4. Building prompts

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I use one semantic field per line:

Category | Descriptor | Descriptor | Descriptor

This format is not special syntax that Suno requires. It is an authoring convention. It lets me scan a prompt quickly, compare versions and see which instruction is responsible for what.

Start with the musical intention

Before writing fields, complete this sentence:

I want to preserve [Anchor], place it inside [Destination], and make the result feel [Emotional direction].

Then decide what supplies the Kinetic Engine and what property acts as the Bridge.

Build from the centre out

A useful order is:

Frame: genre, identity and influence.
Musical material: bass, melody, harmony and synth voice.
Engine: tempo, rhythm and drums.
Surface: textures and sound design.
Performance: vocals and articulation.
Development: FX, dynamics and motion.
Conflict resolution: priority.
Finish: mix, mood and structure.

Not every prompt needs every field. Omission is often better than filling a category for completeness.

Use Priority sparingly

Priority is not a list of everything I like. It is the conflict-resolution layer.

Priority | Preserve Chip Timbres Throughout | Never Halftime

That instruction says what should survive if atmospheric textures begin to wash out the chip identity or if the rhythm begins to slow. If every descriptor is promoted to Priority, the field stops making decisions.

Change the role that owns the problem

A revision should answer something heard in the previous result. Foggy Hearts reached the right genre early, so adding more Liquid Drum and Bass language would not have addressed its weaknesses.

What I heard	Role responsible	Revision
Drums drifting away from full-time motion	Rhythm and Priority	Add explicit rolling breaks, driving two-step and `Never Halftime`
Vocal phrasing becoming synthetic	Vocals	Replace attitude language with relaxed delivery and natural phrasing
Arrangement becoming static	Priority and Motion	Protect continuous forward motion and constant evolution

This keeps revisions legible. When prompt language changes but the influence controls remain fixed, the comparison is mainly about Behaviour. When the prompt stays fixed and only Weirdness, Style Influence or Audio Influence moves, the comparison is about Confidence.

Check for semantic tension

Some combinations are interesting precisely because they pull against each other. The aim is not to remove every tension, but to decide where it belongs.

Tension	A clearer assignment
Dream haze versus crisp breaks	Put haze under Textures and crispness under Drums
Tape flutter versus crystal detail	Assign them to different layers or sections
Sudden silence versus continuous motion	Make the silence a brief transition rather than a structural stall
Equal genre influence versus a strong source Anchor	Give the Anchor explicit priority instead of insisting on equality

A focused template

Genres | [Primary genre]
Tempo | [BPM]
Bass | [Movement] | [Sub foundation]
Melody | [Anchor or hook]
Harmony | [Chord language]
Rhythm | [Groove]
Drums | [Break type] | [Detail]
Vocals | [Voice] | [Delivery]
Motion | [Evolution]
Priority | [Non-negotiable behaviour]
Mix | [Width] | [Colour]
Mood | [Emotional direction]
Structure | [Flow] | [Ending]

Use it as a starting shape, not a form to complete mechanically.

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