The best Suno v5.5 settings — 15–30 word style prompts, custom lyrics mode, strategic extensions. The complete method, mapped:
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TL;DR
Detailed style prompts (15-30 words) + custom lyrics + strategic extensions = professional-quality AI music
Suno v5.5 responds best to style prompts of 15–30 comma-separated words that specify genre, mood, instruments, and vocals together. Custom lyrics mode consistently outperforms auto-generated lyrics for most use cases, and iterating through song extensions and variations beats starting a new generation from scratch. HookGenius produces the full style prompt and structured lyrics for any project in about 30 seconds.
Last updated: May 2026
Getting great music from Suno is about understanding how each setting affects the output. Most users never optimize beyond basic prompts, missing huge quality improvements. This guide covers every setting and technique for consistently producing the best possible tracks.
HookGenius is the pre-production engine for AI music — the professional prompt, lyrics, and title generator creators use to get the best output from Suno and other AI platforms.
Generate complete lyrics + style prompts optimized for Suno. Sign in with Google, see results in 30 seconds.
Generate Your First Songgenre, sub-genre, vocal type, key instruments, mood, production style, tempo descriptor, era influence, mix quality
Specify: gender, tone (raspy/smooth/breathy), delivery (belting/whispering/rapping), range, and emotional quality
Include: mix quality (polished/lo-fi/raw), era (80s/modern/vintage), space (intimate/stadium/club), and texture
Layer 2-3 mood words: "bittersweet nostalgia" or "dark euphoric energy" for more nuanced emotional output
Use bracket tags [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge] in custom lyrics to guide song structure and dynamic changes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
Songs sound generic |
Add 3-5 more specific descriptors: sub-genre, decade, specific instruments, production texture |
Vocals are wrong |
Explicitly describe vocal gender, tone, delivery style, and emotional quality |
Song has no structure |
Use [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Outro] tags in custom lyrics to guide arrangement |
Quality inconsistent |
Generate 3-5 versions of each prompt and select the best - consistency improves with iteration |
Song cuts off awkwardly |
Use the extend feature to add a proper ending, or include [Outro] with fade-out description |
Try It Yourself
HookGenius doesn't paste your words into a template. It has a full AI songwriter that absorbs your direction and writes from scratch — genre-tuned lyrics, vocal direction, structure tags, and production style in one generation.
Album mode, artist DNA fingerprinting, pronunciation engine, and critic pass quality scoring. The depth a year of building produces.
Generate Free — 5 Songs IncludedStart with Custom mode using a 15-20 word style prompt covering genre, mood, vocals, and instruments. Write 2 verses and a chorus in custom lyrics using [Verse] and [Chorus] tags. Generate 2-3 variations and compare. This basic approach produces dramatically better results than simple prompts with auto lyrics. As you learn, add more specific production and mood descriptors to your style prompts.
The sweet spot is 15-30 comma-separated descriptor words. Too short (under 10 words) gives generic results. Too long (over 40 words) can confuse the model. Structure your prompt as: genre, sub-genre, vocal description, key instruments, mood, production style, and optional era influence. Use HookGenius to generate optimized style prompts that hit this sweet spot automatically for any genre or artist style.
Custom lyrics produce significantly better results for most use cases. Auto-generated lyrics tend to be generic and repetitive. Write your own lyrics with structural tags like [Verse], [Chorus], and [Bridge] to give Suno clear guidance on song structure and dynamics. If you need help with lyrics, use HookGenius to generate custom lyrics that match your chosen style and theme.
Five key techniques: 1) Use detailed, specific style prompts with 15-30 descriptors. 2) Write custom lyrics with structure tags. 3) Generate multiple variations and select the best. 4) Use the extend feature to build on good generations. 5) Do post-production in a DAW for professional polish. Each technique compounds - using all five together produces dramatically better results than using any single approach alone.
When you get a generation you like, use the extend feature to add sections rather than starting over. You can extend from the end to add a chorus, bridge, or outro. Select the exact point where you want the extension to begin. Write lyrics for the new section to maintain quality control. This iterative approach builds longer, more cohesive songs and makes better use of your credits than regenerating from scratch each time.
Go Deeper
The Suno Mastery Guide
61 genre deep-dives, 150+ tags + 80-term glossary, 41 artist profiles, v5.5 walkthrough, monetization playbook. 371 pages + 25 HookGenius credits.
Get the Mastery Guide — $29 →5 free songs when you sign in. No credit card needed. Just describe what you want and go.
Start Generating FreeHookGenius writes the prompt for you. Sign in with one click — your lyrics + Suno prompt in 30 seconds.