to make your playing more expressive. Try different bowing techniques to achieve the desired musical effect.
- Slow Practice (5 minutes): Play your part at a slower tempo, concentrating on expressive playing. Use vibrato and bow control to add depth to your performance.
- Play Through (5 minutes): Play through the entire part, focusing on musical expression and dynamics. Try to convey the emotions and nuances of the music.
Day 7: Putting It All Together (30 minutes)
- Warm-up (5 minutes): Begin with your warm-up exercises.
- Full Tempo (15 minutes): Play your part at or close to the intended performance tempo. Focus on maintaining all the techniques and expressions you’ve practiced.
- Play Through (10 minutes): Play through the entire part multiple times, gradually increasing your confidence and fluency.
Remember to take short breaks between practice sessions to prevent fatigue. Consistent daily practice and attention to detail will help you prepare your viola part for a chamber ensemble effectively. Adjust the practice routine as needed to accommodate your progress and specific challenges in the music.
Citation: Chat GPT 3.5 November 1, 2023
This program made a lot of sense to me – I’d love to hear from other musicians about it.
In addition to being a novice viola player, I enjoy photography. I took lots of pictures when traveling in Ireland, and I particularly liked this one:
I asked ChatGPT, How could I make this photograph more impactful? and again, the bot’s suggestions are worth considering:
The photograph you’ve shared captures a serene urban scene with beautiful natural reflections on the water. Here are some suggestions to make the photograph more impactful:
- Cropping: Consider a tighter crop to eliminate unnecessary distractions. For example, cropping out some of the sky can place more emphasis on the reflections in the water.
- Enhancing Colors: Increase the saturation slightly to make the colors pop, especially the golden hues from the sunlight and the greens from the trees.
- Contrast and Brightness: Adjusting the contrast can help to make the image look more dynamic. Brightening specific areas can also help draw the viewer’s attention to key elements.
- Highlighting Reflections: Emphasize the reflections in the water by increasing clarity or sharpness. This will add depth to the photo.
- Leading Lines: The railing in the foreground is a strong leading line. You might want to ensure it leads the viewer’s eyes towards the main subjects, such as the bridge or the line of buildings.
- Sky Enhancements: If the sky appears too bland, consider using gradient filters to darken the top part, bringing out more details in the clouds.
- Vignetting: Add a slight vignette to the edges of the photo. This darkens the corners slightly and can help draw the viewer’s eye to the center of the image.
- Remove Distractions: Consider removing any small distractions using a tool like the clone stamp. For example, any litter on the pavement or small objects floating on the water.
- Experiment with Black and White: Sometimes, turning a photo black and white can give it a timeless, classic feel, emphasizing shapes, lines, and contrasts.
- Add a Focal Point: While the scene is beautiful, adding a focal point such as a solitary person on the bridge or a boat on the water might create a story or theme for the viewer to latch onto.
Remember, the best edits will often depend on the mood or emotion you want to convey with the photograph. Always keep your intended audience and the purpose of the photograph in mind when making edits.
Citation: ChatGPT 3.5 November 1, 2023
Finally, I asked ChatGPT, What famous paintings are similar to this picture in terms of color and content? While I’m not familiar with all these paintings, the suggestions seemed to me quite useful, providing a helpful starting place for further exploration.
The photograph you’ve shared showcases an urban scene with buildings, a bridge, calm water with reflections, and a rich golden hue, reminiscent of the warm lighting found during the golden hour. Here are some famous paintings that share similarities in terms of color palette and content:
- “The Bridge at Argenteuil” by Claude Monet: Monet painted many scenes featuring reflections on water, bridges, and buildings. The colors and tranquility of this specific painting resemble the mood captured in your photograph.
- “Boulevard Montmartre at Sunset” by Camille Pissarro: The warm colors and urban setting of this painting align with the mood and content of your photograph.
- “Houses of Parliament, Sunset” by Claude Monet: The golden and warm hues of the setting sun, along with the reflection on the water and the silhouette of a city, have similarities to the photo you’ve shared.
- “View of Delft” by Johannes Vermeer: Although the color palette is cooler, the focus on buildings, water, and reflection has parallels to your image.
- “The Starry Night Over the Rhone” by Vincent van Gogh: This painting has a night scene with reflections on water and buildings on the side. The colors are richer and darker but evoke a similar tranquil mood.
- “Evening on Karl Johan” by Edvard Munch: The urban setting, with a play of light and shadow, creates an atmosphere that can be related to your photograph.
While these paintings might not be exact matches, they each share certain elements of color, content, or mood that resonate with your photograph. If you’re interested, you might want to explore these works further to see how artists have historically captured similar themes and scenes.
Citation: Chat GPT 3.5 November 1, 2023
These examples are just for fun, but as we consider our policies related to the use of generative AI in higher education, it’s easy to see how challenging and complex the determination of “use” might be. For what purpose might we use AI and at what stage of the research or creative process? We would never discourage a student from asking for assistance from their human instructor about best approaches to practice, improvements on a draft or creative work, or recommendations for related content to explore. And what an opportunity for learning – to learn how best to mine large learning models, ask better questions, and to critique the results.