Suno Tutorial: Generate Complete Songs with Just a Few Lines of Text, An Introduction to AI Music Composition

Last month, my friend's coffee shop had its anniversary, and they wanted a custom theme song, with a budget of zero. I entered the shop's name, atmosphere, and the phrase "wanting lazy jazz" into Suno, and two minutes later, I got a song with a main melody, chorus, and complete vocal performance. My friend was stunned when they heard the chorus with the shop's name being sung. This is the current level of Suno - you don't need to know music theory, you don't need to play an instrument, just type in a sentence and you'll get a complete song. This article will guide you from scratch.

What is Suno

Suno is a tool that uses AI to generate music, and it's a "complete song" - including intro, main melody, chorus, vocal performance, and instrument arrangement, not just background music. You give it a description or a paragraph of lyrics, and it generates a song in the corresponding style, from pop, hip-hop, jazz to electronic music, and it can even sing in Chinese.

The current main model is the v5.5 series, with sound quality close to studio-level 44.1kHz, and the song length can be up to about eight minutes. For those who want to create theme songs, short video soundtracks, or just play with creativity, it lowers the threshold of "creating a song" to almost zero.

What can Suno do

• Generate complete songs from text: Use a sentence to describe the style and generate a complete song with vocals.
• Custom lyrics mode: Write your own lyrics, mark the [Verse], [Chorus] sections, and it will sing according to your lyrics.
• Multiple styles and languages: Pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz, electronic music, and more, and it can sing in Chinese, English, Japanese, and other languages.
• Stems (multi-track): Paid plans can separate the song into multiple tracks, including vocals and instruments, up to 12 tracks, making it easier to mix and edit.
• Personal voice/persona: Paid plans allow you to upload your own voice, verify your identity, and create a private voice file, so the AI can sing with "your voice".
• Suno Studio: The highest-level plan comes with a generative audio workstation, including multi-track editing, MIDI export, and other advanced features.

How to use: First-time user

1. Register and log in to suno.com, available on both web and mobile.
2. Click "Create". For beginners, use the simple mode: type what you want in the description box, such as "light and cheerful Chinese pop song about summer by the sea, female vocals".
3. Submit and wait for one to two minutes, it usually gives you two versions, choose the one that sounds better.
4. If you want to write your own lyrics, switch to custom mode, paste your lyrics into the lyrics box, fill in the style box, and mark the sections with [Verse], [Chorus], [Bridge].
5. If you're satisfied, download it, or use "extend" or "redo" to fine-tune certain sections.

My own experience is that I first play with the simple mode to get a feel for it, and then switch to custom mode when I'm familiar with it, which makes the learning curve much smoother.

Advanced tips

• Be specific with style descriptions: Instead of just writing "pop song", write "90s retro city pop, bright synthesizer, female vocals, light and cheerful", which will give you more stable results.
• Use structure labels: Mark the sections in your lyrics with [Intro], [Verse], [Chorus], [Outro], which can control the direction of the song, and repeat the [Chorus] if you want it to repeat.
• Use stems for post-production: If you want to use it for video soundtracks or mix it yourself, paid plans can separate the vocals and instruments, making it more flexible for editing.
• One-sentence prompt examples: "Lo-fi hip-hop, lazy male vocals, rain sound background, suitable for writing at night" - describe the atmosphere, vocals, and context in one sentence, which is the most effective way.
• Generate multiple versions and choose: Run the same prompt multiple times, and the AI will give you different melodies each time, choose the one that sounds the best.

If you want to compare other options, you can check out my articles on AI music creation tools and best AI music tools, and Udio is also worth trying.

Precautions and limitations

• Free version has limitations and is usually not for commercial use: Free plans have daily generation limits, and most are only for personal non-commercial use, so be sure to check the license before using it for commercial purposes.
• Paid plans start at around $8-24 per month: Pro, Premier, and other plans unlock commercial licenses, stems, and more features, with prices subject to change on the official website.
• Chinese pronunciation may be off: Although it can sing in Chinese, the pronunciation and intonation may be incorrect, so you may need to generate multiple versions or adjust the lyrics.
• Copyright and legal issues are still disputed: The copyright and training data of AI music are still unclear, so be sure to check the license terms before using it for commercial purposes. See Suno funding and copyright controversy for more information.
• Delicate arrangements still have limitations: If you want to create highly customized, professional works, Suno is a good starting point, but it may not be the final solution.

TheAI Academy review

Review: Suno has lowered the threshold of "creating a complete song" from requiring music theory and recording studio experience to just typing in a sentence - a revolutionary change, but be sure to understand the license and copyright issues before using it for commercial purposes.

Suitable for: creators who need custom soundtracks, social media content, or just want to play with music, but not for professional musicians who require complete customization and attention to detail, or those who don't understand the commercial license terms. Start with the free version to get a feel for it, and then upgrade and read the terms carefully if you want to use it for commercial purposes.