AI music prompt words: the vocabulary that changes what you get
The prompt words that change what an AI music tool makes are the ones producers use: pattern names such as four-on-the-floor or boom bap, a tempo in BPM, a swing amount, and named sounds such as an 808 or an electric piano. A genre name or a mood gets you the middle of a style; pattern words say where the kick goes, what the bass does and how the chords are played. All 37 terms below come with a loop to play, so you know what you are asking for before you type it.
This is plain music vocabulary, so it suits any tool that takes a text prompt, such as Suno, Udio or Stable Audio. Swung isn’t affiliated with any of them, and none of the loops here were made by one.
Five genres, said in words
- Bar 1Am7
- Bar 2Fmaj7
- Bar 3Cmaj7
- Bar 4G7
- House: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every house word, explained
“house music, 124 BPM, four-on-the-floor kick, clap on 2 and 4, off-beat open hats, off-beat bassline, piano stabs, seventh chords, sidechain pumping”
- Lo-fi hip hop: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every lo-fi hip hop word, explained
“lo-fi hip hop, 82 BPM, boom bap drums, swung hi-hats, 55–60% swing, dusty, lo-fi drums, jazzy seventh and ninth chords, electric piano (Rhodes-style), vinyl crackle, tape warmth”
- Trap: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every trap word, explained
“trap music, 140 BPM, half-time drums, snare on 3, hi-hat rolls, triplet hats, dark bell melody, minor key”
- Reggaeton: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every reggaeton word, explained
“reggaeton, 95 BPM, dembow rhythm, tresillo, 3-3-2, sub bass on the 3-3-2, call-and-response hook”
- Drum & bass: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every drum & bass word, explained
“drum & bass, 174 BPM, two-step drum break, ghost snares, breakbeat feel, Reese bass, rolling bassline, liquid pads, supersaw chords”
- Techno: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every techno word, explained
“techno music, 130 BPM, driving four-on-the-floor kick, rumble kick, rolling low end, off-beat open hats, 16th hats, TB-303 acid line, hypnotic, minimal, few chords, dark, warehouse, industrial”
- Phonk: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every phonk word, explained
“phonk, 145 BPM, cowbell melody, 808 cowbell, distorted 808 bass, half-time drums, snare on 3, Memphis rap, drift phonk, dark, aggressive, gritty”
- Dubstep: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every dubstep word, explained
“dubstep, 140 BPM, half-time drums, snare on 3, wobble bass, LFO wobble, sub bass, dark pads, sparse drums, build-up and drop”
- Disco: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every disco word, explained
“disco music, 118 BPM, four-on-the-floor kick, off-beat open hats, octave bassline, lush strings, string section, live drums, 16th-note hi-hats, funky, joyful, 1970s”
- Synthwave: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every synthwave word, explained
“synthwave, 104 BPM, big 80s snare, drum machine, pulsing eighth-note synth bass, arpeggiated synths, warm analog pads, supersaw, retro, nostalgic, night drive”
- EDM: what the loop above is, in the words a tool understands. Every EDM word, explained
“EDM, 128 BPM, festival EDM, big room, four-on-the-floor kick, clap on 2 and 4, supersaw chords, sidechain pumping, build-up, snare roll, drop, euphoric, uplifting”
Learn to hear every word
The course teaches these patterns by ear, one at a time, so you can name them in a prompt and hear when a generation gets them wrong. Unit 1 is free with a Google sign-in.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1; every pattern you learn is another word you can use.
How to use these words
Build a prompt the way a track is built: drums, bass, chords and melody, then the tempo and a sound or two. One or two words per part is plenty, and a number beats an adjective wherever there is one: “124 BPM” rather than “upbeat”, “62% swing” rather than “groovy”.
Change one word at a time and listen for the part it names. When a generation gets a part wrong, the word for that part is your fix. Why AI songs sound the same explains why vague words drift to the same few results.
To try the words on a grid you can see, the beat maker has a composer (free with an account) that takes the same vocabulary and writes it onto the board, so you can see exactly which boxes each word fills.
Drum words
Where the kick, snare and hats fall. This is the biggest decision in a track and the one a genre name leaves vaguest, so name it first.
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Say four-on-the-floor kick
It means a kick on every beat
KickPattern: Four-on-the-floor · Used in House, Reggaeton, Techno, Disco, EDM
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Say backbeat, snare on 2 and 4
It means kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4: the beat under most pop, rock and hip hop
KickSnarePattern: Backbeat · Used in House, Lo-fi hip hop, Techno, Disco, Synthwave, EDM
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Say off-beat open hats
It means the “tss” between kicks
Open hatKickkick, guidePattern: Off-beat open hat · Used in House, Techno, Disco
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Say boom bap drums
It means a punchy kick and hard snare, 1990s hip hop style
KickSnareHatsPattern: Boom bap · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say swung hi-hats, 55–60% swing
It means every second hat late
HatsKickbackbeat, guideSnarePattern: Swung 16th hats · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say half-time drums, snare on 3
It means one snare per bar, so it feels half as fast
SnareKickHatshats, guidePattern: Half-time snare · Used in Trap, Phonk, Dubstep
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Say hi-hat rolls, triplet hats
It means bursts of quick hats
HatsKickhalf-time, guideSnarePattern: Triplet hat rolls · Used in Trap, Phonk, Dubstep
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Say dembow rhythm
It means steady kick with a syncopated snare
KickSnareHatshats, guide -
Say tresillo, 3-3-2
It means the uneven split the snare and bass follow
KickHatsthe beat, guidePattern: Tresillo (3-3-2) · Used in Reggaeton
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Say two-step drum break
It means the skipping kick pattern at 174
KickSnareHatsPattern: Two-step break · Used in Drum & bass
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Say ghost snares, breakbeat feel
It means quiet hits that make it sound like a sampled break
KickSnareHatsThe quiet snares just before beats 3 and 1 are what make a programmed beat sound like a sampled break.
Pattern: Ghost notes · Used in Drum & bass
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Say build-up, snare roll, drop
It means tension that speeds up, then the full beat lands
SnareChordschords, guidePattern: Snare roll · Used in EDM
Bass words
What the low notes do: where they sit against the kick, and whether they hold, bounce or slide.
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Say off-beat bassline
It means bass notes in the gaps between kicks
BassKickkick, guidePattern: Off-beat bass · Used in House
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Say 808 bass, 808 glide or slide
It means a deep, long bass that bends between notes
OctaveRootSnarehalf-time, guideHats -
Say Reese bass, rolling bassline
It means a detuned, churning bass
BassreeseKicktwo-step, guideSnarePattern: Reese-style bass · Used in Drum & bass
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Say sub bass on the 3-3-2
It means a deep bass in the same rhythm
BassHatsthe beat, guidePattern: Tresillo (3-3-2) · Used in Reggaeton
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Say driving eighth-note bass on the root
It means the chord’s root note, twice per beat
BassKickbackbeat, guideSnarePattern: Root-note eighths · Used in Synthwave
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Say octave bassline
It means the bass jumping low-high on every eighth note
RootOctaveKickkick, guidePattern: Octave bass · Used in Disco
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Say TB-303 acid line
It means a squelchy sixteenth-note synth line with slides
RootacidOctaveFifthKickkick and hats, guideOpen hatPattern: Acid bassline · Used in Techno
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Say wobble bass, LFO wobble
It means a bass whose filter opens and closes in rhythm
EighthsTripletsKickhalf-time, guideSnarePattern: Wobble bass · Used in Dubstep
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Say rumble kick, rolling low end
It means a dark low growl in the gaps after each kick
RumbleKickkick, guidePattern: Rumble kick · Used in Techno
Chord words
Every loop here plays the same four chords, Am, F, C and G. What changes is how they are played and what colour notes they carry, and those are the words that matter.
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Say piano stabs, seventh chords
It means short, bright chords off the beat
ChordspianoKickkick, guidePattern: Piano stabs · Used in House
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Say jazzy seventh and ninth chords
It means chords with colour notes added
Chordselectric pianoKickboom bap, guideSnarePattern: Jazzy seventh chords · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say liquid pads, supersaw chords
It means wide, bright chords above
ChordssupersawKickkick, guidePattern: Supersaw chords · Used in Drum & bass, Synthwave, EDM
Melody words
The part people hum. Melody words work best when they describe a shape and a sound, not a mood.
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Say call-and-response hook
It means one phrase asks, the next answers
EpluckDCAChordspad and kick, guideKickPattern: Call-and-response hook · Used in House, Reggaeton, Drum & bass, Disco, EDM
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Say minor pentatonic riff
It means a short figure, repeated, from five notes that rarely clash
EpluckDCAGKickboom bap, guideSnarePattern: Pentatonic riff · Used in Lo-fi hip hop, Trap
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Say cowbell melody, 808 cowbell
It means a melody played on a tuned drum-machine cowbell
GcowbellFEDCAKickhalf-time, guideSnarePattern: Phonk cowbell · Used in Phonk
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Say arpeggiated synths
It means chord notes played one at a time, in sixteenths
ArpeggiopluckChordspad and backbeat, guideKickSnare -
Say dark bell melody, minor key
It means the typical lead sound and mood
EDCAGKickboom bap, guideSnareThe same five notes. The bell rings on and sounds darker; the pluck stops short.
Pattern: Pentatonic riff · Used in Trap
Tempo and feel words
A number in BPM is the most reliable word you can give. How the beat feels at that number, half-time or swung, is the next.
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Say a tempo in BPM, such as “124 BPM”
It means how fast the beat is; every style lives in its own range
KickClapOpen hatThe same house drums three times. At 124 they sit where house lives; at 100 the off-beat hats drag; at 140 they hurry.
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Say 130–150 BPM (feels like 65–75)
It means the tempo, and how it feels
SnareKickHatshats, guideBoth are 140 BPM. With one snare a bar, on beat 3, the half-time version feels like 70.
Pattern: Half-time snare · Used in Trap
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Say swing as a number, such as “62% swing”
It means how late every second note lands: 50% is straight, about 66% is a shuffle
HatsKickbackbeat, guideSnare“Swung” alone leaves the amount open. A number pins it down.
Pattern: Swung 16th hats · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
Sound words
The instruments and the treatment. A sound word changes how a part sounds, not where its notes fall, so pair it with a pattern word.
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Say sidechain pumping
It means everything ducks under the kick
Sub bassChordspadKickdrives the pumpThe held bass and pad swell back after every kick. Without the pump the same notes just sit there.
Pattern: Sidechain pump · Used in House
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Say dusty, lo-fi drums
It means darker, softer, slightly saturated
KickSnareHatsThe same hits on two kits. The dusty one is softer and darker at the top.
Pattern: Boom bap · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say vinyl crackle, tape warmth
It means the noise and softness of old records
Chordselectric pianoKickboom bap, guideSnareListen above the chords: a faint crackle, and a duller top end.
Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say electric piano (Rhodes-style)
It means the warm, bell-like keys sound
Chordselectric pianoKickboom bap, guideSnareThe same chords. The electric piano is rounder and rings like a bell; the piano is brighter and dies away faster.
Pattern: Jazzy seventh chords · Used in Lo-fi hip hop
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Say 808 drums
It means drums in the style of the TR-808 drum machine: a deep, long kick and crisp hats
SnareKickHatshats, guideThe same beat. Listen to the kick: the 808’s rings on like a low note; the acoustic one is a short thud.
Used in Trap