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The Song Node generates a full music track from a short text prompt. Good music prompts are shorter than you’d think — focused, emotionally specific, and anchored in a clear genre. This page covers what actually moves the needle.

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The structure that works

Every strong music prompt layers the same elements: Genre → Mood → Instrumentation → Tempo → Use case Example: “A slow, melancholic piano melody over ambient synth textures, suitable for a tragic film scene, 70 BPM, instrumental only.” That’s one sentence, five layers. The model has everything it needs.
Focus beats verbosity. “Rainy day jazz cafe” often produces more cohesive output than a paragraph of conflicting instructions. Start short, add detail only where it matters.

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Mood first

Mood descriptors are the most efficient words in a music prompt. “Melancholic,” “triumphant,” “unsettling,” “foreboding,” “dreamy,” “tense,” “serene” — each one bundles harmonic progression, tempo, and instrumentation choices the model makes for you. You don’t need music-theory vocabulary to prompt music. “Sense of building dread” gives the model more to work with than a chord chart.

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Genre sets the palette

Lead with genre. It anchors the sonic world the model draws from:
  • Cinematic orchestral — strings, brass, percussion. Epic, dramatic.
  • Ambient electronic — synth pads, drones, sparse rhythm. Atmospheric.
  • Indie folk — acoustic guitar, soft vocals, banjo, warm room.
  • Jazz — piano, upright bass, brushed drums, horns. Cafe, noir.
  • Hip-hop — 808 drums, bass, sampled textures.
  • Rock / post-rock — electric guitar, live drums, build-and-release dynamics.
  • Lo-fi — warm analog textures, tape hiss, relaxed tempo.
Blending is fine: “Ambient electronic with jazz piano influence” works. “Lo-fi hip-hop with orchestral strings” works.

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Instrumentation and tempo

Name specific instruments when you want them. “Solo piano” means the piano leads. “808 drums and sub-bass” sets a specific low end. “String quartet” is not the same as “orchestral strings.” Tempo can be given as BPM or as feel:
  • Slow / 60–80 BPM — ballads, reflective, tragic
  • Mid / 90–110 BPM — conversational, warm, everyday
  • Upbeat / 120–140 BPM — action, energetic, driving
  • Fast / 140+ BPM — chase, tension, adrenaline

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Energy arc

Music in a scene rarely stays at one intensity. Direct the arc:
  • “Builds from tense to explosive over thirty seconds”
  • “Starts quiet and minimal, adds layers as it progresses”
  • “Steady throughout, no dynamic shifts”
  • “Resolves to silence in the final five seconds”
Arc descriptions work best for longer tracks. Short cues (under fifteen seconds) don’t need one — the model won’t have room to develop it.

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What to avoid

  • Contradictory moods. “Energetic but calm” or “aggressive yet peaceful” forces the model to reconcile opposites. Pick one primary direction.
  • Artist imitation. “Sound exactly like [artist]” produces inconsistent results. Describe the qualities you want instead: “Warm analog synths, reverbed vocals, dreamy feel.”
  • Keyword stacking. “Best, high quality, studio grade, professional mastering” does nothing. The model already defaults to high fidelity.
  • Too much structure for a short cue. A fifteen-second bed doesn’t need a verse-chorus-bridge instruction. Save structural direction for longer pieces.

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Vocals

By default, music prompts generate instrumentally. If you want vocals:
  • Write “with vocals” and describe the vocal quality (“warm female voice,” “raspy male tenor,” “choral”).
  • Or provide lyrics. The model structures vocals to match.
For instrumental scoring, explicitly write “instrumental only” — otherwise some models add vocal elements you didn’t ask for.

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Match the music to the scene

Use the visual mood of your storyboard to guide the music prompt. A noir scene calls for different music than a warm family memory, even if the beats are the same length.

Song Node

Generating and editing music for your animatic.

Audio Node

Voice, dialogue, and sound effects alongside music.

Timeline Editor

Placing music under your scenes and syncing to frames.

Voice Prompts

Writing dialogue that reads naturally when spoken.

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FAQ

How long can a generated track be? Length depends on your tier and the model. For most scenes you’ll generate thirty seconds to three minutes at a time. Chain tracks or loop a short cue in the Timeline for longer sequences. Can I specify BPM exactly? Yes. “120 BPM” will pull the model toward that tempo. It’s an approximation — expect to land within five BPM of the number you give. Why did my prompt produce vocals when I didn’t ask for them? Some models default to adding vocal elements. Explicitly write “instrumental only” in the prompt to force a pure instrumental. Can I generate music that sounds like a specific artist? Not reliably, and not for commercial release — imitation prompts are inconsistent and legally murky. Describe the qualities you want (instrumentation, feel, era, production style) instead of naming an artist. What if the music doesn’t fit my scene? Regenerate with a tighter mood direction, or adjust the genre. Music is the element most often reshot — expect to try two or three versions before one lands. Can I edit the music after it’s generated? You can trim, loop, and fade on the Timeline. For deeper edits (changing an instrument, shifting structure), regenerate with an adjusted prompt — editing after the fact is not currently supported.