This article describes and evaluates a new online AI-creativity course. The
course is based around three near-state-of-the-art AI models combined into a
pop song generating system. A fine-tuned GPT-2 model writes lyrics, Music-VAE
composes musical scores and instrumentation and Diffsinger synthesises a
singing voice. We explain the decisions made in designing the course which is
based on Piagetian, constructivist ‘learning-by-doing’. We present details of
the five-week course design with learning objectives, technical concepts, and
creative and technical activities. We explain how we overcame technical
challenges to build a complete pop song generator system, consisting of Python
scripts, pre-trained models, and Javascript code that runs in a dockerised
Linux container via a web-based IDE. A quantitative analysis of student
activity provides evidence on engagement and a benchmark for future
improvements. A qualitative analysis of a workshop with experts validated the
overall course design, it suggested the need for a stronger creative brief and
ethical and legal content.