A songwriter who spent nearly three decades with lyrics confined to a notebook has turned those words into finished tracks using Suno, an AI music generation platform. The process led to professional studio recordings and two upcoming single releases.
From Notebook to AI-Generated Melody
Unable to play an instrument and lacking collaborators, the writer had accumulated years of unfinished songs. After discovering Suno, they entered a simple prompt: “Country song. Male singer. Acoustic guitar. Slow tempo.” The result was the first time they heard their own lyrics sung back.
Over the following year, the songwriter generated 26 songs. Early attempts required dozens of iterations, but the experience revealed the need for more precise prompting to achieve the desired sound.
Refining the AI Prompts
To improve results, the creator consulted large language models including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, describing the intended musical style and asking the AI to translate those descriptions into Suno-friendly terms. This reduced the number of generations needed to land on a usable melody.
A turning point came with a concise, seven-page guide focused specifically on Suno’s prompting mechanics. The guide emphasized that the prompt’s character limit means the earliest words carry the most weight, and that every term should narrow a specific aspect of the recording: fidelity, frequency balance, era, energy, and spatial character. It also advised placing unwanted elements at the end of the prompt and using tags within lyrics to direct vocal delivery.
Applying these techniques, the prompt for the track “She Came Out of the Blue” (set for release on Sept. 4) included detailed descriptors and the exclusion “no glossy pop sheen, no organ.” The first generation matched the intended vibe: coastal, country, slightly jazzy, and intimate.
Bringing in Human Musicians
With a catalog of AI-assisted demos, the songwriter sought professional musicians to elevate the material. They contacted Nashville demo studios directly and used platforms AirGigs and SoundBetter to find producers, vocalists, and engineers.
Producer Vito Astone recreated all instrumental parts for the track “Winding On” (releasing Feb. 5), adding a fingerpicked acoustic introduction. Vocalist Abbie Parker performed the lead vocal.
