How to make good prompts for Suno music? this guide will walk you through the essentials of crafting effective prompts, focusing on structures, styles, lyrics, and meta tags to help you create music that stands out.
Understanding Prompts
A prompt is essentially a set of instructions you provide to Suno AI to guide music generation. The clarity and detail of your prompt directly affect the style and quality of the output. A well-crafted prompt helps the AI understand your intentions, ensuring the generated music matches your desired characteristics.
When we refer to Suno AI prompts, we’re talking about two main components: Music Style and Lyrics. In Custom Mode, you’ll notice two fields—these are the primary elements that make up a prompt for Suno AI. Let’s break down each component and their basic structures.
Music Style Prompts
Music Style defines the overall sound and vibe of your track. This includes factors like genre, mood, tempo, and any specific instruments you’d like to feature. Here’s the basic format:
[Genre Name], [Mood Description], [Tempo in BPM], [Instrument Name], [Vocalist Info]
For example:
Soul, Emotional, 90 BPM, Acoustic Guitar, Ethereal Female Vocals
You can check our articles for more style prompts:
- Awesome List of Music Genres and Styles for Suno AI Prompts for an extensive list of music genres and styles.
- 200 Artist-Inspired Music Style Prompts with Suno AI for an extensive list of vocal styles, inspired by popular artists.
Lyrics Prompts
Lyrics provide the textual content that will be turned into song lyrics. This can range from a simple phrase to a full narrative. The basic format is straightforward—capitalize each line or phrase:
[Capitalized lyrics line or phrase 1]
[Capitalized lyrics line or phrase 2]
...
For example:
In the storm's silence, I find my way,
With each step forward, I break the gray.
When crafting your lyrics prompt, think about the message you want to convey and the emotions you want to evoke. Suno AI will use this text as the foundation for generating lyrics that fit the music style you’ve defined.
Building Effective Prompt Structures
Separating Attributes with Commas
According to Suno wiki page, commas used in the Style Prompt will create a “balanced” list where each item has an equal chance of contributing to the song. When combining multiple attributes like genre, voice, and instrumental emphasis, using commas to separate them can clarify your intentions. For example:
Indie Rock, Upbeat, 120 BPM, Electric Guitar, Female Harmony Vocals
Using Named Attributes
To avoid confusing the AI, use named attributes for clarity. For example:
Genre: Pop, Mood: Uplifting, Key: G minor
Using Brackets for Specific Instructions
To ensure the AI follows specific instructions, use brackets to define song sections or vocal styles. This helps guide the AI more precisely, especially when emulating certain band styles or vocal characteristics. For example:
[Verse1] [Female Ethereal Voice]
The Impact of Letter Case on Prompts
All Title Case
This approach gives balanced emphasis to all elements, making it ideal for songs that blend various styles.
Jazz Fusion, Reggae, Funk, Electric Bass, Smooth Male Vocals
Genres in ALL CAPS, Descriptors in Title Case
This format emphasizes the genre, signaling to the AI that it should focus on it as the primary feature of the song.
JAZZ FUSION, REGGAE, FUNK, Electric Bass, Smooth Male Vocals
Genres in Title Case, Descriptors in ALL CAPS
Use this method when you want to highlight descriptors, giving your song a unique and defining characteristic.
HEAVY Metal, SMOOTH Saxophone, SEXY Psychobilly
Lower Case for Instruments
This ensures instruments are included prominently in the song. For example:
Heavy Metal, Dark, distorted guitar, Growling Vocals
Using Meta Tags to Guide Song Creation
Meta Tags are instructions that help Suno AI understand how to structure your song, from vocal type to instrumental breaks.
Structural Tags
To structure a song with distinct sections, use tags like [Intro], [Verse], [Chorus], and [Outro]. For example:
[Verse]
In the storm's silence, I find my way,
With each step forward, I break the gray.
...
[Pre-Chorus]
When the world weighs heavy on my soul,
I rise above, I'm taking control.
...
[Chorus]
Rise above, break the chains,
Face the fear, take the reins.
[Bridge]
No looking back, no regrets,
Face the future with no frets.
...
[Chorus]
Rise above, break the chains,
Face the fear, take the reins.
...
[Outro]
With courage, I soar high,
In the night, I defy.
...
These tags help the AI maintain a coherent structure, ensuring that each part of the song is distinct.
Instrumental Tags
You can use specific tags to direct the type of instruments and vocals used. For example, [Bass Solo] tells the AI when to introduce certain elements in the song. Here’s an example:
[Chorus]
Rise above, break the chains,
Face the fear, take the reins.
...
[Bass Solo]
[Bridge]
No looking back, no regrets,
Face the future with no frets.
...
Vocal Tags
Vocal tags like [Female Narrator] influence the voice in both the style and lyrics prompts. They can also be used for specific sections of the song. For example:
[Bridge] [Female Narrator]
No looking back, no regrets,
Face the future with no frets.
...
Conclusion
Building on our previous article How to make full songs with Suno AI: A comprehensive guide where we covered the basics of Suno, we’ve now discussed the importance of prompts, how to structure them, the impact of letter case, and the use of meta tags. In the next article How to Craft Effective Prompts with Suno AI: Advanced Techniques, we’ll explore advanced techniques, such as creating detailed style prompts, editing lyrics, and experimenting with effects.
