The recent National Congress of the Vietnam Musicians Association for the 2026-2031 term became a forum for growing concerns over AI’s expanding role in music composition. As the line between technology and art becomes increasingly blurred, Vietnam’s music industry faces a fundamental question: How can it preserve its cultural soul when machines can produce music in just minutes?

Concerns from older generation

Representing veteran composers, musician The Bao offered a candid assessment of the country’s current creative workforce. Of the Vietnam Musicians Association’s 1,500 members, he said, the proportion of young musicians remains modest and has yet to meet expectations in terms of professional quality.

He noted that young musicians today enjoy a privilege that previous generations could only dream of: access to information technology and vast repositories of audio and textual data. With these tools, they can independently complete a work, from arranging and mixing to recording, soon after composing it, rather than waiting for lengthy production and orchestration processes.

Yet this convenience appears to come at the expense of artistic depth. According to Bao, young composers show weaknesses in incorporating Vietnamese musical influences and lack reflection on heroic traditions and compassion, as well as issues of universal and contemporary significance. 

As a result, contemporary Vietnamese music still lacks major works capable of showcasing the country’s cultural identity and gaining international influence.

Bao stressed that without a focused plan for 2025-2030 to improve members’ professional skills, Vietnamese music, from traditional and classical music to symphonic works, pop, rock and rap, will struggle to match the standards of developed countries and meet the demands of the new era by 2045. 

He called on the Vietnam Musicians Association to work closely with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to develop new mechanisms that give young musicians greater opportunities to practice and learn.

AI tsunami

Taking the discussion into the digital age, musician Mai Kien, representing the younger generation, presented a more direct and stark picture of AI’s growing power.

A few decades ago, software such as Finale, Sibelius and Cubase were merely passive tools that waited for human instructions. Today, AI can generate musical ideas, materials and even complete recordings from just a few simple prompts entered into a browser.

The emergence of such tools is blurring the line between an ordinary music enthusiast and a professional musician, putting composers under increasingly intense competitive pressure. More worryingly, online algorithms are facilitating the copying and distortion of traditional musical heritage.

The situation has created a deep psychological divide among music professionals.

Some older musicians fear that routine arranging and orchestration tasks are being replicated and simulated by AI at extremely low cost.

At the other end of the spectrum, some young composers are becoming overly dependent on technology, leaving machines to produce “instant” music that is formulaic in sound and hollow in artistic value.

Nevertheless, Kien argued that for musicians with the skills and confidence to use it effectively, AI can offer major economic and professional advantages. It can quickly generate drafts and modify arrangements, freeing artists to act as “creative directors” who retain control over artistic direction and aesthetic judgment.

To protect Vietnam’s musical identity while adapting to the digital era, Kien proposed three key measures for the Vietnam Musicians’ Association for the 2026-2031 term:

Realize the Digital Music Museum Project: Build an academically standardized digital database to preserve heritage, monitor the market, and serve as a transparent copyright data source for AI systems themselves.

Enhance Professional Training: Organize creative camps integrating digital skills and establish strict standards for arrangement and production so young musicians gain solid foundations to master and critique algorithms.

Establish Legal and Ethical Frameworks: Form a digital copyright advisory board and deploy sound-recognition technology to protect intellectual property. Crucially, the association must institute a policy strictly rejecting fully AI-generated works (across music, lyrics, and recording); all submissions must include transparent disclosures regarding the percentage of technology used.

According to musician Do Hong Quan, Chair of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, technology can turn sheet music into automated commands, but the ultimate authority of art always belongs to humans. AI performs well at the starting line, but the soul of music must be nourished by lived experience and emotional resonance. No matter how sophisticated an algorithm is, it remains unfeeling and can never claim the status or position of a true artist.

Tinh Le