Whenever musicians hear the words ‘music’ and ‘AI’ in the same sentence, they immediately think of a kid in his bedroom with no musical knowledge cranking out AI-generated versions of the music legends. Yes, that happens, but AI used to alleviate musicians from some simple tasks can actually be quite useful. Case in point, the latest version of Universal Audio’s LUNA digital audio workstation.
Version 1.9 has the following AI-enabled features, which all seem to be pretty useful.
- Voice Control: LUNA now allows users to start and stop recordings using simple “Hey Luna” voice commands from anywhere in the room. This lets musicians stay focused on their performance without having to physically switch gears to manage their DAW.
- Instrument Detection: LUNA analyzes incoming audio, identifies instrument types, and automatically names and color‑codes tracks for faster session organization. This helps creators spend more time making music, not managing their session files.
- Tempo Listen: LUNA listens to performances and sets the metronome to match — letting musicians record their first take with total confidence and groove. This gives artists a more natural, inspired way to start their session.
- Tempo Detection: LUNA automatically detects the tempo of any audio loop dropped into the timeline — keeping everything perfectly locked in sync within sessions. This helps creators build ideas faster and stay in the flow.
- Tempo Extraction: LUNA can now extract a dynamic tempo map from tracks or stems — including tempo changes and natural timing variations. This makes it easy to edit and arrange while preserving the original feel.
Now in the grand scheme of things, these AI helpers now built into Luna aren’t as sophisticated as something like generating a song from a text prompt like Udio and Suno (or even some of the newer features like generating the music bed from just a vocal), but they’re all incredibly useful for a musician working in a home studio.
The whole idea is to save musicians time and hassle so they can get creating fast and stay creating, instead of being distracted by the tech side of recording.
We’ve all been frustrated by being slowed down by the technology just when you have a great idea. By the time the tech side of things is figured out, the moment may be gone forever. LUNA seems to have taken a giant step forward in this regard.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these features become standard in every DAW soon enough. Bravo UA for leading the way.
