How to reverse engineer Rick Beto
Steal This Framework: Rick Beato’s Secret Syllabus for Musicians and AI Creators
If you’ve ever opened Suno, stared at the prompt box, and thought, “Okay… now what?”, you’re not alone. Most of us were never handed a real roadmap for making good music, let alone using AI to help us do it.
That’s where Rick Beato quietly sneaks in as the mentor we wish we had at 15. He’s the guy who can grab a song you love, crack it open like a Lego set, and show you exactly why it works—without killing the magic. In this post, we’re going to reverse engineer how he thinks and turn it into a simple, repeatable framework you can use to get better at Suno and your own music creation.
Why Rick Beato Is the Perfect “Secret Instructor” for AI Music
Rick isn’t “just” a YouTuber. He’s a producer, songwriter, teacher, and lifelong studio rat who spent decades in real rooms with real bands before most of us ever thought about AI music. His channel blew up because he does one thing better than almost anyone: he makes deep music theory feel like a story, not a homework assignment.
When he breaks down a song, he’s doing a few things all at once:
- He listens like a fan – “Why does this groove feel so good?”
- He analyzes like a teacher – harmony, rhythm, arrangement, tone choices.
- He talks like a friend – plain language, real-world metaphors, no gatekeeping.
That “three-layer brain” is exactly what we want to steal. As AI-curious creators using tools like Suno, we can treat Rick’s approach as a syllabus: learn to hear what he hears, practice what he practices, then tell Suno exactly what we want in language that actually means something musically.
The Rick Beato Syllabus in 5 Moves (for Suno & Beyond)
1. Start with Songs, Not Scales
Rick almost always starts with real music, not abstract exercises. Instead of “Today we’ll learn the Dorian mode,” it’s “Let’s listen to this intro and talk about why it hits so hard.”
For Suno, this means:
- Pick 1–3 reference songs you actually love.
- Listen like Rick would: chords, groove, dynamics, melody, vibe.
- Write prompts that describe those things, not just genre labels.
Example: instead of “blues rock in E,” you might say: “mid-tempo blues rock with a strong backbeat, call-and-response guitar licks, and a vocal that climbs into a big, emotional chorus.” That’s Beato-style thinking turned into AI-friendly language.
2. Train Your Ear, Then Aim the AI
Rick’s secret weapon isn’t just knowledge; it’s his ear. He hears chord tensions, rhythmic pushes, and tiny arrangement moves most people miss. You don’t have to be at his level, but you can practice the same direction.
A simple ear-training loop for AI creators:
- Pick a short section (intro, verse, or chorus) of a song you love.
- Ask: “Is this mostly chords moving every bar? Every two bars? Are there big jumps or stepwise motion in the melody?”
- Type that into your Suno prompt as clearly as you can.
- Generate, listen back, and repeat: “What did Suno get right? What did it miss?”
If you want a real example of this in action, check out our breakdown of a tight AI intro here: How We Built a Tight 15-Second Intro from a Messy Prompt . That post is one big Beato-style listening exercise, pointed straight at Suno.
3. Think in Sections, Not Just Songs
Watch enough Beato and you notice he’s always thinking in sections: intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, solo. He knows what each part is supposed to do emotionally.
That’s gold for AI music, because most prompts are too vague. Instead of “Make a blues track,” try breaking it into a story:
- Intro: smoky guitar riff and warm organ pads, low energy, sets the scene.
- Verse: tighter groove, vocal sits closer to the mic, lyrics tell a personal story.
- Chorus: drums open up, guitars get bigger, melody climbs, payoff line repeats.
You can even write: “Verse feels close and conversational, chorus feels like the room opens up and the band is on stage.” That’s Beato’s emotional lens, translated into AI instructions.
4. Use Real-World Gear to Keep You Honest
Beato’s world is full of real instruments, cables, knobs, and buzzing amps. Even if Suno is doing some of the heavy lifting for you, touching physical gear keeps your ear grounded in reality. Here are a few creator-friendly staples that pair beautifully with an AI-assisted workflow:
- Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar – a reliable, great-sounding acoustic that lets you test chords and song ideas before or after you hit “generate.”
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Studio Headphones – clear, detailed headphones so you can really hear what Suno nailed (and what it didn’t).
- Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen Audio Interface – simple, rock-solid interface for recording your own guitar or vocal lines over AI tracks.
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone – a classic broadcast-style mic that makes your voice sit confidently in the mix when you add live vocals.
- Music Theory for Guitarists (Kindle) – an easy way to get the underlying theory without drowning in jargon.
You don’t need a wall of gear to work like Beato. One guitar, a clean mic, a small interface, and a pair of honest headphones are more than enough to start building your own “What Makes This Song Great?” moments.
5. Teach Out Loud, Even If No One’s Watching
Rick’s channel works because he’s always explaining what he’s hearing and why it matters. You can steal that rhythm even if you never upload a single video.
The next time you generate a Suno track, try this:
- Play the track once without stopping.
- Play it again and talk out loud: “The drums come in here… this chord change lifts the energy… the vocal melody feels too flat in the chorus.”
- Write a new prompt based on what you just said.
- Generate again and repeat the process.
You’re training your brain to think like a teacher, not just a listener. That’s exactly the muscle Rick uses every day – and it’s the same muscle that turns AI from a toy into a creative partner.
See (and Hear) the Framework in Action: Deep Dive AI Blues Garage
We’ve been testing this Beato-style syllabus inside our own projects, including a Suno-powered, blues-drenched universe we call the “Deep Dive AI Blues Garage.” One of the flagship tracks is Cadillac Glide (1941 Showroom Blues), built by mixing AI generation, real-world listening, and old-school storytelling.
If you want to peek behind the curtain, you can read the full breakdown here: Deep Dive AI Blues Garage: Cadillac Glide (1941 Showroom Blues) . Or you can skip straight to your ears and listen below.
🎵 Soundtrack — Stream or Download
Tip: Stream above or click “Download MP3.” On mobile, tap-and-hold the link to save.
🎸 Listen to Our Blues Albums
Three full albums — hit play below or open on YouTube.
Putting It All Together: Your Next Suno Session, Beato-Style
By now you’ve got the basic outline of Rick Beato’s “secret syllabus”: start with real songs, train your ear, think in sections, ground yourself with real gear, and teach out loud as you go. The magic move is doing all of that before and after you hit “generate” in Suno.
Here’s a simple Beato-inspired checklist you can run on your next session:
- Pick 1–2 reference songs and write down what you love about them in plain language.
- Break your idea into intro, verse, and chorus, and describe what each one should feel like.
- Write a Suno prompt that includes groove, instrumentation, structure, and emotion.
- Generate, listen, and talk out loud about what works and what doesn’t.
- Adjust your prompt or add a real instrument or vocal line to push it closer to your vision.
Do this a few times a week and you’re no longer “just playing with AI.” You’re quietly training yourself to think like a producer and teacher in the same way Rick does on camera.
Where to Go Next
If this kind of slow, nerdy, story-driven approach to AI music is your thing, you’re exactly the kind of “curious creator” Deep Dive AI was built for.
👉 Watch more experiments, breakdowns, and editorial cartoon chaos on our YouTube channel:
Deep Dive AI on YouTube
Or jump straight to the subscribe link:
Subscribe to Deep Dive AI
🎧 Prefer to listen while you commute, cook, or tweak your prompts?
Follow the Deep Dive AI Podcast on Spotify:
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Most of all, remember: you don’t need Rick’s exact ears or his entire career behind you. You just need his process and a willingness to keep listening, tweaking, and trying again. Suno will happily throw sound at you all day, but when you show up like a teacher, a listener, and a creator all at once—that’s when the real music starts.
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