Suno Control Plan: Keep The O Lit

Created after: `composition-brief.md` Created before: `guide-track.json`, guide rendering, and final `suno-prompt.md`

What Must Suno Obey?

96 BPM working pulse.
E minor tonal centre with suspended colour.
Close, dry, practical female alto vocal.
Small chorus lift without anthem behaviour.
The flickering-sign motif as a recurring identity object.
Restrained arrangement: work rhythm, light percussion, warm bass, modest glow.
Ending that remains held and unresolved.

Which Source Leads?

Primary lead: lyrics and section tags. The song is voice-led and object-led; the lyric image must stay intelligible.

Secondary lead: style prompt. The style prompt will set the production world: nocturnal service-station folk, dry vocal, restrained pulse, no glossy pop.

Support lead: audio guide. The guide should map motif, tempo, density curve, and section entrances, but should not behave as a full demo that Suno must copy.

Not leading today: custom model, My Taste, Extend, Cover. Dakota voice may be selected manually in Suno if available, but the prompt must stand without relying on it.

Guide Type Decision

Chosen type: motif guide.

The study justifies a guide because the composition depends on one small recurring machine figure: the failing O/sign ballast motif. Text alone can describe "flicker" and "working pulse," but Suno may turn that into generic synth shimmer or pop arpeggio. A motif guide gives Suno a concrete musical object to carry through the form while leaving vocal melody and production interpretation open.

Why Not Other Guide Types?

**Structure guide:** useful, but too broad. The section tags and style prompt can carry most structure.
**Groove guide:** partly relevant, but the groove is simple enough to state in the prompt.
**Vocal phrasing guide:** not primary. The lyrics already carry phrasing through short lines and section cues.
**Full demo guide:** too controlling. The study wants Suno to invent the finished song around a motif, not imitate a complete backing track.
**No guide:** weaker test of the new handoff and risks losing the sign motif.

What Should Suno Be Free To Invent?

Exact vocal melody.
Natural guitar voicings.
Final drum/brush texture.
Harmonies on the repeated chorus line.
Room tone and mix depth.
Small melodic variations around the motif.

What Must Be Excluded?

Real artist names.
Obvious imitation of any reference artist.
Glossy pop vocal production.
Arena or stadium chorus.
Cinematic synth pads.
Heavy rock drums.
Gospel/choir uplift.
Sentimental piano-ballad default.

Slider Strategy

**Weirdness: 46.** Higher than recent controlled rural ballads because this study needs a more mechanical/public space, but not so high that it breaks the lyric.
**Style Influence: 72.** Strong enough to hold the nocturnal service-station sound world.
**Audio Influence: 36.** The guide is a motif and density map, not a full demo. Keep audio influence moderate so Suno follows the flicker/pulse without copying the MIDI render.

QA Required Before Sending

Confirm `composition-brief.md` exists before guide JSON.
Validate guide JSON loads in the current v5 arranger.
Render MIDI and MP3 with the current arranger.
Confirm declared duration, MIDI duration, rendered duration, and audible content.
Create a short review clip from the rendered guide.
Confirm the review clip has audible content.
Confirm style prompt, lyrics, and guide do not fight each other.

Approved Guide Output

If QA passes, send:

`guide-track.json`
`guide-track.mid`
`guide-track.mp3`
`guide-track-review-clip.mp3`
`guide-track-qa.md`