From Making Music with AI · Chapter 4 · Project 01
Project 01: The Retirement Blues. Create a humorous, complete blues song about retirement, compare versions, make one improvement, and keep your favorite, all in about 30 minutes. Here you can hear every example from the project and download the printable worksheet.
Hear the Retirement Blues
Suno creates two versions of your song every time you click Create. Listen to each one all the way through and score it on the Song Scorecard.
PROMPT 4.1 · PROJECT 01 STARTING PROMPT
“Retired with Forever”
The prompt:
A humorous Chicago blues shuffle about a retired man with endless free time who never gets anything done. Gravelly male vocals, electric guitar, harmonica, catchy chorus, short guitar solo.
The result, Version A:
The result, Version B:
Listen to both. Same prompt, two different songs. Many listeners find that one version wins on some points while the other wins on different ones.
The Three Revisions
Change one thing at a time. Each revision changes a single detail in the starting prompt, shown in bold. Listen for what that one change does to the song.
PROMPT 4.2 · REVISION: A DIFFERENT VOICE
“Who’s Got All Day?”
The prompt:
A humorous Chicago blues shuffle about a retired man with endless free time who never gets anything done. Sassy, soulful female vocals, electric guitar, harmonica, catchy chorus, short guitar solo.
The result:
PROMPT 4.3 · REVISION: A SLOWER, LAZIER FEEL
“Frank’s Got Nothin’ on the Schedule”
The prompt:
A humorous, slow and lazy Chicago blues shuffle about a retired man with endless free time who never gets anything done. Gravelly male vocals, electric guitar, harmonica, catchy chorus, short guitar solo.
The result:
PROMPT 4.4 · REVISION: CLEARER WORDS
“A Very Busy Man”
The prompt:
A humorous Chicago blues shuffle about a retired man with endless free time who never gets anything done. Gravelly male vocals sung clearly and up front, electric guitar, harmonica, catchy chorus, short guitar solo.
The result:
Try It Yourself: Your Own First Song
Now repeat the six steps with your idea. Take out the “My First Music Idea” worksheet you completed in Chapter 1 and turn it into a one- or two-sentence description using this pattern.
PROMPT 4.5 · YOUR FIRST SONG (FILL IN THE BLANKS)
“Nowhere to Go”
The pattern:
A [mood] [style] song about [your subject]. [Type of voice], [two or three instruments], [one detail, such as “a catchy chorus” or “a gentle ending”].
Our filled-in prompt:
A good-natured Chicago Blues song about Retirement. Female voice with Guitar, harmonica, and piano, with a catchy chorus.
The result:
For example, a reader who chose a birthday song for a grandmother might write:
PROMPT 4.6 · EXAMPLE
“Rose’s Apple Pie”
The prompt:
A warm, joyful country song about a grandmother named Rose who bakes the best apple pie in Colorado. Friendly female vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, a sing-along chorus.
The result:
A note on names: Including a real first name, like “Rose,” often helps the AI write personal lyrics, but the AI may not always sing the name clearly or may change it.
Print the Worksheet
PRINTABLE WORKSHEET · PDF
Project 01: The Retirement Blues
Three pages, US Letter. The six steps, building-block table, Song Scorecard, revision options, Finished-Product Checklist, and the fill-in-the-blanks pattern for your own first song.
Haven’t started yet? The My First Music Idea worksheet from Chapter 1 helps you choose what to fill in.
