// Songwriting craft, AI music generation prompts (Suno focus), parody/adaptation techniques, phonetic tricks, and lessons learned. These are tools and ideas, not rules. Break any of them when the art calls for it.
| name | songwriting-and-ai-music |
| description | Songwriting craft, AI music generation prompts (Suno focus), parody/adaptation techniques, phonetic tricks, and lessons learned. These are tools and ideas, not rules. Break any of them when the art calls for it. |
| tags | ["songwriting","music","suno","parody","lyrics","creative"] |
| triggers | ["writing a song","song lyrics","music prompt","suno prompt","parody song","adapting a song","AI music generation"] |
Everything here is a GUIDELINE, not a rule. Art breaks rules on purpose. Use what serves the song. Ignore what doesn't.
Common skeletons — mix, modify, or throw out as needed:
ABABCB Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus (most pop/rock)
AABA Verse/Verse/Bridge/Verse (refrain-based) (jazz standards, ballads)
ABAB Verse/Chorus alternating (simple, direct)
AAA Verse/Verse/Verse (strophic, no chorus) (folk, storytelling)
The six building blocks:
You don't need all of these. Some great songs are just one section that evolves. Structure serves the emotion, not the other way around.
RHYME TYPES (from tight to loose):
Mix them. All perfect rhymes can sound like a nursery rhyme. All slant rhymes can sound lazy. The blend is where it lives.
INTERNAL RHYME: Rhyming within a line, not just at the ends. "We pruned the lies from bleeding trees / Distilled the storm from entropy" — "lies/flies," "trees/entropy" create internal echoes.
METER: The rhythm of stressed vs unstressed syllables.
Think of a song as a journey, not a flat road.
ENERGY MAPPING (rough idea, not prescription): Intro: 2-3 | Verse: 5-6 | Pre-Chorus: 7 Chorus: 8-9 | Bridge: varies | Final Chorus: 9-10
The most powerful dynamic trick: CONTRAST.
"Whisper to roar to whisper" — start intimate, build to full power, strip back to vulnerability. Works for ballads, epics, anthems.
SHOW, DON'T TELL (usually):
THE HOOK:
PROSODY — lyrics and music supporting each other:
AVOID (unless you're doing it on purpose):
When rewriting an existing song with new lyrics:
THE SKELETON: Map the original's structure first.
FITTING NEW WORDS:
CONCEPT:
KEEP SOME ORIGINALS: Leaving a few original lines or structures intact adds recognizability and lets the audience feel the connection.
FORMULA (adapt as needed): Genre + Mood + Era + Instruments + Vocal Style + Production + Dynamics
BAD: "sad rock song"
GOOD: "Cinematic orchestral spy thriller, 1960s Cold War era, smoky
sultry female vocalist, big band jazz, brass section with
trumpets and french horns, sweeping strings, minor key,
vintage analog warmth"
DESCRIBE THE JOURNEY, not just the genre:
"Begins as a haunting whisper over sparse piano. Gradually layers
in muted brass. Builds through the chorus with full orchestra.
Second verse erupts with raw belting intensity. Outro strips back
to a lone piano and a fragile whisper fading to silence."
TIPS:
STRUCTURE: [Intro] [Verse] [Verse 1] [Pre-Chorus] [Chorus] [Post-Chorus] [Hook] [Bridge] [Interlude] [Instrumental] [Instrumental Break] [Guitar Solo] [Breakdown] [Build-up] [Outro] [Silence] [End]
VOCAL PERFORMANCE: [Whispered] [Spoken Word] [Belted] [Falsetto] [Powerful] [Soulful] [Raspy] [Breathy] [Smooth] [Gritty] [Staccato] [Legato] [Vibrato] [Melismatic] [Harmonies] [Choir] [Harmonized Chorus]
DYNAMICS: [High Energy] [Low Energy] [Building Energy] [Explosive] [Emotional Climax] [Gradual swell] [Orchestral swell] [Quiet arrangement] [Falling tension] [Slow Down]
GENDER: [Female Vocals] [Male Vocals]
ATMOSPHERE: [Melancholic] [Euphoric] [Nostalgic] [Aggressive] [Dreamy] [Intimate] [Dark Atmosphere]
SFX: [Vinyl Crackle] [Rain] [Applause] [Static] [Thunder]
Put tags in BOTH style field AND lyrics for reinforcement. Keep to 5-8 tags per section max — too many confuses the AI. Don't contradict yourself ([Calm] + [Aggressive] in same section).
AI vocalists don't read — they pronounce. Help them:
PHONETIC RESPELLING:
DELIVERY CONTROL:
ALWAYS:
EXPECT: ~3-5 generations per 1 good result. Revision is normal. Style can drift in extensions — restate genre/mood when extending.
Free web search via DuckDuckGo — text, news, images, videos. No API key needed. Prefer the `ddgs` CLI when installed; use the Python DDGS library only after verifying that `ddgs` is available in the current runtime.
Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts, Sheets, and Docs integration via Python. Uses OAuth2 with automatic token refresh. No external binaries needed — runs entirely with Google's Python client libraries in the Hermes venv.
Set up GitHub authentication for the agent using git (universally available) or the gh CLI. Covers HTTPS tokens, SSH keys, credential helpers, and gh auth — with a detection flow to pick the right method automatically.
Review code changes by analyzing git diffs, leaving inline comments on PRs, and performing thorough pre-push review. Works with gh CLI or falls back to git + GitHub REST API via curl.
Create, manage, triage, and close GitHub issues. Search existing issues, add labels, assign people, and link to PRs. Works with gh CLI or falls back to git + GitHub REST API via curl.
Full pull request lifecycle — create branches, commit changes, open PRs, monitor CI status, auto-fix failures, and merge. Works with gh CLI or falls back to git + GitHub REST API via curl.