Why does lyrik suggest these three styles for my song?

lyrik listens to your song and looks at your cover, then puts the three styles that suit them best at the top of the list, each with a short reason.

Where you'll see the picks

• On a computer: the list on the left starts with 'Picked for your song'. Above it: 'We picked three for your song. The rest are below.' The other styles follow, grouped by feel under headings such as Bold, Handmade and Cinematic. A feel with only one style left goes under Other styles.
• On a tablet or a small window: the three picks sit in a row under the preview, then the rest under 'More styles'.
• On a phone: tap the Style tab. The picks are in the first row, then 'More styles'.

Each pick shows its reason under the name, for example 'Fast verses: reacts to every word' or 'A big chorus: writes your chorus huge'.

How to use them

1. When the Style step opens on a new project, the preview starts on the top pick. On a computer, while lyrik works it out, the line above the preview says 'Finding the styles that suit your song…'.
2. On a computer, that line then says why, for example 'Xerox suits your fast verses.' Until you try another style, it adds ' Try others on the left.'
3. Tap or click another pick, or any card further down. The line changes to the style and the part you're watching, for example 'Marker, on Chorus 1.' or 'Marker, on the whole song.'
4. If a style takes a moment to load, you'll see 'Getting Marker ready…' (with the style you picked).
5. Keep the one you like. Your choice saves itself.

What the reasons mean

The first words of each reason name something lyrik noticed about your song or cover:

Reason starts with	What lyrik noticed
Fast verses	Lots of words a second
Room to breathe	Few words, long gaps or long instrumental parts
A slow tempo / A quick tempo	The speed of the beat
High energy / A calm song	How fast, loud and drum-heavy the song is
A big chorus	A chorus that comes back, with lines you repeat
Repeated hooks	Lines that come back again and again
Big drops	Sudden drops in the music
A steady groove	A strong, even beat
Long held notes	Words you hold for a long time
Someone on your cover	A person on your cover art
Accents in your lyrics	Accented or special letters in your lyrics
A dark cover / A bright cover	How light or dark your cover is
Warm cover colours / Cool cover colours	Whether your cover leans towards oranges and yellows, or towards blues
A colourful cover	A cover with lots of strong colour
A Christmas song	Christmas in your song's title, or more than once in your lyrics

How the three are chosen

• lyrik reads your song: its tempo, how fast the words come, the drums, how loud it is, the chorus, any drops, long held notes and the letters your lyrics use.
• It reads your cover: how light or dark it is, how warm or cool, how colourful, and whether there's a person on it.
• The three picks differ. They avoid repeating the same feel, so you get a real choice.
• Some styles are never picked for a song. A style whose fonts can't draw the letters in your lyrics isn't picked, and nor is a style that needs a person on the cover when yours has none.
• Christmas songs get Workshop first. When your song is clearly a Christmas song, Workshop, the Christmas style, is the first pick. For any other song it waits in the list with the rest, ready if you want it.

Good to know

• The picks are suggestions. Every style works with every song, so browse the rest of the list too.
• The list doesn't jump around. Once the picks are in, the order stays put while you click through.
• 'From last time'. When you come back to a project, the style you saved stays at the top of the list under 'From last time' on a computer, and first under 'More styles' on a phone or tablet. This only happens when it isn't one of the three picks.
• The card pictures are your song. Each still is your own song in that style, in your colours. They update after you change the colour, size, capitals, ad-libs, energy or take, a style's own font or background, or edit the sync. Once you've moved your clip, the stills come from its first sung line.
• Tempo is a judgement. A slow waltz or other song in 3 can be read as mid-tempo, so its picks may lean livelier than you expect.
• On a phone, the list closes after each pick so you can see the preview. Tap Style to open it again.

If something goes wrong

• There's no 'Picked for your song'. The picks couldn't be worked out, so you see the plain list instead. On a computer, the line above it says 'Each one takes its colours from your cover. Click one to try it.' Every style still works.
• A card is greyed out with a reason. That style can’t work for this song, and the card says why, for example 'Needs a photo of a person on the cover'. Pick one of the others.
• 'The style stills couldn’t be made (…). The live preview still works.' The card pictures didn't render. Pick any style to see it in the preview.
• Three shimmering cards don't go away. The picks are still on their way. If they don't arrive, reload the page.

Hidden extras

• On a computer, use ↑ and ↓ (or K and J) to step through the styles in the order shown. In the list itself, Home and End jump to the first and last.
• Rest the pointer on a card and lyrik starts loading that style, so it opens faster when you click.
• Want a quick side-by-side? See What’s the quickest way to compare styles?