Prompting Suno to Create Instrumentals: Tips and Tricks
Try using an instrumental sample from Splice
Suno can add an [Instrumental Break] between lyrics or create an entire song without words or singing. Depending on your genre, you may need to encourage or discourage the AI from singing. Here are some tips to help you prompt Suno effectively when creating instrumentals.
1. Switch to Suno Custom Mode
Choose Custom mode on the Create page to access separate Lyrics and Style/Genre prompts. The Simple 1-prompt mode is not reliable for creating instrumentals.
2. Use the Instrumental Switch
New in v3, the Instrumental switch deletes any lyrics and closes the Lyric Prompt panel. However, this doesn’t guarantee you won’t hear hallucinations. If necessary, take these additional measures when prompting Suno:
- Switch off Instrumental
- Add ‘instrumental’ in the style prompt
- Add [Instrumental] to the Lyrics prompt as a metatag
3. Prompt Suno for Instrumental ‘Songs’ with Sections
Instrumentals can use a verse-chorus song structure without lyrics. Use style metatags to describe the music or emotional effect:
[Dramatic Verse] [Melodic Chorus]
To force space between sections, add text that can’t be sung, like unicode characters:
[Verse] ┳┻┳┻┳┻┳┻┳┻┳┻ ┻┳┻┳┻┳┻┳┻┳┻┳
4. Prompting Suno for Instrumental Breaks and Solos
Use the [Break] tag to trigger a short pause in the melody where the bass and percussion play. This can interrupt the singing pattern. Instrument solos are also a kind of Break:
[Bass Drop] [Percussion Breakdown] [Melodic Flute Interlude] [Guitar solo]
Follow with the chorus or a new verse in the same clip to keep the voice ‘warm’. If the voice is silent for too long, Suno may ‘forget’ how that voice should sound and create a new one to continue the song.
5. Use Metatags Sparingly When Prompting Suno for Instrumentals
Without [Verse] and [Chorus], instrumentals still have prompts that are useful for structuring the song. Some known prompts include:
[Break] [Melodic Instrumental] [Percussion Break] [instrument] [Beat Drop] [Build] [Breakdown] [Beat Drop]
Use these sparingly, if at all. Simple prompts allow Suno to be more creative. A string of instrumental prompts may create conflicts and often does nothing at all.
By following these tips and tricks for prompting Suno, you’ll be able to create engaging instrumentals tailored to your desired genre and style.