Suno v6: Prompt weighting and instruction priority
Build a Suno v6 prompt weighting workflow with ranked instructions, a reusable template, and a controlled listening test. You will finish with a saved prompt and compared generations showing which requirements survived. This tutorial assumes basic knowledge of genre, tempo, verses, and choruses.
1. What you need
- A Suno Pro or Premier account for the core v6 model.
- Suno’s web Create workspace, with Custom mode available.
- Enough generation credits for four runs, producing eight tracks under the documented two-song workflow.
- Headphones or speakers, with playback volume unchanged during comparisons.
- A text document named
v6-priority-testfor prompts, settings, and listening notes. - The original sample lyrics below, or your own unchanged lyrics.
No audio upload, reference track, vocal profile, plugin, or mastering processor is needed for this test.
2. Step 1 — Establish what prompt weighting actually controls
Open Create, then select v6 from the model dropdown. Choose Custom mode to separate musical directions from lyrics. Some interface versions describe this workspace as Advanced mode.
The official v6 FAQ distinguishes three models. Core v6 and v6-wild require Pro or Premier. The v6-mini variant is available across plans.
Keep core v6 selected throughout this exercise. Substituting another variant changes the test, even when every word stays identical.
Open the available advanced controls and establish these starting values.
| Control | Starting value | Purpose in this exercise | |---|---:|---| | Variety, when available | 0 | Prevent automatic style-prompt variation. | | Weirdness, when available | 50% | Use Suno’s documented normal reference point. | | Style Influence, when available | 75% | Establish a fixed, relatively strong style setting. | | Instrumental | Off | Allow the supplied lyrics to be sung. |
The 75% value is an experimental starting point, not an official optimum. If a control is unavailable, record that fact rather than searching for an equivalent text command.
Separate confirmed controls from prompt-engineering advice before continuing.
- Confirmed: Variety adjusts style prompts; Suno recommends 0 for retaining control over style tags.
- Confirmed: Style Influence controls overall closeness to the style input.
- Confirmed: Weirdness spans Safe to Chaos; Suno identifies 50% as the normal reference point.
- Not documented: Numerical weights assigned to individual instructions, phrases, or tokens.
- Not documented: A guaranteed ranking algorithm based on position, repetition, or capital letters.
The official Creative Sliders guide describes global controls, not individual phrase weights. Therefore, Style Influence is not a way to prioritize vocals over drums.
Do not enter syntax such as (intimate vocals:1.5) or genre::2. Suno does not document these as phrase-weighting commands.
For this tutorial, prompt weighting means organizing natural-language emphasis and testing its effect. Wording, order, limited repetition, and specificity are indirect strategies, not verified internal weighting mechanisms.
Check: You should see core v6 selected, with the available control values recorded in your document.
Steps, as measured in this article's example.
3. Step 2 — Rank the creative brief before writing
Add three headings to v6-priority-test: Essential, Secondary, and Optional. Enter the following brief beneath them.
| Tier | Enter these requirements | Evaluation rule | |---|---|---| | Essential | Acoustic indie folk; intimate solo lead; sparse arrangement. | Reject a take when any requirement clearly fails. | | Secondary | Approximately 88 BPM; fingerpicked guitar; warm bass; brushed percussion. | Prefer closer matches after essentials pass. | | Optional | Faint room ambience; subtle tape warmth. | Accept their absence. |
These tiers describe your selection criteria. They are not special Suno commands or separate priority fields.
Limit this first test to three essentials. A brief with twelve non-negotiable requirements leaves little room for interpreting failures.
Write this sentence above the table.
Essential direction: acoustic indie folk, intimate solo singing, and a sparse arrangement.
Use observable language rather than abstract praise. Replace “beautiful vocals” with “close, quiet solo singing.” Replace “professional production” with “dry lead vocal, restrained percussion, and clear guitar transients.”
Treat requested tempo as a musical target, not a timing lock. An 88 BPM request can produce a different pulse or a half-time interpretation.
For this exercise, define an acceptable secondary tempo range of 84–92 BPM. Keep that tolerance in your notes, not as competing numbers inside the prompt.
The same principle applies to structure. A requested chorus sequence remains a generation request, not a guaranteed arrangement grid.
Check: Your document should identify exactly three rejection criteria, separate from preferences and optional texture.
4. Step 3 — Resolve contradictions with scope
Before drafting, search your brief for incompatible descriptors. Highlight any pair that appears to describe the same element differently.
For example, “intimate vocals with aggressive delivery” mixes recording perspective with performance intensity. These qualities can coexist, but the intended relationship needs explicit scope.
If both qualities matter, enter this wording in your notes.
Close, dry lead vocal throughout. Verses stay quiet; choruses become forceful through sharper consonants and controlled grit.
If intimacy matters more, enter this alternative instead.
Close, quiet lead vocal throughout. Express tension through clipped phrasing rather than shouting.
Choose one version. Do not paste both alternatives into the final prompt.
Apply the same method to “minimal production with dense instrumentation.” Minimal processing can coexist with many instruments, but sparse arrangement cannot imply everything playing continuously.
For a genuinely sparse result, enter this replacement.
Sparse arrangement with acoustic guitar and bass throughout. Brushed percussion enters only during choruses.
For many instruments with restrained processing, enter this alternative.
Dense ensemble arrangement with acoustic guitar, piano, strings, bass, and drums. Keep processing dry and restrained.
The first changes arrangement density. The second changes production treatment. Neither depends on the model guessing what “minimal” means.
For the running example, select the sparse arrangement and quiet-vocal alternatives. Remove the rejected alternatives from the working prompt.
Check: Every potentially conflicting descriptor should now have a section, instrument, or clear precedence attached.
5. Step 4 — Rewrite the prompt in a consistent order
Use this default sequence for prompt weighting experiments.
- Genre and the essential creative identity.
- Tempo and rhythmic feel.
- Structure and section changes.
- Instrumentation and arrangement density.
- Vocal character and delivery.
- Production style and optional texture.
This is a writing convention, not Suno’s documented instruction hierarchy. If vocals define the entire brief, mention their essential character in the opening sentence too.
Copy this weak prompt into your notes, not the generation field.
Make something amazing with tape warmth and room sound. Maybe indie folk, cinematic pop, or rock. Lots of instruments but very minimal. Intimate aggressive vocals, huge drums, no drums, around 88 BPM or faster. Surprise me.
The weak version foregrounds decoration, offers competing genres, and requests incompatible drum treatments. It also leaves vocal intensity and arrangement density unresolved.
Now paste this improved prompt into Styles, sometimes labeled Style or Style of Music.
Acoustic indie folk with intimate solo singing and a sparse arrangement. Approximately 88 BPM with a relaxed, steady pulse. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, brief outro. Fingerpicked acoustic guitar and warm bass; brushed percussion enters only in choruses. Close, quiet lead vocal throughout, with clear consonants and restrained dynamics. Dry, natural production with faint room ambience and subtle tape warmth. Preserve the intimate, sparse character through the final chorus.
The improved version selects one genre and leads with the three essentials. It gives each instrument a role and assigns percussion to specific sections.
The final sentence repeats only the central direction. This limited repetition is a hypothesis to test, not a numerical boost.
Avoid repeating every instruction. Additional repetitions consume space and can introduce conflicting variations.
Specificity also needs restraint. Requesting exact microphone models, compressor ratios, or frequency curves does not establish corresponding processing controls.
Keep audible outcomes in the prompt. Save technical processing decisions for editing or mixing tools that expose those parameters.
Check: The Styles field should describe one coherent performance, with optional texture appearing after the essential direction.
6. Step 5 — Separate lyrics from exclusions
Keep Instrumental switched off. Enter Quiet Window A in Title.
Paste these original lyrics into Lyrics.
[Verse]
Morning settles on the floor.
I leave my coat beside the door.
Your cup is cooling by the light.
We said enough to last the night.
[Chorus]
Leave the window open wide.
Let the quiet stay inside.
Nothing louder needs to grow.
Stay until the streetlights glow.
[Verse]
Footsteps fade beyond the stairs.
Dust turns slowly in the air.
I move the chair against the wall.
There is room to say it all.
[Chorus]
Leave the window open wide.
Let the quiet stay inside.
Nothing louder needs to grow.
Stay until the streetlights glow.
[Outro]
Stay until the streetlights glow.
Section labels provide arrangement cues, but do not lock the generated structure. Keep production paragraphs out of Lyrics to reduce ambiguity about performable text.
Open Advanced Options → Exclude, where available. Some layouts call this field Exclude Styles.
Enter the following exclusions.
shouted vocals, arena drums
Suno’s official Exclude instructions place unwanted elements in this dedicated field. Exclusions still require listening checks; they do not guarantee absence.
Keep the positive counterpart in Styles: quiet singing and brushed percussion. A prohibition alone does not describe the replacement you want.
Do not exclude “drums” globally here. That would conflict with the requested brushed percussion.
If Exclude is unavailable, leave it out of this experiment and record the limitation. Retain the positive instructions rather than inventing unsupported exclusion syntax.
Check: You should see lyrics, musical direction, and unwanted attributes separated into their respective fields.
7. Step 6 — Compare multiple generations with one changed variable
Save the complete setup as Prompt A in your document. Record the model, slider values, lyrics, exclusions, and title.
Click Create twice without changing anything. Under Suno’s documented workflow, each run produces two songs, giving four baseline tracks.
Label the resulting tracks A1, A2, A3, and A4 in your notes. Record links if renaming is unavailable.
Listen through every track at the same playback setting. Include both verses and the final chorus; an appropriate introduction does not establish full-track compliance.
Score each essential requirement using this scale.
| Score | Meaning | |---:|---| | 0 | Clearly absent or contradicted. | | 1 | Partly present or inconsistent. | | 2 | Clearly present throughout relevant sections. |
Create these columns: Track, Folk, Intimacy, Sparsity, Essential total, Tempo, and Notes. The essential total ranges from 0–6.
Record timestamps for failures. Write “1:04, chorus becomes shouted,” rather than “vocals wrong.”
Now create Prompt B by changing exactly one variable. Move the final sentence about preserving intimacy immediately after the opening sentence. Leave every other word and setting unchanged.
Generate twice again, producing B1 through B4. Score these tracks using the same criteria.
This tests instruction placement, not a verified positional weighting rule. Random variation remains, so one successful track cannot prove causation.
Compare how many tracks score 2 on all three essentials. Use secondary preferences only to choose between otherwise acceptable takes.
Optional tape warmth must never compensate for a failed essential. This prevents attractive minor details from hiding an incorrect creative direction.
Check: You should have eight scored tracks and a comparison based on essentials, not overall novelty.
8. Step 7 — Save a reusable prompt weighting template
Save the better-performing version as your working baseline. If neither version performs consistently, retain the simpler version for the troubleshooting checks below.
Copy this template into a separate document. Replace every brace-delimited placeholder before entering it into Suno.
{Primary genre} with {essential vocal identity} and {essential arrangement character}. Approximately {tempo} BPM with {groove}. {Section sequence and important transitions}. {Core instruments and their roles}; {section-specific additions}. {Vocal distance, intensity, phrasing, and section changes}. {Production treatment}. Optional texture: {one dispensable detail}. Preserve {single defining requirement} throughout.
Keep exclusions outside the template in the dedicated field. Keep lyric text and section labels in Lyrics.
Save these accompanying notes with each prompt weighting test.
Model: v6.
Variety: 0, if available.
Weirdness: 50%, if available.
Style Influence: 75%, if available.
Essential requirements: three observable criteria.
Changed variable: one phrase, position, exclusion, or control.
Comparison size: four tracks per version.
Acceptance: all essentials clearly present.
Do not transfer numerical settings between different controls without checking their labels. A global style setting and an individual phrase weight are different concepts.
Archive the exact prompt text alongside your chosen track. Save later lyric, artwork, or finishing decisions separately so they cannot obscure this generation experiment.
Check: Your saved package should contain the template, chosen baseline, settings, track links, and completed scorecard.
9. Troubleshooting
- Step 1: Your results differ after switching models. Return to core v6 and rebuild the comparison. Treat v6-mini or v6-wild as separate experiments, not additional samples from the same setup.
- Step 4: Tape texture appears, but the song becomes cinematic pop. Remove the optional texture sentence for the next batch. Keep the essential opening unchanged, then evaluate genre compliance before restoring decoration.
- Step 5: Vocals shout despite the exclusion. Check Lyrics for performance directions suggesting shouting. Remove any conflicting direction, then test that single correction without changing sliders.
- Step 6: The first chorus works, but the final chorus becomes crowded. Replace “brushed percussion enters only in choruses” with “choruses add brushed snare only.” Treat that narrower instrumentation request as the sole new variable.
- Step 6: One version sounds better only because it plays louder. Lower playback gain on the louder track during comparison. Do not mistake loudness for stronger prompt adherence.
10. Tools
Valkat Studio covers lyrics, Suno prompts, vocal profiles, mastering, cover art, and music videos. Its audio-finishing tools include the mastering suite.
11. Final thoughts
Keep the prompt weighting approach that produces more acceptable takes across repeated generations. Preserve the essentials, change one variable, and retain the evidence alongside the prompt. Treat every instruction as a request until the audio confirms it.