# How to make a beat for your vocal with AI | Lyro

> Record a vocal on your phone, let Lyro detect its tempo and key, generate a beat written around it, then balance both and master to -14 LUFS.

Source: https://lyromusic.com/learn/how-to-make-a-beat-for-your-vocal

# How to make a beat for your vocal with AI

Updated 21 September 2026, 6 min read, by the Lyro team

Record or upload your vocal, confirm the tempo and key that Lyro detects, and pick a genre. Lyro then writes a beat around the vocal with ACE-Step 1.5, for one credit per started minute with a minimum of 2. Balance the two in the mixer and master to a loudness target: -14 LUFS for streaming, louder for the club. If tempo detection struggles on an unaccompanied vocal, tap the tempo yourself and type it in.

## Record a usable vocal on a phone

A phone is enough if the room is quiet and the tempo is steady. The model builds the beat around what it hears, so a clean, even take matters more than an expensive microphone. An unaccompanied vocal is called an [a cappella](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#a-cappella).

- Choose a small room with soft surfaces, such as a bedroom with curtains. Avoid bathrooms and kitchens, which echo.

- Hold the phone 15 to 20 cm from your mouth and slightly to one side, so your breath does not hit the microphone.

- Sing to a click. Play a metronome in headphones at the tempo you want, so the click is not recorded and your timing stays even.

- Record dry: no filters, no reverb, no voice effects. You can add them later.

- If the loudest note distorts, move the phone further away and record again.

You can record straight into Lyro in the browser, or upload a WAV, MP3 or M4A file. [Bringing your own vocal](https://lyromusic.com/features/add-beat-to-vocals) is part of the Creator plan.

## Confirm the tempo and key

Lyro detects tempo and key in the browser in a few seconds, and you should always check both. Tempo is the speed in [beats per minute (BPM)](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#bpm). [Key](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#key) is the set of notes the melody uses, such as A minor. Detection is harder on an a cappella than on a full track, because there are no drums to mark the beat and no chords to mark the key.

- If you sang to a click, you already know the tempo. Type it in.

- If not, tap it. Tap along to your vocal with any tap tempo tool, or count the beats in 15 seconds and multiply by four.

- Watch for half and double readings, such as 70 instead of 140.

- If you know the key, enter it. If you do not, keep the detected key and judge the first result by ear.

The free [BPM and key finder](https://lyromusic.com/tools/bpm-key-finder) runs the same kind of analysis on any file.

## Choose a genre that fits your tempo

Pick the genre by the tempo of your vocal, not the other way round. The beat is written to your vocal’s tempo, so a genre that lives near that tempo gives the model a request it can satisfy.

| Your vocal is near | Genres that fit, with Lyro’s preset tempo |
|---|---|
| 70 to 90 BPM | Lo-fi (78), R&B (84), hip-hop (90). Trap (140) and drill (142) also fit, because they are felt at half speed. |
| 90 to 110 BPM | Reggaeton (94), Turkish pop (102), afrobeats (104) |
| 110 to 126 BPM | Pop (112), amapiano (113), deep house (120), afro house (122), tech house (126) |

You can also skip the genre list and describe the sound in a sentence: the drums, the bass, two or three instruments and the mood. The [prompt generator](https://lyromusic.com/ai-music-prompt-generator) writes that brief for you.

## Generate the beat

Lyro sends this job to ACE-Step 1.5, the model it uses for tasks that take your audio as input. It writes drums, bass, keys, percussion and synths around your vocal, so the instruments follow your phrasing. You get back the full mix, and your original vocal stays on its own track in the mixer.

- The cost is one credit per started minute of audio, with a minimum of 2. A vocal of 2 minutes 30 seconds costs 3 credits.

- Generate two or three versions and keep the best. Creator runs 3 generations at once.

- If the beat fights the vocal, check the tempo and key again before you change the genre. A wrong reading is a common cause.

## Balance the vocal and the beat in the mixer

Get the level of the vocal right first, then shape it. Mixing is balancing separate tracks so they sound like one record. Lyro’s [mixer](https://lyromusic.com/features/mixing-mastering) runs in the browser and uses no credits.

- **Gain.** Raise your vocal track against the new music until every word is easy to follow.

- **High-pass filter.** Remove the rumble below the voice, starting around 80 to 100 Hz.

- **EQ.** An equaliser raises or lowers chosen frequency ranges. If the voice sounds boxy, lower the low-mid range a little. If it is dull, lift the top gently.

- **Compression.** A [compressor](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#compression) turns down the loudest moments, so quiet words are not lost.

- **Reverb and delay.** Reverb adds a sense of room, and delay adds echoes in time with the tempo. Send a little of the vocal to the reverb, so it sits in the same space as the beat.

- **Pump.** [Pump](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#pump) is tempo-synced ducking: the level dips on each beat and recovers. In house styles, a light pump gives the breathing feel of the genre.

## Master to the right loudness

Master to -14 LUFS for streaming and social video, and choose the louder club target for DJ sets. [LUFS](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#lufs) is a unit for how loud audio sounds over time, and less negative means louder. Mastering is the last step, where the loudness and tone of the whole track are set.

- The [limiter](https://lyromusic.com/glossary#limiter) holds peaks under a ceiling, so the level can rise without clipping, the harsh distortion of a signal that is too loud.

- Use A/B to compare the master with the unmastered mix.

- Export WAV for release, or MP3 for sharing. Downloads are never counted.

One more point in your favour: a vocal you recorded and lyrics you wrote are human-authored elements, which the US Copyright Office says can be protected even when other parts of a track are AI-generated ([US Copyright Office, 29 Jan 2025](https://www.copyright.gov/ai/)). See [Who owns AI-generated music?](https://lyromusic.com/learn/who-owns-ai-generated-music)

## Questions

### Can AI make a beat that fits my vocal?

Yes. On Lyro’s Creator plan you upload or record a vocal, confirm its tempo and key, and pick a genre. ACE-Step 1.5 writes drums, bass, keys, percussion and synths around it. You then balance and master both in the browser.

### What if Lyro detects the wrong tempo?

Type in the right one. Tempo detection is harder on an unaccompanied vocal, because there are no drums to mark the beat. Tap along with any tap tempo tool, or count the beats in 15 seconds and multiply by four. Watch for half and double readings.

### Do I need a studio microphone?

No. A phone in a quiet room with soft surfaces is enough to start. Sing to a click in headphones and record without effects. A steady tempo matters more than the microphone.

### How many credits does a beat for my vocal cost?

One credit per started minute of audio, with a minimum of 2. A 90-second vocal costs 2 credits and a 3-minute vocal costs 3. Mixing, mastering and downloads use no credits. You need the Creator plan, from $19 a month for 300 credits.

## Sources

- [US Copyright Office, Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability, 29 Jan 2025](https://www.copyright.gov/ai/)

## Hear it for yourself.

[Make a song](https://lyromusic.com/start)[Generate a prompt](https://lyromusic.com/ai-music-prompt-generator)