1. The “Style of Music” Box (Prompting)
-
Use Comma-Separated Keywords: AI generators do not understand conversational sentences. Use descriptive tags (e.g.,
dark neo-classical, felt piano, 65 bpm, ambient). -
Utilize the Space: Suno has a 1000-character limit for the style box. Take advantage of this by layering descriptive terms, but put the most important elements (genre, main instrument) at the very beginning.
-
Avoid Negative Commands: Suno does not have a native negative prompt box. Instead of writing “no drums”, simply omit the word “drums” and reinforce the opposite, like
solo piano, completely beatless, rubato. -
Combine Moods and Genres: Mix emotional tags with genre and texture tags (e.g.,
melancholy, nostalgic, cinematic, modern classical, tape hiss).
2. The “Lyrics” Box (Structure & Metatags)
-
Use Square Brackets: Suno uses
[Bracket Notation]to understand song structure and instrumentation. Never use parentheses()or curly braces{}for commands. -
Standard Song Sections: Guide the AI through the arrangement using standard tags like
[Intro],[Verse],[Chorus],[Bridge], and[Outro]. -
Instrumental Cues: Force specific musical moments by using descriptive tags on their own lines (e.g.,
[Deep Piano Chords],[Cello Solo],[Avant-Garde Granular Swell]). -
Pacing with Line Breaks: Suno reads physical text space as musical space. A single empty line creates a standard pause or breath. Two empty lines create a longer pause or a heavier transition.
-
Force an Ending: Always use
[Outro]followed by[Fade Out]and[End]to stop the AI from endlessly generating new parts or abruptly cutting off.
3. Workflow Best Practices
-
Custom Mode is Mandatory: Always toggle “Custom Mode” on so you can explicitly separate the musical style tags from the structural lyrics/metatags.
-
Instrumental Toggle: If you are generating a track without vocals, always toggle the “Instrumental” switch ON, even if your style box already says “instrumental”.
-
Stacking Tags: If the AI frequently ignores a structural command, stack them on consecutive lines to force the behavior. For example:
[Build Up]
[Crescendo]
[Granular Swell]