Audio PromptMonster

How to write prompts for Suno

Last checked 4 October 2026Not affiliated with Suno

Suno reads a few boxes, each with one job. Describe the sound in Style (genre, mood, instruments, voice), list what to leave out in Exclude Styles, and put your words, with section tags like [Chorus], in Lyrics. Suno publishes no length limits; when APMonster last read Suno's Create form, Style and Exclude Styles each took 1,000 characters and Lyrics 5,000 characters.

What does Suno read?

To make a song with your own words, Suno reads a Style box, an Exclude Styles box (under Advanced Options; Suno's help calls it Exclude), a Lyrics box and a Title. Suno now calls this Advanced mode on its own pages, and Custom mode in its older help articles.

Suno publishes no character limits for these boxes. The lengths below are the ones Suno's Create form allowed when APMonster read it, with the date; everything else comes from Suno's own pages.

WhatValueSource
Modelsv6 and v6-wild for Pro and Premier, v6-mini for everyone; every earlier model is retiredSuno, v6 FAQ, 4 October 2026
Song lengthUp to 8 minutes in one generation; Extend adds moreSuno, song length, 4 October 2026
Style box1,000 characters (Suno publishes no limit)Suno Create form, 17 September 2026
Exclude Styles box1,000 charactersSuno Create form, 17 September 2026
Lyrics box5,000 charactersSuno Create form, 17 September 2026
Song titleNo limit statedSuno Create form, 17 September 2026
Section tagsWritten with the lyrics, such as [Verse], [Chorus] and [Bridge]Suno, How to make a song, 4 October 2026
Variety sliderRewrites your style prompt; set it to 0 to keep your wordsSuno, v6 FAQ, 4 October 2026
Replace SectionPro and Premier plansSuno, Replace Section, 4 October 2026
APMonster's Style promptTwo to four short sentences, under 900 charactersAPMonster's own practice

What does Suno say a style prompt should contain?

Suno's own guide says to be specific: name the genre, the mood, keywords and the instruments. Its example style is a few short sentences that also give a tempo, a key and a voice. Its guide to making beats puts tempo first, then genre, rhythm, instruments and mood, and says short sentences work better than long descriptions.

Across all three v6 models, Suno says it understands more of the language musicians use, from vocals and instrumentation to structure, mood and the overall feel of a song.

How does APMonster write a Suno style prompt?

APMonster writes Suno's Style the way Suno's own example is written: two to four short, specific sentences, most important first. The first gives the genre and subgenre, with the tempo as "N BPM" and the key when you set them; then come the lead voice and its tone, two or three specific instruments, and the mood and the era. It stays under 900 characters, inside the 1,000 characters the Style box took when APMonster last read it.

Suno's Variety slider adjusts and updates your style prompt; to keep full control of your words, Suno says to reduce it to 0, and APMonster says the same. Suno says 50% Weirdness gives the expected result. APMonster suggests starting points for Weirdness and Style Influence on each model, which you can change:

How do you tell Suno what to avoid?

Open Advanced Options and use Exclude Styles: list what to leave out, separated by commas, such as heavy distortion, trap hi-hats. The box took 1,000 characters when APMonster last read it. APMonster keeps those words out of Style, so Style describes only what you want.

How does Suno take song structure and lyrics?

Section tags go with the words in the Lyrics box, one per line, with the lines of that section under each: Suno's own pages show tags like [Intro], [Verse 1], [Chorus] and [Bridge]. The box took 5,000 characters when APMonster last read it. Suno's glossary also suggests naming the form in plain words, such as "verse-chorus-verse with an extended bridge"; APMonster keeps the tags in Lyrics and the sound in Style.

One generation can run up to 8 minutes, and Extend adds more to the end. To change one section of a finished song, Pro and Premier subscribers can select it in the Song Editor and use Replace Section.

The example song's structure, as APMonster writes it for Suno 
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
[Outro]

APMonster's lyric writer, LyrAssist, writes Suno lyrics with these tags already in place.

One brief, written for Suno

Every guide on this site writes the same song for its platform. This is the shape APMonster asks for on Suno; the wording of a generated prompt varies from one generation to the next.

Style
Dream pop at 92 BPM in A minor. A breathy female lead, wistful and hopeful. Chorus-soaked electric guitar, warm analog synth pads, a soft drum machine and round bass, with a late-1980s shimmer.
Exclude Styles
heavy distortion, trap hi-hats
Lyrics (the section tags; LyrAssist writes the lines under each)
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
[Outro]

What changed for Suno, and why

  • The brief became three short sentences, as in Suno's own example: the genre with the tempo and the key, then the voice and the mood, then the instruments and the era.
  • Things to avoid went into their own box, Exclude Styles, and stayed out of Style.
  • The section tags went into Lyrics. APMonster's Suno tags carry no description, so to make the intro and outro instrumental after the song is made, use Replace Section on them.
  • The tempo stayed a number, "92 BPM", and the song runs about 2:47, well inside one generation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the character limit for a Suno style prompt?

Suno publishes none. When APMonster last read Suno's Create form, the Style box took 1,000 characters; APMonster keeps its Style prompts under 900 characters.

Should a Suno style prompt be tags or sentences?

Suno's own example style is a few short sentences that name the genre, the tempo, the key, the voice and the instruments, and its beat guide says short sentences work better than long descriptions. APMonster writes two to four short sentences.

How long can Suno lyrics be?

Suno publishes no limit. The Lyrics box took 5,000 characters, section tags included, when APMonster last read it.

Does Suno have a negative prompt?

Yes: the Exclude Styles box, under Advanced Options. List what to leave out there, not in Style.

Where do section tags like [Chorus] go in Suno?

In the Lyrics box, one per line, above the lines of that section.

How long can a Suno song be?

Up to 8 minutes in a single generation on v6, v6-wild and v6-mini, according to Suno. Extend adds more to the end.

Can I download songs from Suno?

Yes, within a limit that Suno set from 3 September 2026: Free accounts 7 downloads in total, Pro 20 a month and Premier 60 a month.

Which Suno model should I use?

Suno describes v6 as its reliable, precise flagship and v6-wild as less predictable and built for exploration; both are for Pro and Premier subscribers. v6-mini is the fastest, and free for everyone.

Sources