How to Use ChatGPT and Suno AI to Create Custom Cover Songs

Introduction

AI music tools are reshaping how musicians approach music creation, especially with covers. Whether you want to recreate a favorite song or explore new musical styles, tools like ChatGPT and Suno AI allow you to take control over vocal dynamics, instrumentation, and overall arrangement. In this guide, I’ll walk you through my process of covering Bob Marley’s “One Love” using AI, and show you how you can use the same methods to create covers that resonate with your audience.

Step 1: Priming ChatGPT as Your Expert Music Producer

Before diving into creating your cover, the first step was to ensure ChatGPT understood exactly what I needed. I primed ChatGPT to act as a music producer with knowledge of Suno AI, giving me the ability to generate the detailed instructions needed for custom vocal dynamics and arrangements.

Why This Step Matters: Priming ChatGPT helps you get tailored, actionable feedback. By setting it up as a music producer specializing in Suno AI, you receive targeted assistance with arrangement, vocal style, and tone.

How I Did It: I instructed ChatGPT to behave like an expert music producer focused on using Suno AI, enabling me to generate detailed, accurate prompts.

You are an expert music producer specializing in creating cover songs using Suno AI. You can identify the required elements, including arrangement, mood, tempo, vocal dynamics, and structure them in Suno AI’s custom lyrics section.
    

Step 2: Crafting the Custom Prompt for My Cover Song

When creating my cover of “One Love”, I wasn’t focused on replicating Bob Marley's tone. Instead, I aimed to match the vocal dynamics that are present in the tracks for my debut album. Suno AI is improving rapidly, but vocal control is still a challenge. For covers, I focused on making the result sound more human than perfect, reserving the need for precision for my original songs.

Why This Step Matters: Unlike original songs, covers can be more forgiving when it comes to vocal realism. The goal here was to balance the human-sounding vocals with a dynamic instrumental arrangement, without overspending credits on achieving perfection.

Custom Prompt Example:

[Intro: Gradually build and intensify with acoustic afrobeat, light percussion, and fierce 808s]
[Lead vocals: Deep, low-pitch, rasp, guttural Jamaican style; strong vibrato; aggressive delivery; soulful yet fierce tone]
[Chorus: Epic chanting backup vocals, call and response style, with increasing intensity]
[Verse 1: Add light reverb for depth; warm but powerful delivery]
[Outro: Gradual fade with deep harmonics and repeated chant]
    

Step 3: Crafting the Style of Music Prompt

To fit within Suno AI’s 120-character limit, I needed to create a concise yet descriptive Style of Music Prompt. This required me to carefully select the most important elements of the sound while keeping the prompt brief.

Why This Step Matters: The Style of Music Prompt directly influences how Suno AI interprets the sound. Crafting a concise, yet precise prompt ensures that you capture the mood and tone you’re aiming for, without exceeding character limits.

Final Style of Music Prompt:

Intense acoustic afrobeat, fierce 808s & bassline, deep rasp guttural Jamaican vocals, epic chanting, unity, hope.
    

Step 4: The Advanced Version of My Cover

After generating the advanced version of my cover, Suno AI produced a result that captured the vocal dynamics and instrumental structure I was aiming for. The vocals were human enough for a cover, meeting my expectations for this project.

Link to Advanced Cover: Listen to my advanced cover of “One Love”

You can also compare it to my basic version, which was created using simpler prompts.

Step 5: How You Can Create Your Own Cover Using ChatGPT

Now that you’ve seen my process, here’s how you can create your own custom cover song using ChatGPT and Suno AI:

1. Choose Your Song: Select a song you want to cover. Platforms like YouTube already handle copyright issues for cover songs, allowing you to focus on the creative process.
2. Use ChatGPT to Generate a Custom Prompt: Input the following template into ChatGPT, adjusting it to suit your style and the song you’re covering.

Create a custom song using the following instructions for a cover:

[Insert your own lyrics here.]

[Intro: Describe how you want the song to start. For example, gradual build with percussion or immediate vocal entry.]

[Lead vocals: Describe the vocal style you want. For example, soft delivery, strong, high-pitched, or deep and powerful.]

[Chorus: Describe how you want the chorus to sound. For example, harmonies, backing vocals, or call and response.]

[Verse 1: Describe the instrumental feel for the verse. For example, acoustic guitar with light percussion or electronic beats.]

[Outro: Describe how you want the song to end. For example, a fade-out or a strong, punchy ending.]

[Style of music: (Insert your preferred music style description here. Keep it within 120 characters for Suno AI).]
    

3. Refine Your Style of Music Prompt: Keep the style description under 120 characters for Suno AI. Here’s an example:

Soulful acoustic guitar, soft harmonies, mid-tempo beat, smooth vocals, peaceful, uplifting vibes.
    

4. Important Note: Do not make your track public on Suno AI, as this violates their Terms of Service. Instead, share your covers on platforms like YouTube or SoundCloud, where they can handle licensing.

Step 6: Leveraging YouTube to Connect with Fans

Cover songs are a great tool for reaching new listeners, especially on YouTube. However, beyond the technical side of creating music, it’s essential to connect with your audience personally. You can use cover songs to build a deeper relationship with potential fans by sharing why these songs are meaningful to you as a creator.

1. Build Personal Connection: Use your covers as an opportunity to share your story and what drives you as an artist. Explaining the emotional or creative reasons behind why you chose a particular song can help you connect with listeners on a personal level.
2. Multiple Content Opportunities: With a single cover song, you can create multiple content pieces:
   • A full music video for YouTube.
   • YouTube Shorts to tease parts of your cover or engage with viewers.
   • A video where you share why this cover is important to you, giving fans insight into your creative process.
3. Engage Your Audience Over Time: By rolling out different types of content over time, you’ll increase your reach and keep your audience engaged, making them more likely to explore your original music.
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Conclusion: Unleashing Your Creativity with AI Tools

Creating custom cover songs using ChatGPT and Suno AI offers incredible creative opportunities. Cover songs help you experiment with sound while giving you a platform to connect with new fans. Use this guide to start making your own custom covers, share your journey with your audience, and grow your presence online.