Lyria 3: Complete Guide to Google's AI Music Generation — Prompts, SynthID & Creative Workflows (2026)

Table of Contents

1. →What Is Lyria 3?
2. →How Lyria 3 Works
3. →Getting Started
4. →Prompt Engineering Guide
5. →Image & Video to Music
6. →Vocals & Lyrics Control
7. →SynthID Watermarking
8. →Creative Workflow Examples
9. →Lyria 3 vs Competitors
10. →Limitations & Ethical Considerations
11. →FAQ
12. →Key Takeaways

What Is Lyria 3?

Lyria 3 is Google DeepMind's most advanced AI music generation model, launched on February 18, 2026. Available directly within the Gemini app, it enables anyone to create 30-second music tracks — complete with vocals, lyrics, and auto-generated cover art — from simple text prompts, images, or even videos.

What's New in Lyria 3

How Lyria 3 Works

The Generation Pipeline

When you submit a prompt to Lyria 3:

1. →Prompt Analysis — Gemini interprets your text/image/video to understand desired mood, genre, tempo, instruments, and vocal characteristics
2. →Musical Structure — The model generates a musical arrangement including verse/chorus structure, chord progressions, and instrumentation
3. →Vocal & Lyrics — If requested, lyrics are composed and vocals are synthesized to match the style
4. →Audio Rendering — The complete 30-second track is rendered as high-fidelity audio
5. →Cover Art — Nano Banana (Google's AI image generator) creates custom artwork for the track
6. →SynthID Embedding — An imperceptible watermark is embedded to identify the content as AI-generated

Getting Started with Lyria 3

Requirements

• →Gemini app (mobile or desktop)
• →Age 18+ (minimum requirement)
• →Supported language: English, German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, or Portuguese

Step-by-Step

1. →Open the Gemini app at gemini.google.com or on mobile
2. →Look for the "Music" option or the music note icon in the tools menu
3. →Type your prompt describing the music you want
4. →Wait for generation (typically 10-30 seconds)
5. →Listen to the preview, download, or share your track
6. →Refine by requesting changes if needed

Prompt Engineering Guide

The quality of your AI-generated music depends largely on how you craft your prompts. Here's a systematic approach:

Method 1: Simple Prompts

Start with a basic description and let Lyria 3 handle the details:

"An upbeat pop song about summer adventures"
"A calming piano melody for studying"  
"A rock anthem about never giving up"

These work well for quick creation. Lyria 3 will autonomously choose appropriate tempo, instruments, key, and arrangement.

Method 2: Detailed Structured Prompts

For precise control, specify each musical element:

"Create a track that merges 1970s funk with modern electronic synthwave. 
Tempo should be 110 BPM. Use instruments like slap bass, guitar, 
Moog synthesizer, and a crisp drum machine with heavy reverb. 
Build from mellow verse to explosive chorus with brass stabs. 
No vocals."

The Prompt Formula

Expert Prompt Examples

Image & Video to Music

Photo-to-Music Generation

One of Lyria 3's most innovative features — turn any visual content into music:

"Use this photo to create a track that captures the feeling 
of this sunset over the mountains."

How it works:

1. →Upload a photo to the Gemini chat
2. →Add a text prompt describing what kind of music you want
3. →Lyria 3 analyzes the visual content — colors, mood, scene, subjects
4. →Generates music that matches the aesthetic and emotional tone

Video-to-Music

Upload a short video clip and Lyria 3 creates a soundtrack:

"Watch this video of my dog playing in the park and 
create a happy, playful track to go with it."

The model analyzes:

• →Scene content — What's happening in the video
• →Movement and pacing — Fast action vs. slow moments
• →Color palette — Bright and warm vs. cool and moody
• →Audio cues — If any, uses them as creative input

Creative Use Cases

Vocals & Lyrics Control

Automatic Lyric Generation

Simply describe the theme, and Lyria 3 generates appropriate lyrics:

"A pop song about finding courage during difficult times"

Lyria 3 will write lyrics that match the theme, set them to the musical arrangement, and generate vocals to sing them.

Custom Lyrics

Provide your own lyrics using the Lyrics: prefix:

"An acoustic folk song with gentle female vocals.
Lyrics: 
In the morning light, I find my way
Through the forest paths where children play
Every shadow holds a memory
Of the life we built, you and me"

Vocal Customization

Control the voice characteristics in your prompt:

SynthID Watermarking

What Is SynthID?

SynthID is Google's AI content identification technology. Every track generated by Lyria 3 is automatically embedded with a SynthID watermark.

How to Verify AI-Generated Music

If you encounter audio and want to check if it was created by Google AI:

1. →Open the Gemini app
2. →Upload the audio file
3. →Ask: "Was this audio created with Google AI?"
4. →Gemini checks for the SynthID watermark and reports the result

Technical Properties

• →Imperceptible — Cannot be heard by human ears
• →Resilient — Survives compression, noise addition, and format conversion
• →Non-intrusive — Does not affect audio quality or listening experience
• →Standardized — Part of Google's broader SynthID framework (also used for text and images)

Creative Workflow Examples

Workflow 1: Social Media Content

Step 1: Take a photo of your activity
Step 2: Upload to Gemini: "Create a 30-second track matching 
        this photo's vibe for my Instagram reel"
Step 3: Download the track and cover art
Step 4: Add to your video in your editing app

Workflow 2: Podcast Intro Music

Step 1: "Create a professional podcast intro jingle. 
        Modern electronic sound, upbeat, energetic. 
        Tempo: 120 BPM. No vocals. 
        Build from minimal to full arrangement in 10 seconds, 
        then fade to background-friendly level."

Workflow 3: Study/Focus Background

Step 1: "Generate a lo-fi chill track for studying. 
        Soft piano, warm vinyl crackle, gentle rain sounds, 
        lo-fi hip-hop beat at 70 BPM. 
        Keep it minimal and non-distracting. 
        No vocals."

Workflow 4: Personal Gift

Step 1: Upload photos of the person/memory
Step 2: "Use these photos to create a heartfelt song for my 
        mom's birthday. Make it a warm acoustic ballad about 
        gratitude and family love. Female vocals."
Step 3: Share the track and cover art as a personalized gift

Lyria 3 vs Competitors

When to Choose Each Tool

Choose Lyria 3 when:

• →You want music integrated directly into Gemini workflows
• →You need image/video-to-music generation
• →Transparency matters (SynthID watermarking)
• →You work across multiple languages
• →You're creating short-form content (30-second clips)

Choose Suno when:

• →You need longer tracks (up to 4 minutes)
• →You want maximum musical complexity and variety
• →You're creating standalone songs

Choose Udio when:

• →You want high-quality audio rendering
• →You're focused on specific genres
• →You need detailed production control

Limitations & Ethical Considerations

Current Limitations

1. →30-second maximum — Tracks are limited to 30 seconds; not suitable for full songs
2. →No professional mixing controls — No EQ, panning, or mastering options
3. →No API access (yet) — Available only through the Gemini app, not programmatically
4. →Casual use positioning — Google DeepMind positions this for exploration, not professional production
5. →No stem separation — Cannot export individual instrument tracks

Ethical Framework

Copyright Considerations

• →Generated tracks are original — Lyria 3 creates new compositions, not copies
• →No artist replication — The model refuses to mimic specific artists' voices
• →SynthID for attribution — Every track is watermarked as AI-generated
• →Evolving terms — Check Google's current ToS for commercial usage rights

FAQ

Can I extend a 30-second track to a full song?

Currently, Lyria 3 generates fixed 30-second clips. You cannot extend them within the app. For longer compositions, you could generate multiple clips and combine them in external audio software, though this requires manual editing.

Does Lyria 3 work offline?

No. Lyria 3 requires an internet connection as the music generation happens on Google's cloud infrastructure. The model is too large to run locally.

Can I remove the SynthID watermark?

The SynthID watermark is designed to be resilient and survive common audio processing. While extremely aggressive audio manipulation might degrade it, attempting to remove it may also degrade audio quality. Google embeds SynthID as a transparency measure, not a restriction.

Related Articles

• →Gemini 3.1 Pro Guide — The model powering Lyria 3
• →AI Video Generation 2025 — AI-generated video landscape
• →Diffusion Models Explained — The technology behind generative AI
• →AI Image Generators Compared — Visual AI creation tools
• →Seedance 2 AI Video — Another creative AI tool

Key Takeaways

1. →

   Lyria 3 is Google DeepMind's most advanced music AI, generating 30-second tracks with vocals, lyrics, and cover art from text, images, or video

2. →

   Three input modes — simple text prompts, detailed structured prompts with BPM/instruments/vocals, and visual-to-music generation from photos and videos

3. →

   Detailed prompts yield the best results — specify genre, era, tempo, instruments, vocal characteristics, mood, and song structure for precise control

4. →

   SynthID watermarking embeds an imperceptible, resilient marker in all generated tracks for AI content transparency and verification

5. →

   No artist mimicry — Lyria 3 creates original compositions and explicitly avoids replicating specific artists' voices or styles

6. →

   Available in 8 languages — English, German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese

7. →

   Free to use with basic limits; higher generation allowances for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers

8. →

   Best for short-form creative content — social media, personal gifts, study music, podcast intros; not yet positioned for professional production

Explore AI Creative Tools

Understanding how to effectively prompt AI creative tools — from music to images to video — is becoming an essential skill. The same principles of clear instruction, specificity, and iterative refinement apply across all generative AI modalities.

In our Module 4 — AI for Content Creation, you'll learn:

• →How to craft effective prompts for generative AI across modalities
• →Creative workflow design with AI tools
• →Combining multiple AI tools for end-to-end content production
• →Understanding the ethical considerations of AI-generated content
• →Copyright, attribution, and responsible AI creative practices

→ Explore Module 4: AI for Content Creation

Last Updated: February 20, 2026 Information compiled from official Google DeepMind announcements, Google Blog, and verified product reviews.