How do I check my lyrics are in time?

Every line of your lyrics gets a green dot (in sync) or an amber dot (worth a listen), and you can tap any line to hear it from just before it starts.

What you see first

If you detected your lyrics, the heading is Check your words and timing. You start in Listen and fix, so you can correct words even if the timing needs work. Check names, repeats and the ending; green timing markers do not guarantee correct words. Choose Tap along when you want to work on line starts.

For pasted lyrics, the top of the screen tells you how the timing went:

• 'Every line lines up.' For example 'All 24 lines are in sync. Have a listen if you like, then pick a style.' Press Play from the first line to hear it, or go straight on.
• 'Everything lines up except 3 lines.' With 'Want to check them? We’ll play each one and you tell us if it sounds right.' Press Check 3 lines (or Check it for one line). See How does 'Check 3 lines' work?
• 'Let’s sync this one together.' This shows when lyrik couldn't place enough words by itself (more than about 3 lines in 10 are amber). It opens in tap mode: 'We couldn’t place enough of the words on our own. Start the song below and tap as each line starts. We’ll do the rest.' See How do I tap along to sync my lyrics?

How to check your lyrics

1. Read the list under 'All 24 lines Tap a line to hear it.' (the number matches your song, and a computer says 'Click').
2. Tap any line. It plays from 1 second before the line starts.
3. Watch the line that's playing. It lights up word by word as you sing.
4. Use the player along the bottom: play and pause, the time, and a waveform of your song with green and amber blocks for your lines. Tap the waveform to jump to that point.
5. If a line is amber, tap it. A short reason shows under it, such as 'Unsure: the vocal is hard to hear here.'
6. Fix what needs fixing (see below), then press Looks right. While amber lines are left, that button reads Skip, it looks right instead. See How do I finish syncing?

What the amber reasons mean

An amber dot doesn't mean a line is wrong. It means lyrik wants a second opinion. On a computer, hover over a dot to see 'Check this line: …' or 'In sync'.

Reason	What it means	What to try
'the timing could go either way'	Two ways of measuring the timing disagree.	Listen. If it sounds right, say so.
'the vocal is hard to hear here'	Your voice is quiet or buried in the mix here.	Listen, then nudge it if it's early or late.
'a word looks off'	One word doesn't seem to match what's sung.	Check the spelling, then the timing.
'a word is held for over 3 seconds'	A word seems to last a long time, which is sometimes right.	Listen to the end of the line.
'it lands where we can’t hear singing'	The line sits where lyrik hears no voice.	It may be too early or too late. Nudge it, or tap along.
'it starts away from where the singing does'	The line starts a little off the nearest sung note.	Nudge it, or tap along.
'there’s singing here with no words on it, maybe an oh or a woah, or a line your lyrics don’t have'	lyrik hears more singing than your lyrics have. Most often it's an oh or a woah.	See Sync says 'We hear singing at 1:23 that no line starts on'
'it may start early (there’s singing just before it, maybe an oh or a woah)'	The first word may have been pulled back onto singing just before it, often an oh or a woah.	Listen to the start. If the first word comes in early, move it to where it's sung. See How do I move a single word?
'we couldn’t make out the words here'	When lyrik found your lyrics for you, it wasn't sure what was sung on this line.	Listen, and fix any word that's wrong.
'we only heard this line on a second listen, so check the words'	When lyrik found your lyrics for you, it missed this line the first time and caught it on a second listen. A word may be missing or misheard. These lines come first when you check.	Listen, and fix the words. To add a missing word, change the line's words in More tools.
'we could only check this one way'	Only one way of measuring could time this line. This is common outside English.	Listen. If it sounds right, say so.

Ways to fix words and lines

• Answer one line at a time: press Check 3 lines. See How does 'Check 3 lines' work?
• Tap along with the song: quickest when many lines are out. See How do I tap along?
• Nudge, edit or shift lines: open More tools. See How do I fix a line's words or timing?
• Edit or delete a word: select it in Listen and fix, then choose Edit word or Delete. Undo restores a change.
• Move one word: see How do I move a single word?

Good to know

• Fixing the sync is free. Edits never cost credits, however many you make.
• Ad-libs (the words you put in round brackets) show in italics.
• The line count can differ from the count you saw when you pasted your lyrics. Repeats are written out in full here, and ad-libs get their own lines.
• Your fixes save themselves. See Are my sync fixes saved, and can I undo them?

If something goes wrong

• 'The look track is not ready yet.' Your song isn't quite finished loading. Wait a moment and reload the page.
• You press 'Looks right' and nothing happens. A save may have failed. Open More tools to see the save status. See Are my sync fixes saved?
• Lots of lines are amber. Tap along is quicker than fixing them one by one. See How do I tap along?
• A whole chorus seems missing. See Sync says 'We hear singing at 1:23 that no line starts on'

Hidden extras

• On a computer, Space plays and pauses.
• More tools opens extra controls: line start times, nudges, line editing, ad-lib marking and Shift every line.
• Words underlined with amber dots are the ones lyrik is least sure of. You can move them one at a time.