Dynamic vs. Complex Progressions in Suno AI Music Composition
Gary WhittakerShare
Dynamic Progression vs. Complex Progression in Suno AI: Crafting Engaging Chord Sequences
In music composition, the choice of chord progression plays a pivotal role in shaping the emotional and structural journey of a piece. Within Suno AI, understanding and utilizing different types of progressions can significantly enhance the depth and appeal of your tracks. This guide delves into the distinctions between Dynamic Progressions and Complex Progressions, providing insights on how to effectively implement them using Suno AI's prompt engineering capabilities.
Understanding Dynamic Progressions
Dynamic Progressions are chord sequences designed to create a sense of movement and forward momentum in music. They often lead the listener through a journey, building anticipation and driving the composition towards a resolution.
Characteristics of Dynamic Progressions:
- Forward Motion: Chords transition in a way that propels the music forward.
- Anticipation: Creates a sense of expectancy, often resolving to a tonic or home chord.
- Common Patterns: Includes progressions like the circle of fifths or ascending/descending sequences.
Implementing Dynamic Progressions in Suno AI:
To incorporate dynamic progressions into your compositions using Suno AI, consider the following prompt structure:
[dynamic chord progression, upbeat tempo, driving rhythm]This prompt guides Suno AI to generate a composition featuring a dynamic chord progression with an energetic tempo and rhythm.
Understanding Complex Progressions
Complex Progressions involve intricate chord sequences that add depth and sophistication to a composition. They often feature unconventional harmonies, extended chords, and unexpected shifts, providing a rich and engaging listening experience.
Characteristics of Complex Progressions:
- Intricate Harmonies: Utilizes extended chords such as 7ths, 9ths, or 11ths.
- Unexpected Modulations: Includes key changes or chromatic movements that surprise the listener.
- Rich Textures: Layers multiple harmonic elements to create depth.
Implementing Complex Progressions in Suno AI:
To craft compositions with complex progressions in Suno AI, you can use prompts like:
[complex chord progression, jazz influences, extended harmonies]This prompt instructs Suno AI to generate music featuring complex chord progressions with jazz elements and rich harmonies.
Combining Dynamic and Complex Progressions
For a more nuanced composition, consider blending dynamic and complex progressions. This approach can create a piece that is both engaging and harmonically rich.
Prompt Example:
[dynamic and complex chord progression, evolving structure, emotional depth]This prompt directs Suno AI to compose a track that combines the forward momentum of dynamic progressions with the intricate harmonies of complex progressions, resulting in an emotionally compelling piece.
Conclusion
Understanding the distinctions between dynamic and complex progressions allows you to tailor your compositions more effectively within Suno AI. By crafting precise prompts, you can guide the AI to generate music that aligns with your creative vision, whether you're aiming for energetic drive, harmonic complexity, or a fusion of both.
For further insights into advanced prompt engineering with Suno AI, consider exploring the following resource:
Advanced Suno AI Prompt Engineering for Experienced Users
4 comments
Thanks for the lengthy response Gary. After working with Suno for a while now I have many questions for the developers but the biggest one I think would this: Will Suno’s AI ever become interactive in the same way that most of the AI chatbots are so that you can get it to work WITH you instead of against you as it does most of the time now? For example when you chat with chatGPT you give it a description of the image you want it to create and it does it, then you see that it didnt get some of the details right or you change your mind and you want a detail or two changed, you can just tell chatGPT that and it will attempt to generate an image closer to your specifications. I am actually really curious why they didnt just include the ai chat interaction functionality to begin with since it is actually native to all ai tools since they are all based on the original open source chatGPT by OpenAI. Kind of suspicious if you ask me. They dont really seem all that interested in people actually being in control of what they create, like they really just want ai to do it all. Ive heard Udio gives you more control over song generation, is that true?
Thanks for both great questions. Just a quick note: I don’t work for Suno or have any official connection—this is based on my own testing and feedback from other free users.
First question: Yes, chord progression tags like the ones in square brackets go in the Lyrics section, not the Styles box. If you want the progression to guide the song from start to finish, it’s best to place it right at the top of the lyrics.
If you want the song to start with one chord progression and shift to another halfway through—like starting slow and sad, then becoming upbeat—you can try placing a second chord progression tag later in the lyrics. For example, you’d start with one progression at the top, write out your first verse or chorus, then insert another chord progression before continuing. Suno may interpret this change and shift the feel of the song accordingly. It’s not guaranteed, but people have had some success with that method. You can also help guide the mood change by describing the shift in your Style or Lyrics prompt—for example: “start slow and emotional, then build into something upbeat and hopeful.”
Second question: Unfortunately, there’s no official way to force Suno to follow an exact chord progression the whole way through. The tags are treated more like guidance than strict instructions. But many users have gotten decent results by placing the same chord progression tag at the top of the Lyrics section, and then reusing the same prompt across different tracks while changing only the Styles box. This can help you compare how one progression sounds across genres like pop, rock, reggae, or acoustic. It’s not perfect, but it’s a practical way to experiment with musical direction using the same harmonic base.
Let me know if you want help setting up a test prompt for this.
So our chord progression tag, like your examples in the square brackets, goes in the lyrics section right? So I guess that would have to be the very first tag at the very top of the lyrics then since we want the song to follow it from start to finish. What if we want it to start with one chord progression style and then change to another like half way throough the composition? Like maybe start out slow and sad then suddenly (or gradually if thats possible) become upbeat about halfway through the song? Is that possible with multiple tags?
So.. no way to instruct Suno to use a specific chord progression sequence then? Would be cool to be able to just copy and paste the same chord progression pattern into a series of new tracks each with a different style tag to hear what the same pattern sounds like in different styles.