How to write an AI song prompt
Prompt anatomy, section tags, instrumental mode, iterating with 30-second clips, and what the composer refuses. Every example loads into the composer.
The four parts of a prompt that works
Most good prompts name a genre, a mood, the instruments, and what the song is about. You don't need all four, but each one you add removes a guess.
- Genre: indie pop, lo-fi hip hop, outlaw country, synthwave.
- Mood and energy: wistful, driving, late-night, triumphant.
- Instruments and voice: fingerpicked acoustic, 808s, warm female vocal, string section.
- Subject: a story or image for the lyrics, like catching the last train home.
Length and tempo
Pick 1, 2, or 3 minutes in the composer (or Auto). For a fixed length, the composer adds a timestamped section plan to your prompt, so a 2-minute song gets an intro, two verses, a chorus, a bridge and an outro that end at 2:00.
You can also set a BPM between 40 and 240. Leave it empty and the genre decides.
Instrumental mode
Turn on Instrumental and the composer adds "Instrumental only, no vocals." to the end of your prompt. Custom lyrics are turned off in this mode, because lyrics need a voice.
Describe the instruments more than the story. A subject still helps set the mood.
Iterate with 1-credit clips
A 30-second clip costs 1 credit; a full song costs 10. Try a direction as a clip, change one thing at a time (genre, then voice, then tempo), and only render the full song once the clip sounds right.
What the composer won't take
If a generation fails, the credits go back to your balance.
- Prompts longer than 2,000 characters, or empty prompts.
- Custom lyrics with Instrumental on.
- Not allowed under the terms: cloning a real artist's voice, or lyrics you don't own. Describe the style instead: "raspy 70s rock vocal", not an artist's name.