I got 99 problems ✅
But not one guideline error ✅

That includes phone numbers, dates, and decades:

0900123450 ✅
1965 is a date in the ‘60s ✅

And exact times (but not ‘o’clock’ times)
It was 4:32 ✅
I sang from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.✅
Eleven o’clock ✅

D. Use end-line punctuation sparingly

E. Use standardized spelling for slang and abbreviations

The direct speech should be given within speech marks (“) following a comma. The first letter of the direct speech should be capitalized.

She said, “Do it like this” ✅

There’s no need to leave a ‘breath gap’; we want the sync to be as tight and accurate as possible.

B. Once you’ve completed your sync, check each line one by one, making adjustments where necessary

- Do this using the +/- buttons (on PC) or the ↑ ↓ arrows (on mobile) for each individual line ✅
- You can start the sync from scratch by clicking/tapping on the three dots at the top right of the page and choosing to ‘Restart Sync’ ✅
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- Listen to whole lines, not just the beginnings✅

If it takes an artist 3 minutes to sing a song, it should take you at least 3 minutes to sync it.

Here’s a brief description of each of them:

‍#INTRO
‍Section always at the very beginning of a song that is distinct, either musically or lyrically, from the rest of it.

‍#VERSE
‍The most narrative of the sections, its music is likely to be repeated a couple of times throughout the song with different lyrics.

‍#PRE-CHORUS
A linking section, most commonly placed between a verse and a chorus. It prepares the listener for the musical/lyrical shift into the chorus.

‍#CHORUS
‍Most likely the bit the song is most famous for. It’s often catchy, memorable, and repeats a few times without changes to the lyrics.

‍#HOOK
Similar to the chorus in terms of catchiness, but often more repetitive and a little less melodic/lyrical.

‍#BRIDGE
‍Typically comes about 60% of the way through a song and feels like a ‘break’ from what we’ve heard so far. Bridges often come sandwiched between two repetitions of the chorus.

‍#OUTRO
‍Section always at the very end of the song, taking it to its conclusion. It can feature identical lyrics to other sections, but ‘feels’ like an outro due to changes to the music and/or instrumentation.

Not all songs will feature all section types, so you shouldn’t feel a need to include them all every time. Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, however, does feature an example of each of the structure tags, and so handily makes the perfect example. Check it out, comparing the sections to the definitions above to cement your knowledge of them.

If there are more than 15 consecutive seconds without any lyrics, you should tag the section as instrumental by typing #INSTRUMENTAL as a line of lyrics and syncing it.

- Place instrumental tags between two separate structure tags (for example, between two #VERSE sections or between a #CHORUS and a #BRIDGE) ✅
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- Do not use the #INSTRUMENTAL tag within a single structure tag (such as in the middle of one #VERSE) or at the very beginning or end of a song ❌
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- After an #INSTRUMENTAL tag, you must add an empty line before starting the next structure tag ✅

Structure tags can be subjective and differ between genres and musical traditions. Don’t feel the need to include every tag in every song, or force anything that doesn’t feel natural. Follow your heart (and your ears) and tag the song as you see fit! Reach out for support on the Community Slack Workspace whenever you need a hand! ✅

Performer tags are added section by section, so it’s important to make sure the structure is well-defined before we begin. You should also ensure that all other areas of contribution are correctly added before starting to tag performers.

Songs can have many vocalists in sometimes complex combinations. Working section by section helps keep things simple!

- If an entire section is sung by a single performer, click the ‘+ Tag Performer’ button to tag them ✅
- If a section has multiple performers, tag each one in turn by highlighting the specific lyrics and assigning the related artist ✅

This helps create a more accurate and detailed set of performer tags:

Coldplay ❌
Chris Martin ✅

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ❌
Lady Gaga ✅

D. Use our ‘Miscellaneous Tags’ for trickier passages
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- #fanchant can be used on K-POP songs in cases where lyrics are sung by a crowd or uncredited ensemble. This will be most helpful for live versions, like this performance of 'In the End' by Linkin Park (2:10 - 2:26)
- #voice-over is for tagging primary lyrical sections delivered by a human, but uncredited and unrecognizable, voice
- #backing vocalist can be used when a song has backing vocals which aren’t delivered by a credited or recognized artist
- #robotic vocal is for passages delivered by a vocal so heavily edited that it’s no longer recognizable as from a human performer

Performer Tagging can be difficult due to the large variety of cases you could encounter. This is where the strength of our community is most powerful. Reach out for support on the Community Slack Workspace whenever you need a second opinion! ✅

Your translations should follow these guidelines just as your transcriptions do.

If the lyric is funny in the source language, try to make it funny also in your translation!

This can apply to brand and city names, for example:

Sitting on his lap sippin' Diet Pepsi
Sentado en su regazo bebiendo Diet Pepsi ✅
Sentado en su regazo bebiendo dieta Pepsi❌

Languages are very complicated and it’s not always possible to build a perfect translation. Focus instead on conveying the message of the original lyrics. Translating each word literally will likely not result in a good translation, but a bit of imagination will go miles!