MiniMax Music 3 Prompting Guide

MiniMax Music 3 generates complete songs from two separate text inputs: a Caption that describes the music and Lyrics that define the words and song sections. It is designed to maintain themes, rhythm, vocal identity, and an evolving arrangement across a long track.

The model itself can generate songs up to five minutes, while Dopamine Girl currently offers maximum-duration choices of 1, 2, or 3 minutes and returns the finished song as an MP3. The selected duration is an upper bound: the model can end naturally before it when the song structure or lyrics are complete.

Keep Caption and Lyrics Separate

The two fields have different jobs:

Duplicating lyrics inside the Caption wastes space and can make the musical direction less clear. Describe how the song should sound in Caption and what the singer should sing in Lyrics.

Structure Lyrics With Section Tags

Section tags guide the song's large-scale structure. Useful tags include:

[Intro]
[Verse]
[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
[Post-Chorus]
[Bridge]
[Instrumental]
[Solo]
[Outro]

Put every tag on its own line. Do not write lyrics on the same line as a tag—the words after a leading tag can be dropped by the model's input format.

Use this:

[Verse]
Streetlights dissolve into the rain
Your voice is calling through the train

[Chorus]
We keep running into midnight
Holding sparks against the skyline

Not this:

[Verse] Streetlights dissolve into the rain

Tags guide rather than guarantee the final arrangement. Give each selected duration enough material: a few short lines may produce a short song even when the maximum duration is three minutes.

Write a Structured Caption

A concise natural-language Caption works for quick experiments. For stronger control, organize it into three sections in this order:

1. Global Metadata
2. Vocal Details
3. Arrangement

The official prompting guide recommends roughly 250–450 words for a detailed structured Caption. Treat that as a useful target, not a requirement. Specific, consistent instructions matter more than length.

1. Global Metadata

Describe the identity and emotional path of the whole song:

• genre and subgenre;
• tempo or energy level;
• key and scale only when they genuinely matter;
• emotional progression from opening to climax and resolution;
• a scene or listening context that anchors the mood;
• production character, such as intimate and natural or wide and polished.

Avoid using only broad modifiers such as epic, dark, or emotional. Pair them with an actual genre, instruments, and an energy arc.

2. Vocal Details

State the vocal identity explicitly:

• singer gender and vocal range or timbre;
• delivery in each section, such as restrained verses and a belted chorus;
• backing vocals, harmonies, doubles, or call-and-response;
• restrained vocal effects such as plate reverb or delay throws.

If the song should be instrumental, say so explicitly and name the instrument that carries the lead melody.

3. Arrangement

Write the arrangement as a timeline, not an equipment list:

• identify the primary instrument or motif that anchors the song;
• explain when secondary instruments enter, leave, or change;
• describe how drums, bass, and groove grow or strip back by section;
• reserve risers, sweeps, fills, reverbs, and other embellishments for specific transitions.

For example, instead of synth, bass, drums, guitar, write: A pulsing analog synth opens alone; bass and a restrained electronic kick enter in the verse; wide guitars and stacked drums lift the chorus; the bridge strips back to voice and pad before the full arrangement returns.

Copy-Ready Caption Template

Global Metadata
Genre and subgenre: [genre]. Tempo: [exact BPM, range, or qualitative pace].
The song begins [opening emotion], builds toward [climax], and resolves [ending emotion].
It suits [scene or listening context]. The production is [mix width, tone, dynamics, and overall finish].

Vocal Details
[Singer identity, gender, range, and timbre]. The verses are delivered [style], while the chorus becomes [style].
[Backing vocal or harmony plan]. Use [specific vocal effects] only in [sections or transitions].

Arrangement
[Primary instrument or motif] anchors the song. [Secondary instruments] enter during [section].
The groove begins [foundation], grows [section-by-section development], strips back during [section],
and returns [final development]. Use [specific textures or effects] at [specific transitions].

Complete Example

Caption

Global Metadata
Dreamy synth-pop with a subtle new-wave influence at a steady mid-tempo pace. The song opens with quiet anticipation,
gains confidence through the verses, and releases into a bright, expansive chorus. The bridge becomes briefly lonely
before the final chorus resolves with warmth and momentum. It should feel like driving through a rain-lit city after
midnight. Use a polished but breathable mix with warm low frequencies, crisp percussion, and a wide chorus.

Vocal Details
A clear female mezzo-soprano with an intimate, slightly breathy tone. Keep the verses close-miked and restrained, then
open into a confident sustained delivery in each chorus. Add soft doubled vocals in the pre-chorus and wide stacked
harmonies on the last two lines of the chorus. Use short plate reverb throughout and one subtle delay throw at the end
of each chorus.

Arrangement
A pulsing analog synth arpeggio establishes the central motif in the intro and continues quietly beneath the verses.
A rounded synth bass and tight electronic kick enter with the first verse. Muted guitar accents and rising pads build
the pre-chorus. The chorus adds wider drums, brighter synth chords, and layered backing vocals. Strip the bridge down
to the lead vocal, bass pulse, and distant pad, then rebuild with a snare fill into a final chorus featuring an added
counter-melody. End by removing the drums and letting the original arpeggio fade into rain-like ambience.

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse]
Streetlights shimmer on the glass
Every color moves too fast
I hear your echo down the line
Calling me through borrowed time

[Pre-Chorus]
The city falls away below
There is only where we go

[Chorus]
We keep running into midnight
Holding sparks against the skyline
If the morning finds us changing
We will leave the dark behind

[Verse]
Silver signals cross the rain
Drawing maps across the train
Every turn becomes a door
Leading somewhere worth the fall

[Bridge]
When the noise is gone
Will the rhythm carry on?

[Chorus]
We keep running into midnight
Holding sparks against the skyline
If the morning finds us changing
We will leave the dark behind

[Outro]
Leave the dark behind

Instrumental Tracks

Dopamine Girl currently requires the Lyrics field even when you want an instrumental. Use a non-empty tag-only structure and make the instrumental direction explicit in Caption:

[Intro]
[Instrumental]
[Solo]
[Outro]

In Vocal Details, write something like: Instrumental track with no singer. A lyrical tenor saxophone carries the lead melody. Then describe how that lead instrument changes through the sections.

Duration and Seed

• Max duration: Choose 1, 2, or 3 minutes. This is the maximum requested duration and the pricing unit, not a guarantee that every song will fill the entire time.
• Lyrics length: Longer tracks need enough sections and lyrics to sustain them. Add another verse, chorus, bridge, or instrumental passage when a song ends too early.
• Fixed seed: Reuse a seed while revising one part of a prompt so comparisons are easier. A fixed seed improves repeatability but does not guarantee identical audio after other inputs change.

Fix Common Prompting Problems

Lyrics disappear after a tag

Move the tag onto its own line. [Verse] First lyric line can lose the lyric text; place the lyric on the next line.

The song becomes instrumental unexpectedly

State the singer's gender, timbre, and delivery explicitly in Vocal Details, and provide enough singable lyrics for the selected duration.

The result ignores part of the style

Remove contradictions. Preserve required genre, tempo, vocal, instrument, and exclusion instructions across the whole Caption. When instructions conflict, explicit requirements should remain the clearest statements.

The arrangement feels static

Describe entrances, exits, density changes, and the energy of each section. Tell the model what changes in the chorus and bridge instead of listing instruments once.

The song is shorter than requested

The duration is an upper bound. Expand the Lyrics with complete sections and describe a longer arrangement arc rather than repeating vague mood words.

The music sounds forced or overly literal

Remove exact BPM, key, or production details that are not essential. Precise values are useful when intentional, but invented precision can reduce the model's freedom to make a musical result.

Pre-Generation Checklist

• Caption and Lyrics contain different information.
• Every lyric section tag is on its own line.
• Lyrics contain enough sections for the selected duration.
• Global Metadata, Vocal Details, and Arrangement do not contradict one another.
• Vocal identity is explicit, or the track is explicitly instrumental with a named lead instrument.
• The arrangement describes a timeline of entrances, exits, and intensity changes.
• BPM and key are included only when they are important.
• Required instruments and exclusions remain consistent from beginning to end.