Generate Your First AI Song

This tutorial walks you through generating your first AI song with MusicWave, from logging in to downloading a finished track.

Before you start

You'll need:

• A free MusicWave account (sign up here)
• A song idea or genre in mind
• About 5 minutes

No music theory or production experience required.

Step 1: Open the music generator

After logging in, you'll land on your dashboard. Click Generate Music to open the main creation interface.

You'll see:

• A large prompt input field
• Generation options on the side
• A history of your previous generations (empty for first-time users)

Step 2: Plan your prompt

Before typing, think about what you want. Answer these questions:

1. What genre? Pop, rock, lo-fi, EDM, classical, jazz, hip-hop?
2. What mood? Happy, sad, energetic, calm, mysterious, romantic?
3. What instruments? Piano, guitar, drums, synth, strings?
4. Vocals or instrumental?
5. How long? 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes?
6. What's the use case? Background music, a song to listen to, a video soundtrack?

Writing answers down before prompting helps avoid vague results.

Step 3: Write your prompt

Combine your answers into a single descriptive sentence.

Beginner template

[Mood] [genre] song with [instruments] for [use case]

Example: "Upbeat lo-fi song with piano and soft drums for studying"

Intermediate template

[Genre] track in [tempo] BPM, [mood] mood, featuring [instrument list], [structural notes]

Example: "Indie pop track at 110 BPM, melancholic mood, featuring acoustic guitar and gentle vocals, builds up at the chorus"

Advanced template

[Detailed style reference], [key], [tempo], [vocal description], [instrumentation], [arrangement notes], [mood evolution]

Example: "90s alternative rock in E minor at 120 BPM, raspy male vocals, distorted guitars and pounding drums, quiet verse loud chorus dynamic, melancholic but defiant mood"

Step 4: Configure options

In the side panel, set:

• Duration: Start with 1-2 minutes for testing
• Vocals: On (to hear the AI sing) or Off (instrumental only)
• Quality: Standard (faster, fewer credits) or High (slower, better)
• Variations: 1 (faster) or 2-4 (more options to choose from)

Step 5: Click Generate

Press the Generate button. You'll see a progress indicator.

Generation time depends on:

• Duration — longer songs take longer
• Quality setting — High quality takes 2-3x longer
• Server load — busy times add a few seconds

Typical times:

• 30 seconds, standard: 20-30 seconds
• 1 minute, standard: 30-60 seconds
• 3 minutes, high quality: 90-150 seconds

Step 6: Listen to the result

Once generated, the track appears in your history with a play button. Click play.

Listen for:

• Does the genre match what you asked for?
• Is the mood right?
• Are the instruments present?
• Does the structure feel complete?

If something is off, that's normal for first attempts. Don't get discouraged.

Step 7: Refine if needed

If the result isn't quite right, try one of these approaches:

A. Regenerate with the same prompt

Sometimes the same prompt produces better results on a second try. Click Regenerate to try again.

B. Edit the prompt

Add or change details. For example:

• If too slow → "...at faster tempo, 130 BPM"
• If wrong instruments → "...remove the drums, add piano"
• If wrong mood → "...more uplifting, less melancholic"

C. Try a different prompt entirely

If the results are way off, sometimes starting fresh works better than tweaking.

Step 8: Download the track

Once you have a result you like:

1. Click the download icon next to the track
2. Choose format:

   • MP3 — smaller file, good for sharing
   • WAV — larger file, best for video editing or further production
3. The file saves to your device's downloads folder

Common first-time experiences

"It sounds generic"

Your prompt was probably too vague. Add specific details about mood, instruments, and reference styles.

"The vocals are weird"

AI vocals are improving but not always perfect. Try generating instrumental versions, or add more specific vocal descriptions like "raspy male vocals" or "smooth female alto."

"The genre is wrong"

Be more explicit about subgenre. Instead of "rock," try "90s grunge rock" or "modern indie rock."

"It cuts off abruptly"

Increase the duration setting, or include "ends with a fade out" in your prompt.

What's next?

Now that you've generated your first song:

• Best Prompts for AI Music — Learn advanced prompting techniques
• Genre-Specific Prompting — Templates for specific genres
• Stem Splitter Guide — Separate your generated track into instruments

Try MusicWave free →