- How does smooth R&B differ from quiet storm?
- Quiet storm names a specific late-night radio programming tradition — slower, thicker in atmosphere, frequently carrying long saxophone solos. Smooth R&B is a broader contemporary category with more modern production and simpler forces. They sound close; quiet storm points at a particular era and setting.
- What goes wrong most often when generating it?
- The arrangement fills up and the dynamics widen. Systems reach for a full kit and a driving bass, which removes the smoothness. Prompt "minimal drums, narrow dynamic range, no more than four layers, breath-forward vocal."
- How loud should it sit as background?
- Roughly 12–15 dB under spoken conversation. The dynamic range is already narrow, so a small increase pushes it from background to foreground. Ideally it is barely noticeable while people talk and surfaces only in the quiet.
