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Prompting guide

How to prompt Eleven Music

Eleven Music prompt guide: how to prompt ElevenLabs music with genre, mood, instruments, tempo, and era, plus lyrics, loops, and song examples.

Try Eleven Music v2.5Eleven Music model page

Quick start

Your first great Eleven Music prompt

Everything a beginner needs in one minute: what to know first, the rules that matter most, a template to fill in, and prompts to copy.

What to know first

Every Eleven Music prompt answers five questions, whether you mean it to or not: genre, mood, instruments, tempo, and production era. Whatever you leave open, the model fills with its most average choice, so decide all five. Then say how the song unfolds, in order, and who sings. Pick the length in Duration, and turn on Instrumental for no vocals. Describe the sound itself, never an artist or a song: prompts that name one, or quote existing lyrics, are refused.

The rules that matter most

  1. Make all five decisions

    Genre, mood, instruments, tempo, and era: "1970s disco, euphoric, string stabs and slap bass, 120 BPM". An open prompt like "upbeat electronic track" gets the most average version of it.

  2. Describe the sound, not the artist

    A prompt that names an artist, a band, or a song, or says "in the style of" someone, is refused. Name what makes that sound instead: the genre and era, the instruments, the voice, and the production.

  3. Narrate the arrangement in order

    Brief it like a band: "start with just a drum loop, add the bass after four bars, then bring in the vocals". The small words carry the structure; without "just", the model fills the space.

  4. Say who sings, or that no one does

    Name the voice and its delivery: "breathy female vocal, conversational verses, the chorus belted". For no vocals, turn on Instrumental.

  5. Bring original lyrics, or let it write them

    Without lyrics, it writes its own to fit the length. To use yours, paste them after the description, one sung line per line, sized to the Duration.

Fill in this template

Replace each part in square brackets with your own idea, and leave out a part you do not need.

Template
[Genre], [tempo] BPM, in [key] — [instruments], [production and space], [mood]. [How the song unfolds, in order]. [Vocals].
The template, filled in
1980s synth-pop, 112 BPM, in A minor — gated drums, a shimmering arpeggiated synth, a punchy slap bass, glossy stadium reverb, bittersweet and nostalgic. Start with just the synth arpeggio, bring in the drums and bass after four bars, drop to the bass alone before the last chorus, and end on a clean final hit. Breathy female lead vocal, conversational verses, a soaring chorus sung in English.
  • [Genre] The style, with its era when it matters: 1980s synth-pop, Delta blues, UK garage.
  • [tempo] The speed in beats per minute: about 70 for a slow ballad, 120 for dance, 170 for drum and bass.
  • [key] The key, such as A minor, when it matters, for example to layer the song with other music. Leave the key out otherwise.
  • [instruments] The main sounds, named exactly: muted guitar chops, a warm sub bass, brushed drums.
  • [production and space] How it is recorded: close-mic'd, tape saturation, plate reverb, recorded in a stairwell.
  • [mood] The feeling: wistful, triumphant, eerie, rooftop-at-sunset.
  • [How the song unfolds, in order] The arrangement, like a brief to a band: start with just piano, drums enter after eight bars, a big final chorus.
  • [Vocals] Who sings, how, and in what language: a raspy male vocal, a belted chorus, sung in English. Or "Instrumental only".

Prompts to start from

  • An instrumental in one line

    French house, 122 BPM — filtered disco sample chops, sidechained bass, tight four-on-the-floor kick, rooftop-at-sunset mood, warm analog glue

    Why it works: Genre, tempo, instruments, production, and mood are all decided in one line. Turn on Instrumental and set the Duration to 30 seconds.

  • A song arranged like a band brief

    UK garage, 132 BPM — start with just a shuffled drum loop, add a warm sub bassline after four bars, then bring in chopped vocal stabs for the drop. Breathy female vocal, conversational verses, the hook sung twice.

    Why it works: "Start with just", "after four bars", and "then bring in" lay the song out in time, and the last sentence casts the singer.

  • A drum loop

    boom bap drum break, 90 BPM, dusty and swung, four bars, no melody — just drums

    Why it works: A loop is about what to leave out: the bars, the tempo, and "no melody — just drums". Turn on Instrumental and set the Duration to 10 seconds.

  • An ad bed with a voiceover

    Track for a premium running-shoe commercial. Bright, driving and polished, 118 BPM, synth bass and crisp claps. Voiceover only. The script begins: "Every mile starts lighter." End on the brand name "Stride", spoken over a final chord.

    Why it works: The purpose sets the tone, "Voiceover only" swaps the singer for a spoken script, the opening line is quoted exactly, and the brand name lands on the last chord.

  • Your own lyrics

    Bedroom pop about a city at 5am, 96 BPM, A minor — muted guitar chops, soft breakbeat, tape-warm bass. Verse close and conversational, chorus opens wide with stacked harmonies.

[Verse]
Streetlights blinking out one by one
Bakery windows catching the sun
[Chorus]
We stayed up, we stayed up
Long enough to see it start again

    Why it works: The description comes first and the original lyrics after it, one sung line per line, with plain section labels. One verse and one chorus fit a 60-second song.

Advanced

Advanced Eleven Music prompting

Techniques for more control once the basics work.

Structure: five decisions, then the arrangement

Eleven Music reads a prompt best in this order: genre, tempo, and key first; then the instruments, the production, and the mood; then the arrangement in time order; then the vocals. Everything goes into the one prompt.

Short, evocative prompts give freer and more surprising results; detailed prompts give control. Constrain what matters to you and leave room everywhere else. A purpose works as a prompt too: "a track for a sneaker ad" or "peaceful meditation music with a voiceover" lets the model choose a fitting tone and structure.

  • Mark silence and bare parts, or the model fills them: "just drums", "solo piano", "the band drops out for two bars".
  • End on something you can cut on: "ends on a clean final hit", "rings out on one sustained chord".
  • To keep several tracks of a series together, reuse the same genre, tempo, key, and instrument line word for word in every prompt.

Describe the sound, not the artist

Eleven Music refuses a prompt that names an artist, a band, or a song, or that quotes lyrics from an existing song, and "in the style of" someone counts as naming them. A refused generation is blocked and refunded.

So take the sound you have in mind apart and describe each piece: the genre and the era, the instruments and their tones, the tempo, the kind of voice and how it sings, and how the record was produced. A good description of a record, the kind a music critic writes, is exactly the prompt you need, and it often pins the sound down better than a name would.

  • Name the era and the scene: "late-1970s New York disco", "early-1990s alternative rock", "1960s Detroit soul".
  • Describe the voice: "a smoky contralto with a slow vibrato", "a nasal, half-spoken male vocal", "a bright pop vocal with stacked harmonies".
  • Describe the production: "tape-saturated drums in a dead room", "glossy, sidechained synths", "lo-fi four-track hiss".
  • Name the signature sounds: "a talk-box lead", "booming 808 bass", "a swirling organ", "a twangy baritone guitar with heavy tremolo".
  • Instead of a song title, say what the song is about: "a song about leaving a small town at night".

A sound described, not named

Early-1990s alternative rock, 120 BPM — a clean, chorused guitar in the verses that explodes into fuzzy distortion in the chorus, a loose, heavy drummer, a thick, overdriven bass, recorded live in a small room. Restless and raw. Quiet verse, explosive chorus, quiet verse, explosive chorus, then a feedback-drenched ending. A raspy, strained male vocal, mumbled in the verses and screamed in the chorus.

Why it works: It names no band, yet the era, the loud-quiet dynamics, the guitar tones, the room, and the voice describe the sound precisely.

Tempo, key, and era

Write the tempo in BPM and add a key when it matters: "128 BPM, in F minor". The model holds both closely enough to layer the result with other music.

A named era sets the whole production character: "1950s rock and roll with slapback echo", "1990s jungle". An era can even change during one track, and the transitions stay coherent.

One melody through a century of recording

one melody carried through a century of recording, without stopping — it starts on a crackling 1920s gramophone as hot jazz, turns into 1950s rock and roll with slapback echo, blooms into 1970s disco, gets swallowed by a 1990s jungle rave, and lands in the present as glossy hyperpop. The same tune the whole way.

Why it works: Each era brings its own recording sound, and the prompt narrates the changes in order so the transitions stay smooth. Give it a long Duration.

Production and space

Production words change how a song sounds as much as its instruments do. When you lack the word, describe the room: "sounds like it was recorded in a stairwell".

Mood words work both ways: abstract ("eerie", "foreboding") and precise musical language ("dissonant violin screeches over a pulsing sub-bass").

WriteWhat it does
sidechainedThe music ducks under every kick drum: the pumping sound of dance music.
close-mic'dRecorded right at the source: intimate and detailed.
bone-dryNo reverb at all.
tape saturationWarm, slightly compressed analog grit.
plate reverbA smooth, bright reverb, classic on vocals and snares.
tape echo throwsSingle words or hits repeated by a tape delay.
wow and flutterThe slight pitch wobble of old tape.
dusty vinyl crackleThe surface noise of an old record.
dead roomA small, padded room with no echo.
gospel roomA big, reverberant church sound.
warm analog glueA mix that sounds of one piece, as if run through analog gear.

Vocals and lyrics

By default a prompt gets vocals, with lyrics the model writes to fit the length. Describe the voice and its delivery: whispered, belted, breathy, raw, live, conversational, deadpan, aggressive, glitching, or in stacked harmonies. For several singers, write "two singers harmonizing in C". Name the language: "sung in Japanese".

For your own lyrics, put them after the description, one sung line per line, with plain section labels like [Verse] and [Chorus]. They must be original. Size them to the Duration: a 30-second clip fits one verse or one chorus, not a whole song.

  • Place the vocals in time with words: "lyrics begin at 15 seconds", "instrumental only after 1:45".
  • Never send lyrics with Instrumental on, or write both "instrumental" and a singer: the two instructions fight.
  • For a jingle, quote the words to be sung and say where they land: a bright female vocal sings "Morning Bean" at the end.

A song in Japanese

1980s Japanese city pop, 104 BPM, in E major — glossy electric piano, slap bass, bright brass stabs, clean funky guitar, a polished studio sheen, a carefree late-summer drive mood. Start with the brass hook, settle into a laid-back verse, then lift into a big, sunny chorus. Smooth female vocal, sung in Japanese, with airy backing harmonies in the chorus.

Why it works: The genre, era, and instruments set the sound, the arrangement gives it a shape, and naming the language sets the lyrics the model writes.

Loops, stems, and sound design

A loop prompt is about exclusion: give the bars, the BPM, and the key, then say what is banned, as in "four bars, no melody — just drums".

For a single part, put "solo" before an instrument ("solo piano in C minor, 72 BPM, soft and intimate") and "a cappella" before a voice ("a cappella male chorus, 90 BPM, in D major"), with the key, the tempo, and the tone.

Sounds that are not music work too. Take a real sound, give it one property it should not have, and describe the result plainly.

A storm that keeps time

a thunderstorm in 6/8 — thunder lands on the downbeat, rain fills the offbeats, distant lightning as crash cymbals

Why it works: A real sound gets one property it should not have, a time signature, and each part of the storm gets its place in the bar. Turn on Instrumental.

Music for ads and video

For an ad, say the purpose and the energy, then write "Voiceover only", quote the opening line exactly, and say where the brand name lands.

To score a video, choose a Duration at least as long as the edit and trim the song to fit in your editor. End the arrangement on something you can cut on.

Common mistakes

Avoid this, do this instead

  • Avoid: An artist, band, or song name, or "in the style of" someone.

    Instead: The genre, era, instruments, voice, and production that make that sound.

  • Avoid: Lyrics from an existing song.

    Instead: Original lyrics, or none: the model writes its own.

  • Avoid: An open prompt that leaves the five decisions to the model.

    upbeat electronic track

    Instead: Genre, mood, instruments, tempo, and era, all decided.

    Melodic house, 124 BPM, in G minor — rolling sub bass, crisp four-on-the-floor kick, plucked synth arpeggios, airy pads, polished modern production, euphoric late-night mood.

  • Avoid: Silence left implied.

    A drum intro, then the full band comes in.

    Instead: The bare parts written in, with "just".

    Start with just drums for four bars, then bring in the bass, then the full band.

  • Avoid: Lyrics with Instrumental on, or both "instrumental" and a singer.

    Instead: One or the other.

  • Avoid: A whole song of lyrics in a short clip.

    Instead: Lyrics sized to the Duration: one verse or chorus for a 30-second clip.

  • Avoid: An @ in the prompt.

    Instead: Words only: Mage reads @ followed by letters as a saved handle, and stops the generation if you have not saved it.

FAQ

Eleven Music prompting questions

Why was my Eleven Music prompt refused?
It named an artist, a band, or a song, asked for the style of someone, or quoted lyrics from an existing song. Describe the sound instead: the genre and era, the instruments, the tempo, the kind of voice, and the production. A refused generation is refunded.
How do I get the sound of an artist without naming them?
Take the sound apart: the genre and era, the signature instruments and their tones, the tempo, the kind of voice and how it sings, and the way it was produced. Describe each one plainly, as a music critic would.
How long should an Eleven Music prompt be?
One line that makes the five decisions (genre, mood, instruments, tempo, era) is enough for a good result. Add the arrangement and the vocals when you want control, and keep it short when you want to be surprised.
Can Eleven Music sing my own lyrics?
Yes, if they are original. Put them after the description, one sung line per line, with labels like [Verse] and [Chorus], and size them to the Duration.
How do I make an instrumental with Eleven Music?
Turn on Instrumental, and leave any singer or lyrics out of the prompt.
Does Eleven Music follow BPM and key?
Yes, closely enough to layer the result with other music. Write them as "128 BPM, in F minor".
Can Eleven Music make loops and sound effects?
Yes. For a loop, give the bars, the tempo, and the key, and say what to leave out: "four bars, no melody — just drums". For sound design, take a real sound and give it one property it should not have.

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