Measured in BPM (beats per minute). Think of it like a heartbeat. More BPM = faster music.
Like a Sunday morning. Ballads, emotional songs, lullabies.
Like jogging. Upbeat pop, rock anthems, dance tracks.
Comfortable, steady. Most pop songs live here.
Racing, urgent, intense. EDM drops, metal, chase scenes.
The music speeds up and slows down naturally, like breathing. Creates emotion.
Imagine clapping where you DON'T expect it. Makes music feel funky, groovy, unpredictable.
The feeling that makes your body want to dance or nod. The "pocket" of the rhythm.
Like two people clapping different patterns at the same time. Creates rich, complex texture.
Every subdivision lands in a perfectly even grid. Tight, mechanical, driving, and common in pop, EDM, and modern rock.
The second subdivision arrives slightly late, which creates that rolling jazz, blues, and shuffle bounce. It feels looser and more human than straight time.
The actual BPM stays the same, but the backbeat shifts so the groove feels slower and heavier. The snare lands later, which creates weight and space.
The tempo stays the same, but the subdivision density makes everything feel faster and more intense. Useful for punk, metal, and high-energy transitions.
How loud or soft the music is — and how it changes. This creates emotion and drama.
Music that builds up. Creates anticipation and power.
The opposite of crescendo. Music that fades out. Creates calm or sadness.
Like speaking in short bursts. Punchy, percussive, energetic.
Notes flow into each other like water. Smooth, romantic, lyrical.
A slight, rapid variation in pitch. Makes vocals sound emotional and alive.
Very fast repetition of a single note. Creates tension, urgency, drama.
One note gets extra emphasis — louder or more forceful than the rest.
Each verse usually has different words but the same melody. It tells the story, sets the scene.
The part everyone sings along to. Repeated, catchy, emotionally powerful. The heart of the song.
Breaks the pattern. A different melody and mood. Creates contrast before the final chorus.
A short section between verse and chorus that builds tension. Makes the chorus hit harder.
Sets the mood before the vocals start. Tells listeners what world they're entering.
Ends the song. Can fade out slowly or end abruptly. Leaves a final impression.
The most memorable part — a melody, lyric, or rhythm that gets stuck in your head.
In electronic music: the sudden release of maximum energy after a build-up. The moment everyone goes crazy.
What you hum after hearing a song. A sequence of single notes that you recognize.
Major keys sound bright, happy, uplifting. Minor keys sound darker, sadder, more emotional.
A sequence of chords played in order. Like sentences in music — gives shape to the feeling.
Instead of playing all notes of a chord at once, play them one by one in sequence.
Notes that clash and feel "wrong" together. Creates tension that demands resolution.
After dissonance, moving to a chord that feels "right." The musical equivalent of exhaling.
Modes are alternative scales built from the same notes as major but starting at a different point — each has a distinct colour. Pentatonic = 5-note scale, the backbone of blues, rock, and most Asian music.
A single sustained note (or chord) that stays constant while everything else moves above it. Creates hypnotic, meditative tension. Underrated in Suno prompts — very effective.
Born from African American music traditions. Expressive guitar, emotional vocals, simple chord patterns.
Complex harmonies, swinging rhythms, improvisation. The music feels "alive" and spontaneous.
All about the groove. Syncopated bass, tight drums, wah-wah guitar. Makes you move.
More about creating a space or mood than telling a story. Like music as a painting.
Combines gospel emotion with blues groove and pop melody. Smooth, sensual, expressive.
Music made entirely with electronic instruments. Can go from chilled to euphoric.
Jamaican roots. The rhythm emphasizes the "and" beats — feels like a gentle sway.
Traditional, community music. Acoustic instruments, narrative lyrics, raw and honest.
Born in 1950s Rio. Gentle samba rhythm, jazz chords, soft nylon guitar, breathy vocals. Sophisticated and intimate — perfect beach-café atmosphere.
Created by Fela Kuti in Nigeria. Complex polyrhythmic drums, interlocking horns, political lyrics, hypnotic repetition. Massive influence on modern pop and dance music.
From Andalusia, Spain. Intricate fingerpicking (rasgueado), handclaps (palmas), stamping feet, raw emotional singing (cante). Dramatic, proud, intensely human.
How all the instruments are organized together. A good arrangement makes every element serve the song.
Sparse = few instruments with space between notes. Dense = many instruments playing together.
What makes a piano sound different from a guitar even at the same note. The "personality" of a sound.
Adding multiple instruments or tracks on top of each other to create richness and depth.
Deciding which instrument plays which part. The skill of giving each instrument its moment.
A high, light vocal register that sounds almost breathy. Above normal range.
Full, chest-voice power at high pitches. The opposite of falsetto — strong and intense.
Singing many notes on a single syllable. The "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" style of vocal runs.
Singing without any instrumental backing. All harmony comes from human voices.
One voice or instrument "calls," another "responds." Like a musical dialogue.
Close-mic, gentle, romantic. Like the singer is whispering in your ear.
How air and friction shape vocal tone. These single words do enormous work in Suno prompts — they change the entire character of a voice.
Non-melodic vocal delivery — words spoken with rhythm and intention but not pitched like singing. Includes poetry, monologues, narration over music. Between rap and speech.
Simulates the natural echo of a room. A little = intimate. A lot = massive/cathedral.
Sound repeats after a gap — like hearing your voice echo in a canyon.
Intentionally "breaks" the sound to make it rougher, grittier, more aggressive.
Makes loud parts quieter and quiet parts louder. Makes everything sound more polished and controlled.
Positioning sounds in the stereo field. Instruments can come from left, right, or center.
Taking a piece of an old recording and using it in a new song. The foundation of hip-hop.
Boosting or cutting bass (low), mids, or treble (high). Shapes the "brightness" or "warmth" of sound.
Dry = raw, unprocessed sound — close, intimate, no effects. Wet = soaked in reverb, delay, or other effects. Most productions blend both. Crucial concept for prompting atmosphere.
The kick drum triggers compression on the bass or pads — every time the kick hits, other elements briefly duck in volume. Creates the iconic pumping/breathing feel of house, techno, and EDM.
Music that sounds slightly degraded on purpose — vinyl crackle, muffled highs, tape hiss, pitch wobble. Nostalgic, cozy, human. The opposite of clean studio production.
Big, singalong energy. Wide, powerful sound designed to fill stadiums and unite people. Chorus hits like a wave.
Airy, dreamlike, barely-there. Sounds like it exists between worlds. Heavy reverb, high-register instruments, breathy vocals.
Heavy atmosphere, tension that never fully releases. Not sad — more like something is coming. Deliberate, dark, intense.
Joy that almost hurts. Maximum energy + emotional release at the same time. The feeling at a festival when the drop lands perfectly.
Not crushing sadness — more like beautiful longing. The feeling of missing something. Minor key but with warmth. Bittersweet.
Music designed to make you see something. Orchestral or hybrid, builds in layers, tells a story without words. Think film trailers, game soundtracks.
A pattern that repeats over and over. Creates hypnotic, trance-like effects.
4/4 = 4 beats per bar (most pop). 3/4 = waltz feel. 6/8 = swinging, lilting.
Moving to a different key mid-song. Creates a lift, surprise, or emotional shift.
Two or more independent melodies that work together simultaneously.
A sustained bass note while the chords change above. Creates tension and depth.
A distinct section added to conclude a piece — different from just repeating or fading out.