Calgary seniors’ home uses AI to turn memories into songs

Betty Kingsmith remembers her husband Gordon as a man who couldn’t say no — and wouldn’t let her say it either.

“If he had something big he’d planned for the day … He’d say, ‘Oh, yes, you can.’”

The 91-year-old resident of Calgary’s Wentworth Manor shared the memory during an AI song-writing workshop this month and, soon enough, there was a new tune about it echoing through the large workroom.

It was in the form of an old country ballad.

“... later came Gordon with a sparkle in his eye; a man who chased the sunset, reaching for the skies. 'Oh, yes, you can,' he’d always say.”

Kingsmith listened and wiped a tear away.

Educator and musician Bruce Callow created this workshop and has been running it with seniors, people with disabilities and people who are new to Canada. He says it can be a magical way to help people express themselves, because music makes those memories come alive in a different way.

In the workshops, Callow or another volunteer will ask questions to get people talking and take notes about the memory they want to share. 

Then, they paste those notes into the Suno app, select a genre of music and, within minutes, they can play the song.

“I know there are a lot of people that are worried about AI and, in the music industry, it's causing quite an upheaval. But for this purpose, I think it's pure and ethical. No jobs are being lost and memories are being recorded and spirits are being lifted," said Callow.

“Even my most reluctant musician friends have to admit what I'm doing here is good.”

At Wentworth Manor, seniors in the workshop created stories about growing up in England during the Second World War, special trips they took, and Christmas memories from decades ago.

Doreen Goodmanson got a ballad about growing up on a small Saskatchewan farm and sledding on the local hill with her siblings — a beautiful, peaceful wonderland she took for granted at the time.

She was so struck by the song, she said at the end: “So, who put that together?”