The fastest way to a track you love is a prompt that describes what you would tell a session band. Vague prompts ("a happy song") make the engine guess; specific prompts give it something to aim for. Here is the structure that works.
The five ingredients
- Genre and era. "90s trip hop", "modern indie folk", "80s synthwave". Era words carry a lot of information about production style.
- Mood and energy. "Hopeful and warm", "dark and driving", "playful". One or two words is enough; ten contradict each other.
- Instruments and production. "Fingerpicked acoustic guitar, brushed drums, soft cello", "gated drums, arpeggiated synths, big reverb". This is where specific beats generic.
- Vocals. "Breathy female vocal", "confident male rap verse", "choir in the chorus" - or "instrumental" if you want none (or use the Instrumental switch).
- Tempo and shape. "Around 90 BPM", "builds to a big final chorus", "slow intro then the drums come in".
Before and after
Before: "Upbeat song for my cafe video."
After: "Bright acoustic pop at about 110 BPM, ukulele and handclaps, whistled melody, cheerful and sunny, short instrumental with a satisfying ending."
The second prompt tells the engine the genre, tempo, the three instruments that matter, the mood and how the track should end. You will usually get something usable on the first try.
Say what you do not want
In the Composer each section has negative styles. Adding "heavy distortion" or "spoken word" there is more reliable than writing "no distortion" in the prompt. Use it whenever the engine keeps reaching for something you dislike.
Pick a sensible length
Short clips (15 to 30 seconds) are great for testing an idea cheaply - one credit per second, see pricing. Once you like the sound, open the track in the Composer and lengthen it section by section rather than starting again from scratch.
Things that get a prompt declined
Do not name artists, bands, songwriters, songs or albums, and do not ask the engine to sound like a real singer. Describe the qualities instead: "raspy soulful male vocal with gospel-style runs" works; a famous name does not. If a prompt is declined, the engine often suggests new wording and the studio lets you use it in one click. Your credits come back automatically.
Iterate for free first
The Composer can draft a full structure - sections, lyrics and styles - from your prompt without spending credits. Read it, tweak the parts that are off, use "Refine" with an instruction such as "make the chorus more anthemic", and only then compose. It is the cheapest way to get exactly what you hear in your head.
Next: writing lyrics for AI songs.