SONORA MUSIC LEARNING SERIES
Turn your musical
ideas into music.
Learn to write clearer prompts, create lyrics and shape expressive arrangements with ChatGPT and Suno.
A practical student guide, built around a mini EP with one song and one instrumental. Start with the musical choices, then listen and refine.
Free PDF · 15 pages · No sign-up required
Understand
The musical basics
Create
Style and Lyrics prompts
Refine
Arrangements through listening
Use responsibly
Copyright and permissions
START WITH THE CHOICES
What will you learn?
A useful prompt describes what the music should do. Build a vocabulary you can use to make those decisions.
01 / MUSICAL FOUNDATIONS
Genre, tempo and key
Understand genre, BPM, time signatures and tonal home, then use them to describe your intended sound.
02 / CLEARER PROMPTS
Style and lyrics
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
03 / EXPRESSIVE ARRANGEMENT
Give each part a purpose
Add paragraph text. Click “Edit Text” to update the font, size and more. To change and reuse text themes, go to Site Styles.
THE DEMONSTRATION EP
City Lights and Open Skies
Two companion tracks share a musical palette while exploring different moods and melodic roles.
TRACK 01 / SONG
Meet Me Under the City Lights
Soul-pop · Disco-funk · 112 BPM · 4/4 · D major
A warm vocal lead, rhythmic bass and guitar, with strings and brass opening up the chorus. A song about friends reconnecting in Singapore at night.
Original English soul-pop song with disco-funk groove and elegant orchestral colour. 112 BPM, quarter-note pulse, 4/4, D major. Warm expressive female lead, clear diction and relaxed rhythmic phrasing. Tight drums, four-on-the-floor kick, syncopated electric bass, clean rhythm guitar and warm Rhodes. Start with a short bass-and-guitar hook; bring the vocal in early. Intimate verses, rising pre-choruses, memorable open chorus with three-part backing harmonies. Add sweeping upper strings and short brass answers between vocal phrases. Bridge reduces to Rhodes and bass, then rebuilds into a wider final chorus with a string countermelody. Clear lead placement, controlled low end, distinct instrument separation, restrained room reverb, polished studio sound. Target 3 to 4 minutes with a resolved ending.
Create Style Prompt
TRACK 02 / INSTRUMENTAL
Open Skies Over the Bay
Orchestral funk · 116 BPM · 4/4 · G major
A tenor saxophone carries the theme. Rhodes, strings and brass develop the idea through a lighter middle section and an expanded final return.
Original orchestral funk instrumental with soulful disco warmth. 116 BPM, quarter-note pulse, 4/4, G major. Tenor saxophone carries an original memorable theme over syncopated electric bass, tight drums, clean rhythm guitar and warm Rhodes. Short opening with bass and guitar, followed by a clear saxophone theme. Develop the theme with answering brass phrases and flowing upper strings. Contrasting middle section features lyrical Rhodes over a lighter groove. An eight-bar bass-and-drum breakdown rebuilds into the main theme with a fresh string countermelody and wider brass voicings. Purposeful melodic development, smooth transitions, varied dynamics and space around the lead. Clean studio sound, controlled bass, distinct instrument separation, restrained room reverb. Target 3 to 4 minutes and finish with a resolved ensemble chord.
Create Style Prompt
These are demonstration briefs, not recordings. The guide includes the full lyrics and instrumental structure plan. Check generated audio against your intended tempo, metre, key and arrangement.
TRY ONE MUSICAL DECISION
Make the chorus feel bigger.
Keep the verse focused on Rhodes, bass and drums. In the chorus, add upper strings, backing harmonies and short brass answers between vocal lines.
The contrast creates a lift, while the brass leaves space for the words. Ask ChatGPT to describe that change clearly in your Style prompt, then listen to whether the audio follows it.
Understand the permission before publishing.
The guides distinguish copyright ownership from commercial-use permission and explain the different rules for ChatGPT text and Suno audio. An AI prompt does not guarantee copyright protection or clear third-party rights.
Check the current OpenAI terms and Suno terms before releasing or using a track for business.