How do I choose between house, techno, EDM and disco?
Pick by tempo and mood first, since these four sit in different tempo bands and feel very different even though they share the same basic kick-and-bass structure.
- House (120-126 BPM): groove-focused, warm, often has a swung or rolling bass and a steady four-on-the-floor kick (a kick drum hit on every beat).
- Techno (126-135 BPM): darker, more repetitive, less melody, more emphasis on percussion and tension.
- EDM (126-130 BPM): built around a big lead melody and a clear build-drop structure, brighter and louder than house or techno.
- Disco/disco house (118-124 BPM): funky bassline, live-sounding drums, often string or brass stabs, more retro and song-like.
If you are not sure, start with tech house at 124-128 BPM: it sits in the middle of all four and is one of the more reliable dance styles in our tests, see the tech house prompt page for more detail on that style specifically.
What descriptors actually matter for dance prompts?
Name the kick, the bass, one lead or synth element, and the mix, since these four carry most of a dance track's identity and the model fills in gaps with genre defaults if you leave them out.
- Kick: "four-on-the-floor kick", "pounding kick", "soft kick"
- Bass: "rolling bass", "sub bass", "distorted bass stab", "funky bassline"
- Lead: "synth stabs", "supersaw lead", "arpeggiated synth", "string stabs"
- Mix: "warm analog mix", "tight dry mix", "wide mix", "spacious mix"
In our measurements on ACE-Step 1.5, mix-space words such as reverb and delay reliably changed the width of the sound, and brightness words such as "filtered" and "dark" reliably changed how much high end came through, so these are worth including even though you cannot hear the result before generating.
Should dance tracks have vocals or stay instrumental?
Most dance sub-genres work well as instrumentals, so say "instrumental" explicitly if you do not want vocals, because leaving it blank sometimes produces stray vocal sounds.
If you do want vocals, describe the voice rather than naming a singer: "breathy female voice" or "deep male voice" are more reliable than vague words like "smooth", which tested inconsistently. Vocal chops (short, chopped-up vocal samples used as a musical element rather than sung lyrics) work well in house and disco and can be requested directly, for example "female vocal chops".
How do I fix a dance prompt that comes out wrong?
Change one descriptor at a time rather than rewriting the whole prompt, so you can tell which word caused the shift.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sounds too soft or pop-like | No genre anchor or wrong tempo | Name the exact sub-genre and set a tempo in the 118-135 BPM range |
| No drop or build | EDM needs structure words | Add "build-up" or describe the drop's energy directly |
| Too busy or cluttered | Too many descriptors | Cut to 4-7 words, one per element (kick, bass, lead, mix) |
| Vocals appear unwanted | No explicit instrumental tag | Add "instrumental" to the prompt |
Lyrics skeleton
Original, for structure
[Verse] Lights are low, the room starts to move Every beat is pulling me through [Chorus] We don't stop until the sun comes up Hold the night, don't let it give up [Outro] Fading out, the floor still glows
Common mistakes
- Writing just "dance music" as the genre: name a specific style like house, techno or EDM plus a BPM instead.
- Naming a DJ or producer to get their sound: describe the drums, bass and mix instead, since artist names cannot appear in prompts.
- Stacking more than three mood words: pick one dominant mood (driving, euphoric, dark) and let the genre carry the rest.
- Adding percentages or dB values to control the bass or reverb: these tested as placebo and were not read by the model in our measurements.
- Leaving vocals ambiguous: say "instrumental" or describe the voice directly rather than leaving it out and hoping.