A Suno prompt is a text description that guides Suno AI's music generation. It tells the AI what genre, mood, instruments, and vocal style to use. The quality of your prompt directly determines the quality of your output. A vague prompt produces generic music; a specific prompt produces exactly what you hear in your head.
Every effective Suno prompt contains these five elements:
Be specific. "Pop" is too broad. "Synth-pop with 80s influence" gives Suno a clear target.
Describe the emotional feel: melancholic, uplifting, aggressive, dreamy. Add energy level: high-energy, laid-back, building intensity.
List key instruments: acoustic guitar, synthesizers, orchestral strings, trap hi-hats. This shapes the sonic palette.
Specify the voice: raspy male vocals, ethereal female voice, spoken word, harmonized choir.
Describe the mix: polished and radio-ready, lo-fi and warm, raw and gritty, vintage analog.
This is where your genre, mood, and instrumentation go. Keep it focused: 15-25 words describing the sound.
This contains the actual words Suno will sing. Include structure tags like [Verse] and [Chorus] to guide song organization.
Always use Custom Mode when you want control. Simple mode is for quick experiments; Custom Mode is for intentional creation.
Effective Suno prompts are typically 10-30 words. Too short lacks direction; too long can confuse the model. Focus on 4-6 specific descriptors covering genre, mood, instruments, and vocal style.
The style prompt describes the sound (genre, mood, instruments, production). The lyrics field contains the actual words to be sung. In Custom Mode, these are separate fields. The style prompt shapes the music; lyrics shape the vocal content.
Suno discourages direct artist references. Instead, describe the musical qualities you want: "dreamy shoegaze with reverb-heavy guitars" rather than naming a specific band. This produces better results and avoids copyright concerns.
Use structure tags in your lyrics: [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Outro]. Place these before each section. Suno reads these markers and organizes the song accordingly.
Suno prioritizes some descriptors over others. Put your most important elements first. Conflicting descriptors confuse the model. Keep prompts focused and non-contradictory for best results.
HookGenius generates optimized Suno prompts and lyrics automatically. Just describe your idea.
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