"INPUTTING" LYRICS ON MIDI

[shyamwestwind]

Hi
I hear its a real tough job but can someone please educate me as to how to input lyrics on the Midis so that they show on the display when played,
Simple non - technical language please !!!!

[rogerch]

shyamwestwind said:

Hi
I hear its a real tough job but can someone please educate me as to how to input lyrics on the Midis so that they show on the display when played,
Simple non - technical language please !!!!

Shyam,

I use Calkwalk 9.0 and on the track where the melody is it will allow you to paste lyric text and then line it up with the notes (synched).

Not sure what you use but I'm sure there are other proggie that will do the same. You have to trick the program to get lyrics in with out melody notes but I have seen that done on some of mid's I came across before.

Hope that helps

[weeo]

Hi Roger.can i just pick up on your answer to Shyam.I use cakewalk 9.0.Is there a way you can type in the lyrics?I've always been curious as to how you do this.
Thanks Weeo

[gibbo]

Simple directions for adding lyrics to CW;
Load the midifile,
locate and click on the melody line track (most often #4 but can be anywhere)
click on the lyric button, it looks like this; [oh] or go to View>oh-lyrics
this opens a window with lots of --- (dashes) each one represents a note in the melody
start typing in the lyrics or cut and paste them in from a doc or txt
remember that you're syncing the syllables of the words so a word like "something" is typed in as some-thing (other examples; re-mem-ber, be-lieve, etc)
watch for trills and runs on words eg: ba---b---y
keep the lyric window open and play the track, watching for sync, sometimes you have to add a - and sometimes if there's a missing note in the melody line you may join words by adding a _ eg: To_love some-bod-y (where the melody note for the word "To" is missing). Note: I usually just add the missing note.
It's much the same for most programs, Power Tracks etc.
Simple enough? Any questions?

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks gibbo - that was very informative and yes I've seen the window with the dashes. Well now I know what they are and I understand the part of syncing the sylabbles (I think I do !)I'm going to cut and paste your instructions and work on it tomorrow.
Thanks so much gibbo
Thank you too roger.
YEAH !!! I feel good - I'm learning something !!!

[freddieca]

The tutorial that Gibbo directed is spot on and the "proper" way to add lyrics to midis with melody tracks....I personally do just the same with almost all my midi files however, in cases where the melody track is missing I prefer to use the lyric buttons' [ oh ] "Drums" or "percussion" track to input my lyrics. all I have to do is follow the beats and input the corresponding lyrics or syllable that fall into that beat...a bit harder than the "proper" melody track method but gets the job done just as well...most specially if you're in dire need to put lyrics into your midi file sans carrying a bulky songbook
Happy Editing guys !!!

[weeo]

Thanks to all you guys,again, for all the help you get here.I didn't know you had to highlight the track first. Doh!!
regards
weeo

[gibbo]

You're welcome, Weeo, you don't need to highlight it as in Select Track (where it becomes specifically highlighted, usually with a dark background) but, yes, you need to click on the track so that the window opens for that track. The other way is to open the lyrics window and use the Select Track arrows in that window to select the correct melody track.

[charlie]

Hey Shyam,

I had the same problem, needing to display lyrics on a screen while the midi file was running. Fortunately, the GM software sequencer I use is capable of doing just that. However, the latest version of this software (Showplay 4.0) is not only capable of displaying lyrics, but you can tag the lyrics to soft scroll and follow the midi file, somewhat similar to karoake, but in text form without the bouncing ball or highlight. I have yet to purchase this new version, because I will have to update my laptop to Win XP. Showplay is currently working on a version to run on the new Vista software. If you wanna check out this GM sequencer designed especially for live midi musicians, here's the link: www.pride-corp.com.

[Steptoe]

There is a programme called Song Librarian which scrolls the lyrics in very large font while the midi is playing.

You can view the screenshots and download a demo version of it here:
Song Librarian

[shyamwestwind]

Thank You John - real neat program !!

[oldsage]

hi once again! click on this link,i think there is a utility that will do it for you www.hitsquad.com/smm/ i think it,s called serenade,it will input text to midi and also make kar files steve

[Emerald Midi]

The easiest way I find to add lyrics to midi files is to use karakan. The only draw back is the file will have to have a melody line, otherwise it becomes difficult.

Check out karakan using google.

[themd21]

Oldsage nailed it.

Serenade is the easiest lyric input software I have came across.
On his recommendation I downloaded and tried the demo,found it to be idiot proof, and purchased it for 10 dollars, £5.42 on todays exchange.
Good value or what!!

[oldsage]

i,m pleased i can get some things right.old brain box aint what it used to be. cheers steve

[themd21]

It's Jimmy, Oldsage, Jimmy!!

[gibbo]

lol, don't get confused by the lack of commas... you're Jimmy, he's Steve!!!

[jerrymc]

Hi Folks

I use an old version of Cakewalk [Pro 24]...and I input the Lyrics in Lyrics view as indicated above.I use VanBasco to play them, but dont worry so much that the Lyrics are in the Melody track, as you can disable this track in Vanbasco, and the click "Save to list", in the Control Panel.This silences the Melody permanently, but allows the Lyrics to be seen while the Midi is playing.Anyone else tried this??

Jerry