Deep house AI music prompts
Deep house is a slower, warmer form of house music at 118 to 124 BPM (beats per minute). It pairs a soft four-on-the-floor kick (a kick drum on every beat) and swung hi-hats with jazzy electric piano chords, a round sub bass (the lowest bass notes) and soulful vocals. The mood is intimate, never loud.
A prompt should name the tempo, the chord instrument and its voicings (seventh and ninth chords), the bass sound, the amount of swing, the vocal character and a warm mix with rounded highs.
At a glance
| Tempo | 118 to 124 BPM (Lyro default 120) |
|---|---|
| Keys | minor keys with seventh and ninth chords, often A minor or C minor |
| Feel | four-on-the-floor kick, offbeat open hi-hat, swung sixteenth-note shuffle |
| Length | club tracks run 6 to 7 minutes; for social clips use a 20 to 30 second section with chords and vocal |
| Instruments | electric piano, warm sub bass, organ bass, soft pads, shuffled hi-hats, claps, filtered chord stabs, soulful vocals, vinyl crackle |
| Signature sounds | electric piano chords with seventh and ninth voicings, swung or shuffled hi-hats, a warm round sub bass and a close, soulful vocal |
| Typical form | usually 16 to 32 bars of drums, then the bass, then the chords, a breakdown near the middle that leaves chords and vocal alone, the groove again and an ending on drums, with one change every 8 or 16 bars |
| On Lyro | Song on Lyria 3 Pro. Deep house usually carries a sung, soulful hook that has to be understood, and sung lyrics go to Lyria 3 Pro by default. If you only want a chopped soul phrase looping as a hook, pick vocal chops, which goes to ACE-Step 1.5. Sung Turkish always goes to Lyria 3 Pro.
Two of the seven briefs in our one small blind test were deep house, both sung in Turkish: a short soul hook and a long verse (one rater, 21 Sep 2026). Lyria 3 Pro had the highest overall score on both. How we test |
How it differs from its neighbours
- Afro house: the same tempo range, but the groove comes from layered hand percussion and a log drum bassline, not from swung hats and chords
- UK garage: faster at 128 to 138 BPM, with a two-step kick that skips beats where deep house keeps the kick on every beat
- Lo-fi: shares the seventh chords, the vinyl texture and the warmth, but sits at 60 to 90 BPM over a swung hip-hop beat
Eight promptsCopy and paste
Rain on glass
Deep house, 120 BPM, soft rounded kick, shuffled hi-hats with swing, claps on two and four, warm analog sub bass. Rhodes electric piano playing minor ninth chords, soft filtered pad, faint vinyl crackle. Soulful female vocal, close and intimate, with breathy ad-libs and delay on the last word of each line. Late-night club mood, warm analog mix, rounded highs.
Basement organ
Classic 1990s deep house, 122 BPM, drum-machine kick, crisp offbeat open hi-hat, snappy clap, shuffled closed hats. Bouncy organ bass riff, bright house piano stabs, simple string pad in the breakdown. Gospel-tinged male vocal ad-libs and a short sung hook. Raw, joyful basement-club feel, slightly gritty sampler texture, punchy mono-friendly mix.
Dub chord drift
Dub-influenced deep house, 119 BPM, deep soft kick, tight closed hats, rim click on the offbeat, very low sine sub bass. Minor chord stab fed through tape delay and long reverb so the echoes fill the space, slow filter movement, vinyl hiss. Minimal hypnotic arrangement with no lead melody. Dark, spacious, late-night mix. Instrumental only, no vocals.
Poolside afternoon
Sunny deep house, 118 BPM, soft kick, shakers, finger snaps and light congas, warm rounded bassline. Clean electric guitar licks with a touch of chorus, mellow electric piano chords, airy pad. Relaxed male vocal, smooth and melodic, singing a simple hook with soft harmonies. Easy daytime poolside mood, polished mix with gentle side-chain and smooth highs.
Dusty sampler
Lo-fi deep house, 121 BPM, saturated kick, crunchy swung hats, clap with room reverb, overdriven tape texture across the drums. Detuned electric piano chords with wobble, warm sub bass, a chopped soul vocal phrase repeating as a hook, heavy low-pass filter sweeps. Nostalgic, hazy mood, deliberately rough cassette-like mix with soft highs.
Quiet confidence
Instrumental deep house bed, 120 BPM, soft kick, lightly shuffled hats, gentle claps, smooth sub bass. Warm electric piano chords with seventh voicings, muted guitar plucks, slow pad swells. Even energy throughout with no breakdown, so it sits under speech in a video. Clean, modern, unobtrusive mix with controlled low end. Instrumental only, no vocals.
Saxophone at two
Jazzy deep house, 122 BPM, rounded kick, swung hats, snare ghost notes, warm bass guitar line that walks between chords. Live-feel Rhodes comping with extended chords, a smoky tenor saxophone melody in long phrases, vibraphone accents, soft pad. Sophisticated lounge-to-club mood, no lyrics, only a few wordless sighs, warm roomy mix with analog character.
Piano stab loop
Deep house hook for a short clip, 123 BPM, starts straight on the groove with no intro. Punchy soft kick, offbeat open hat, bouncy sub bass, bright piano chord stabs and a catchy pitched vocal chop melody that loops every four bars. Warm feel-good mood, tight modern mix that stays clear on phone speakers.
How to prompt it
Arrangement
Deep house is arranged for DJs. It starts with 16 to 32 bars of drums, brings in the bass, then the chords. A breakdown (where the drums drop out) near the middle leaves chords and vocal alone before the groove returns. Changes are gradual: filters open slowly, one element enters or leaves every 8 or 16 bars, and the track ends on drums.
Vocals
Deep house favours soulful, gospel-rooted singing: a warm lead with breathy ad-libs, often only one verse and a repeated hook. Spoken phrases and short pitched samples are also common. Ask for the voice type, a close and intimate delivery, and delay or reverb on line endings. For none, write: instrumental only, no vocals.
Tips
- Name the chord instrument and the harmony, for example "Rhodes electric piano with minor ninth chords", because the chords carry the genre.
- Ask for swung or shuffled hi-hats, since straight hats make it sound like generic club house.
- Describe the bass as warm, round or sub-heavy, and add "organ bass" if you want the classic 1990s sound.
- Use mix words such as warm, analog, rounded highs and gentle side-chain, where bass and pads dip slightly on each kick.
- Keep the tempo at 124 BPM or below to hold the relaxed feel.
Common mistakes
- Asking for a big build and drop turns the track into festival house and loses the steady groove.
- Words like bright, loud or energetic push the mix toward harsh highs and hard drums, the opposite of deep.
- Leaving out the chords gives you a loop of drums and bassline with no harmony, which reads as tech house.
Related genres: Afro house, Melodic house, UK garage, Lo-fi