How to generate your own music with the AI-powered Suno

14 hours ago 4

You may have used generative AI to create text, images, and even videos. But have you ever called on it to conjure up your own music? A few different text-to-music tools can act as virtual composers, but one worth trying is Suno. Available on the web, through dedicated iPhone and Android apps, and via a Microsoft Copilot plug-in, Suno will write and play music based on your input.

You can describe the topic and style of the music you want, opt to include lyrics and vocals, keep your song as an instrumental, or add your own lyrics as inspiration. In response, Suno delivers two songs based on your request. You can then play the songs, download them, and share them with other people. Suno uses its own AI models to create the music and then turns to ChatGPT to create the song's title and lyrics.

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Suno offers three types of plans. With the free Basic plan, you get 50 credits per day. Generating a single song uses up 10 credits, so you can create as many as five songs each day. If you need more, upgrading to the Pro plan for $10 per month grants you 2,500 credits each month, while the Premier plan at $30 per month gives you 10,000 credits each month.

Now, here's how Suno works.

How to use Suno to generate music

First, you'll need to create an account to use Suno. Browse to the website and click the Sign in button. You can use an existing account from Apple, Discord, Google, or Microsoft or create a dedicated account by entering your phone number. You're then signed in with your account.

Before you start creating your own music, you may want to hear what other people have generated. At the home screen, click the thumbnail for any of the songs on display. The music starts playing, and a sidebar shows you a description of the song along with any lyrics. You can rate the song with a thumbs up or thumbs down, copy and paste a link to it, add it to a playlist, or share it.

To make your own music, click the Create option on the left. Before you describe the type of song you want produced, you can tweak a couple of settings. By default, Suno uses the latest stable model to generate your song, which at this point is version 3.5. Older models are available, as is the latest beta model. Click the down arrow for the model number at the top. You can experiment with different models, but you may want to stick with the default to start.

Also by default, Suno will generate a song with lyrics. If you want an instrumental tune with just the melody, turn on the switch for Instrumental.

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For help in writing a description of your desired song, hover over the question mark icon next to Song Description. Following the displayed tip, you'll want to describe the style of music and the topic or subject of the song. Avoid mentioning specific artists and songs; instead, refer to the genre of music, such as rock, pop, jazz, classical, or country.

To get further assistance, click the heading for Need Ideas. Suno suggests several topics, occasions, and moods on which to base your song. Select one, and you can fill in the blanks for the suggested music (just like playing Mad Libs) to add specific names and music genres. When finished, click Create.

Ask Suno to help you write your description

If you'd rather type your own description, enter it in the text field, but keep it to no more than 200 characters. For my song, I created the following description: "a World War II song in the style of swing about a woman who misses her husband because he's fighting in the war overseas."

In response, Suno generates two versions of a song based on your description. Click the Play button for either song to start listening. You can follow the lyrics on the right side as the song plays. Use the controls at the bottom to pause or restart the song, switch between the two versions, or repeat the song.

You can tweak either version of the song in certain ways. Click the three-dot icon for the version you want to revise. Move to Edit in the menu. From there, you're able to change the title of the song or any of the lyrics, crop the song to shorten it, or replace a section of the song with new music and lyrics.

Next, you might want to try generating a song with your own lyrics. For this, go back to the Create screen. Turn on the switch at the top for Custom. If you're a capable lyricist, enter your lyrics in the field at the top. To get some help instead, click the button for Write with Suno. Describe the lyrics you want or enter a theme or topic. Click the button for Write Lyrics. Suno then generates two versions of the appropriate lyrics for you. Click the button for Accept this option to choose the version you wish to use.

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Back at the previous screen, add a genre or mood for the music you want. Click Create. In response, Suno delivers two versions of the song. Play either version, and you can edit either version if you wish.

To work with the songs you've generated, move to the Library section. For any song, turn on the Public button to make it available for anyone on Suno to hear. Click the three-dot icon, and you can add a song to your playlist, share it with someone else via a link or email, or download it as an MP3 audio or an MP4 video.

Finally, you can use Suno on your mobile device. Download the app from the App Store or from Google Play. Open the app and sign in with your Suno account. The mobile edition works the same as the website but offers a couple of additional options.

Tap the Create button to get started. Enter the text description for the topic and genre, but you can try other ways to generate the song. Tap Camera and aim your device's camera at a scene you want to base the song on. Tap Audio and play, sing, or hum a melody to use as the basis for the song. When done, tap Create.

When the songs are ready, you're prompted to tap the Play button. While listening to the song, you can give it a thumbs up or thumbs down, share it with other people, or perform other actions.