Music Generation

Generate custom music tracks from text prompts using AI

Overview

The Music Generation API allows you to create original music tracks from text prompts. Generate instrumental or vocal music in various styles, lengths, and genres.

Basic Music Generation

Generate music from a simple prompt:

from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs

client = ElevenLabs(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

audio = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Upbeat electronic dance music with heavy bass",
    music_length_ms=30000  # 30 seconds
)

# Save the generated music
with open("generated_music.mp3", "wb") as f:
    for chunk in audio:
        f.write(chunk)

Detailed Response

Get detailed metadata along with the audio:

response = client.music.compose_detailed(
    prompt="Relaxing piano melody with soft strings",
    music_length_ms=60000,  # 60 seconds
    output_format="mp3_44100_128"
)

print(f"Song ID: {response.song_id}")
print(f"Filename: {response.filename}")
print(f"Metadata: {response.json}")

# Access composition plan
if 'compositionPlan' in response.json:
    plan = response.json['compositionPlan']
    print(f"Composition plan: {plan}")

# Access song metadata
if 'songMetadata' in response.json:
    metadata = response.json['songMetadata']
    print(f"Title: {metadata.get('title')}")
    print(f"Description: {metadata.get('description')}")
    print(f"Genres: {metadata.get('genres')}")

# Save the audio
with open(response.filename, "wb") as f:
    f.write(response.audio)

Parameters

prompt · string

Text description of the music to generate.

composition_plan · MusicPrompt

Detailed composition plan instead of a text prompt.

music_length_ms · integer

Length of the music in milliseconds.

model_id · string

Model to use for generation. Default: music_v1.

output_format · string

Output audio format (e.g., mp3_44100_128).

force_instrumental · boolean

Force the generation to be instrumental only (no vocals).

store_for_inpainting · boolean

Store the generation for future inpainting/editing.

with_timestamps · boolean

Include timestamps in the response.

sign_with_c2pa · boolean

Sign the audio with C2PA authentication.

Instrumental Music

Generate instrumental-only music:

audio = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Epic orchestral soundtrack with dramatic strings and brass",
    music_length_ms=45000,
    force_instrumental=True
)

with open("instrumental.mp3", "wb") as f:
    for chunk in audio:
        f.write(chunk)

Different Music Lengths

Generate music of various durations:

# Short jingle (10 seconds)
short = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Catchy commercial jingle",
    music_length_ms=10000
)

# Medium track (60 seconds)
medium = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Smooth jazz with saxophone",
    music_length_ms=60000
)

# Long track (2 minutes)
long = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Ambient meditation music",
    music_length_ms=120000
)

With Composition Plan

Use a structured composition plan for more control:

from elevenlabs.types.music_prompt import MusicPrompt

composition_plan = MusicPrompt(
    structure=[
        {
            "section": "intro",
            "duration_ms": 10000,
            "description": "Soft piano intro"
        },
        {
            "section": "verse",
            "duration_ms": 20000,
            "description": "Add drums and bass"
        },
        {
            "section": "chorus",
            "duration_ms": 15000,
            "description": "Full instrumentation with energy"
        },
        {
            "section": "outro",
            "duration_ms": 10000,
            "description": "Fade out with piano"
        }
    ]
)

response = client.music.compose_detailed(
    composition_plan=composition_plan,
    output_format="mp3_44100_128"
)

Store for Later Editing

Generate and store music for future inpainting:

response = client.music.compose_detailed(
    prompt="Rock song with electric guitar",
    music_length_ms=60000,
    store_for_inpainting=True
)

print(f"Song ID for editing: {response.song_id}")

# Save the audio
with open("editable_song.mp3", "wb") as f:
    f.write(response.audio)

Different Genres and Styles

# Electronic
electronic = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Deep house with progressive synths and steady beat",
    music_length_ms=60000
)

# Classical
classical = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Baroque chamber music with harpsichord and strings",
    music_length_ms=45000,
    force_instrumental=True
)

# Rock
rock = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Heavy metal with distorted guitars and double bass drums",
    music_length_ms=90000
)

# Jazz
jazz = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Smooth jazz with saxophone solo and walking bass",
    music_length_ms=120000
)

# Ambient
ambient = client.music.compose(
    prompt="Ethereal ambient soundscape with pads and nature sounds",
    music_length_ms=180000,
    force_instrumental=True
)

Batch Generation

Generate multiple tracks:

from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs

client = ElevenLabs(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

prompts = [
    "Upbeat pop song with catchy melody",
    "Dark cinematic trailer music",
    "Chill lofi hip hop beats",
    "Energetic workout music",
    "Peaceful meditation sounds"
]

for i, prompt in enumerate(prompts):
    print(f"Generating track {i+1}/{len(prompts)}: {prompt}")
    
    audio = client.music.compose(
        prompt=prompt,
        music_length_ms=30000
    )
    
    filename = f"track_{i+1}.mp3"
    with open(filename, "wb") as f:
        for chunk in audio:
            f.write(chunk)
    
    print(f"Saved: {filename}")

print("All tracks generated!")

Async Generation

Generate music asynchronously:

import asyncio
from elevenlabs.client import AsyncElevenLabs

async def generate_music():
    client = AsyncElevenLabs(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
    
    response = await client.music.compose_detailed(
        prompt="Epic fantasy adventure music",
        music_length_ms=60000,
        force_instrumental=True
    )
    
    print(f"Generated: {response.filename}")
    
    with open(response.filename, "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.audio)
    
    return response.song_id

song_id = asyncio.run(generate_music())
print(f"Song ID: {song_id}")

Parallel Generation

Generate multiple tracks concurrently:

import asyncio
from elevenlabs.client import AsyncElevenLabs

async def generate_track(client, prompt, filename):
    """Generate a single track"""
    audio = await client.music.compose(
        prompt=prompt,
        music_length_ms=30000
    )
    
    with open(filename, "wb") as f:
        async for chunk in audio:
            f.write(chunk)
    
    return filename

async def generate_album():
    """Generate multiple tracks in parallel"""
    client = AsyncElevenLabs(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
    
    tracks = [
        ("Energetic opening theme", "track1.mp3"),
        ("Mysterious exploration music", "track2.mp3"),
        ("Intense battle theme", "track3.mp3"),
        ("Peaceful village music", "track4.mp3"),
        ("Epic final boss theme", "track5.mp3"),
    ]
    
    tasks = [
        generate_track(client, prompt, filename)
        for prompt, filename in tracks
    ]
    
    results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
    return results

results = asyncio.run(generate_album())
print(f"Generated {len(results)} tracks: {results}")

Output Formats

Supported output formats:

• mp3_22050_32 - MP3 at 22.05kHz, 32kbps
• mp3_44100_32 - MP3 at 44.1kHz, 32kbps
• mp3_44100_64 - MP3 at 44.1kHz, 64kbps
• mp3_44100_96 - MP3 at 44.1kHz, 96kbps
• mp3_44100_128 - MP3 at 44.1kHz, 128kbps (recommended)
• mp3_44100_192 - MP3 at 44.1kHz, 192kbps

Use Cases

Content Creation

Generate background music for videos

Game Development

Create dynamic game soundtracks

Podcasts

Add intro/outro music to episodes

Marketing

Create custom audio for campaigns

Best Practices

• Be specific in your prompts (genre, mood, instruments)
• Use force_instrumental=True for background music
• Start with shorter lengths (30-60s) for testing
• Use store_for_inpainting=True if you might edit later
• Try different prompts to get varied results

Music generation is non-deterministic. The same prompt may produce different results each time. For consistent results, save the song_id when using store_for_inpainting.

Prompt Tips

Write effective music generation prompts:

# Good prompts include:
# 1. Genre/Style
# 2. Instruments
# 3. Mood/Energy
# 4. Tempo

good_prompts = [
    "Upbeat indie rock with jangly guitars, driving drums, and optimistic mood",
    "Slow ambient electronic with warm synth pads, subtle percussion, dreamy atmosphere",
    "Fast-paced drum and bass with heavy sub-bass, breakbeats, energetic feel",
    "Classical string quartet playing melancholic melody, slow tempo, emotional",
    "Tropical house with steel drums, marimba, laid-back summer vibes, medium tempo"
]

for prompt in good_prompts:
    audio = client.music.compose(
        prompt=prompt,
        music_length_ms=30000
    )

Error Handling

from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs

client = ElevenLabs(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

try:
    response = client.music.compose_detailed(
        prompt="Epic orchestral music",
        music_length_ms=60000
    )
    
    with open("music.mp3", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.audio)
    
    print("Music generated successfully!")
    
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error generating music: {e}")

Related Features

• Text to Speech - Generate speech
• Sound Effects - Generate sound effects (if available)
• Audio Isolation - Clean generated audio