Transcribe

1. Always listen to the song

Before transcribing, editing or syncing lyrics, you must first listen to the song from a reliable audio source.

2. No copy/paste

Copying lyrics from other websites or apps is not allowed – make sure that you only add lyrics that have been transcribed by yourself.

3. Transcribe all lyrics, even when a section is repeated

All the sung or spoken lyrics should be transcribed. Even if a line or a group of lines is repeated several times during a song, you should type out all of the lyrics each time.

The lyrics will be synced in time to the music, so don’t use multipliers (e.g. “X4”) in order to help them with the line by line synchronization.

Photograph by Ed Sheeran

Wrong

Wait for me to come home (X4)

Good

Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home
Wait for me to come home

If you’re transcribing a live version of a song, don’t forget to add also the spoken parts.

El Fantasma - El Más Poderoso

Wrong

Soy el más poderoso de todos
Y y yo nunca ando de presumido
Los dólares a mí me protegen
M, me los mandan de Estados Unidos
Aquí en Culiacán, yo soy el Rey
Y y por mi Sinaloa, me paseo muy tranquilo

Good

Quéde en Barraza que está su amigazo El Fantasma con la famosa banda
Ahí que vayan y digan
Continuamos con el corridón que se llama "El más poderoso"
Márquele compa' Palacios
Compa' Gualo, compa' Erin
Ahí fue el toro

Soy el más poderoso de todos
Y y yo nunca ando de presumido
Los dólares a mí me protegen
M, me los mandan de Estados Unidos
Aquí en Culiacán, yo soy el Rey
Y y por mi Sinaloa, me paseo muy tranquilo

4. Transcribe the lyrical audio content only

All filler parts (eg. "Ohh", "Ahaaha", "NaNaNa") should be kept.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

Good

Oh, I'm in love with your body
Oh-i-oh-i-oh-i-oh-i
Oh, I'm in love with your body
Oh-i-oh-i-oh-i-oh-i

Do not add any comments about the structure of the lyrics ("intro", "verse", "bridge", etc) while transcribing. That information has to be added only on Desktop App and only while you are working on the Structure (check the section in the Guidelines).

Wrong

[Chorus]
When you feel my heat, look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide

Good

When you feel my heat, look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide

Avoid repeating the artist’s name and the title of the song.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

Wrong

"Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran
The club isn't the best place to find a lover
So the bar is where I go

Good

The club isn't the best place to find a lover
So the bar is where I go

5. Transcribe lyrics in their native scripts. NO romanization.

To help people who cannot read the original scripts, the romanized version of Indian languages, Japanese, Korean, Chinese lyrics, is available as a translation inside the translations list.

Wrong – Romanization

muneul bakchamyeon modu nal barabom
gudi aesseo noryeok an haedo
modeun namjadeureun kopiga pangpangpang

Good – Original Script

문을 박차면 모두 날 바라봄
굳이 애써 노력 안 해도
모든 남자들은 코피가 팡팡팡

When a song is sung in two (or more) languages, the lyrics must be transcribed in both corresponding languages

Slow Motion (From "Bharat") soundtrack

Wrong

Aaj kii shaam lage picture kaa scene koi
Picture kaa scene koi picture kaa scene koi
Main hero jaisaa or tu heroine koi
Tu heroine koi tu heroine koi

Good

आज की शाम लगे picture का scene कोई
Picture का scene कोई, picture का scene कोई
मैं hero जैसा और तू heroine कोई
तू heroine कोई, तू heroine कोई

Format

1. Format lyrics following the song structure

Break transcriptions up into individual lines

Good

Despacito
Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito
Deja que te diga cosas al oído
Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo
Despacito

Separate sections with double breaks

In the End by Linkin Park

Wrong

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end it doesn't even matter
One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme to remind myself how

Good

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end it doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try
Keep that in mind, I designed this rhyme to remind myself how

2. Make the format clear and homogeneous

Capitalize the first letter of every line and any proper nouns (e.g. a person, place, or thing)

It’s my life by Bon Jovi

Wrong

yeah, this is for the ones who stood their ground
for tommy and gina, who never backed down
tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake
luck ain't even lucky, got to make your own breaks

Good

Yeah, this is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina, who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky, got to make your own breaks

Do not capitalize each word or unnecessarily use uppercase in the sentence

It’s my life by Bon Jovi

Wrong

The Looking Glass, So Shiny And New
How Quickly The Glamour Fades
I Start Spinning, Slipping Out Of Time
Was That The Wrong Pill To Take? (Raise It Up)

Good

The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades
I start spinning, slipping out of time
Was that the wrong pill to take? (raise it up)

Background vocals should be transcribed in parenthesis

Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith

Good

I'm way too good at goodbyes (I'm way too good at goodbyes)
I'm way too good at goodbyes (I'm way too good at goodbyes)

Numbers as words except for content listed here

Examples

From 1 to 10, numbers should be written out: one, two, three, etc...
Above 10, numbers should be written numerically: 11, 12, 13, etc...
If there are too many numbers in a line, write numbers numerically
Use numerals when exact times are emphasized: 9:30 a.m.
Use lowercase a.m. (ante meridiem) and p.m. (post meridiem)
Spell out words/phrases that do not include actual numbers: half past, quarter of, midnight, noon
Dates should be written as numbers instead eg. 1987
Decades should be written like this: '60s

3. Respect the punctuation rules

No end-line punctuation except for question and exclamation marks where needed

Wrong

Girl, it's easy to love me now,
Would you love me if I was down and out
Would you still have love for me girl
‍
If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me
If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me

Good

Girl, It's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me girl?

If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me?
If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me?

Always write contractions using an apostrophe (')

Examples

ballin', not ballin (contraction of “balling”)
‘til, not til (contraction of “until”)
'em, not em (contraction of “them”)
‘cause not cause
don’t not dont

Use a single hyphen (-) or ellipsis (...) when there is an unfinished word or sentence

4. Use standardized spelling for rap songs

Here’s a list of common American slang words and phrases and how to spell them

Examples

Tryna (Trying to)
‘Til (until)
‘Cause (because)
Finna (I’m fixing to)
I'ma (I am going to)
Turnt (Turn up)
gon' (going to)
outta ('out of')
e'ry (every)
nah mean (know what I mean?)
lil' (unless a proper name)
Cuz (when referring to a cousin, or brother, friend, comrade, etc and NOT abbreviated "because")
Ya (should be used when in place of “You”)
Yah (should be used when in place of “Yeah/Yes”)

Sync

1. Synchronize each line in time with the music when the first letter of the line is sung (or less than half a second before)

Don’t start the sync with the instrumental intro

Complete the sync (by syncing the “END” line) right after when the last sung line ends.

2. Never synchronize a line in delay

When you’ve made a mistake and your synchronization is out of time, correct it!

Desktop app: adjust the beginning of the line using the +/- buttons. If you find that the sync is completely wrong you can reset it by selecting the “More (...)” button. From here you can start to sync from scratch.

Mobile apps: click on the back button and correct the last synced line, continuing synchronization from there

3. Verify the accuracy of the sync

Whether you synchronize from scratch or are simply proofreading a synchronization, remember to always check the accuracy of the sync by playing each line (purple play button) through the desktop app.

4. Set a line as instrumental when there are no lyrics (or singing) in a song for longer than 5 seconds

Click on "Set Instrumental" to mark the part as instrumental and sync this line as usual with the "Sync" button.

5. When a song contains multiple voices and choruses at the same time, sync the main vocals only

Translate

1. Don’t copy/paste. Do not use machine translation websites and services

It is not permitted to copy translations from other websites or apps. Ensure you only add lyrics translated by yourself.

2. Translate line by line

Focus your translation on the related line only. Do not translate two or more lines into one single line.

In the End by Linkin Park

Wrong

The club isn't the best place to find a lover

La discoteca no es el mejor lugar para encontrar a una amante así que, al bar

So the bar is where I go

es a donde voy

Good

The club isn't the best place to find a lover

La discoteca no es el mejor lugar para encontrar a una amante

So the bar is where I go

Así que, al bar es a donde voy

3. Respect the Musixmatch Writing Guidelines regarding “Transcribing” and “Format”

4. Do not translate in romanized version. Always use the original script

See the examples

In the End by Linkin Park

Wrong

My mother said I'm too romantic

Okan ga itta boku wa romanchikku sugiru tte

She said, "You're dancing in the movies"

Soshite "Anata wa eizō no naka de odotteiru no ne" tte

I almost started to believe her

Boku wa hotondo sore wo shinji hajimete ita

Then I saw you and I knew

Sokode kimi ni atte wakatta n da

Good

My mother said I'm too romantic

おかんが言った僕はロマンチックすぎるって

She said, "You're dancing in the movies"

おかんが言った僕はロマンチックすぎるって

I almost started to believe her

僕はほとんどそれを信じ始めていた

Then I saw you and I knew

そこで君に会って分かったんだ

5. Always consider the meaning of the sentence and the topic of the lyrics

6. When a word is untranslatable, keep the original word

Do not translate the lyrics if there isn’t a proper translation.

In the End by Linkin Park

Wrong

My mother said I'm too romantic

Okan ga itta boku wa romanchikku sugiru tte

She said, "You're dancing in the movies"

Soshite "Anata wa eizō no naka de odotteiru no ne" tte

I almost started to believe her

Boku wa hotondo sore wo shinji hajimete ita

Then I saw you and I knew

Sokode kimi ni atte wakatta n da

Good

Diet Mountain Dew, baby, New York City

Diet Mountain Dew, tesoro, New York City

Never was there ever a girl so pretty

Non c'è mai stata lì una ragazza così bella

Do you think we'll be in love forever?

Pensi che ci ameremo per sempre?

Do you think we'll be in love?

Pensi che ci ameremo?

Structure

Desktop App Only

What does “structure” mean?

In this context structure refers to the act of defining every part of a song. All songs are divided into sections, and every section has a name, function and specific meaning.

This new, additional step will allow for the recognition of all sang and spoken parts of all songs using this simple formula.

This new function is currently only available only on the Desktop App.

Adding the song structure doesn’t change the existing editing guideline

Which are these sections or parts?

Please note that not every song will have all of the above, but may contain only some. It’s important not to force anything in order to include them all. Kindly, make sure you tag what you think is right, the song will speak to you.

Lyrics with Structure Tag

Explanation

#INTRO
‍Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh, oh-oh-oh
Caught in a bad romance
‍
#INTRO
‍Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh, oh-oh-oh
Caught in a bad romance

#INTRO
‍This is located at the beginning and introduces the song.
‍
- The intro to a song doesn’t have the same melody as the verses and choruses. It may also introduce the performers, especially in rap songs.
‍
- The intro of the lyrics should include words and should not be confused with the instrumental intro.

#HOOK
Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance

#HOOK
Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance
‍

#HOOK
Very repetitive and catchy part of the song, usually its most memorable component, not to be mistaken with the chorus

- You can find it before the chorus, at the beginning of the song, before or after the bridge‍

#VERSE
I want your ugly, I want your disease
I want your everything as long as it's free
I want your love, love, love, love
I want your love

#VERSE
I want your psycho, your vertigo shtick
Want you in my rear window, baby, you're sick
I want your love, love, love, love
I want your love (love, love, love, I want your love)
‍

#VERSE
- The verse roughly corresponds to a poetic stanza and can often be structured according to rhyming schemes.

- When two or more sections of the song have almost identical music but different lyrics, each section is considered one verse.

- Generally, there are multiple verses in a song, and they usually have different lyrics even though the melody will likely be the same.‍

#PRE-CHORUS
‍You know that I want you
And you know that I need you ('cause I'm a free bitch, baby)
I want it bad, your bad romance

#PRE-CHORUS
- This is an optional section, sometimes included between the verse and the chorus

- Musically it functions as a melodic, and often dynamic, bridge from the first part of the verse into the heights of the chorus.

#CHORUS
I want your love, and I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and all your lover's revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

#CHORUS
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh, oh-oh-oh
Caught in a bad romance
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh, oh-oh-oh
Caught in a bad romance
‍

#CHORUS
- This is the part of a song which is repeated after each verse

- The chorus contains the main theme of what is being expressed lyrically and musically. It is repeated throughout the song, and the melody and the lyrics rarely vary.

- In many cases, it contains the song title

#HOOK
Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance

#HOOK
Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance

‍

#BRIDGE
Walk, walk, fashion baby
Work it, move that bitch crazy
Walk, walk, fashion baby
Work it, move that bitch crazy
Walk, walk, fashion baby
Work it, move that bitch crazy
Walk, walk, passion baby
Work it, I'm a free bitch, baby
‍
#BRIDGE
I want your love, and I want your revenge
I want your love, I don't wanna be friends
J'veux ton amour, et je veux ta revanche
J'veux ton amour, I don't wanna be friends

#BRIDGE
No, I don't wanna be friends (caught in a bad romance)
I don't wanna be friends, want your bad romance
Caught in a bad romance
Want your bad romance‍
‍

#BRIDGE
Departure or release from the rest of the song

- It is the connection between the last chorus and the previous one (which is usually the second, but not always

- It could be very similar (or even identical) to a verse, or instead introduce new chords and change rhythm instead

- It can provide a peak moment or a turning point in the song

- Occasionally it can be instrumental

#OUTRO
‍Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah
Roma, roma-ma
Gaga, ooh-la-la
Want your bad romance

#OUTRO
- Takes a song to its conclusion with a flourish
- Comes after or repeats the last chorus

Do’s and Don’t

Do start every song with a Tag

Don’t confuse the already existing “Instrumental” and “End” with Tags

Don’t change the stanzas structure: there can be two verses before a chorus, tag them #VERSE and #VERSE avoiding numbers

Do maintain consistency: please make sure to use CAPITAL LETTERS for the tags (see the examples below)

Do start every part with a tag, or it’ll be signed as #VERSE by default. It also counts for parts that are following an INSTRUMENTAL

Do leave a space between the end line of a paragraph and the tag corresponding to the next one.

Don’t leave a space when an INSTRUMENTAL is preceded by a #CHORUS

Check the example images

Guidelines

Transcribe

Format

Sync

Translate

Structure

Company

Products

Community