How do I mark choruses, verses and repeats?

Put section names in square brackets, like '[Chorus]', and write out or mark every repeat the singer sings: that gives you accurate sync and the chorus effects in every style.

Why it matters

• Styles make the chorus hit harder, and your 9:16 clip starts on the first chorus. Tagged choruses are the most reliable way to get both.
• Every sung line needs a line in your lyrics. If the singer sings the chorus three times and your lyrics show it once, the sync can’t line up, and lines can’t be added after upload.

The rules

1. A section tag on its own line. Write the section name in square brackets on its own line. lyrik removes it from the lyrics and uses it as a hint. For example '[Verse 2]', '[Chorus]', '[Pre-Chorus]', '[Bridge]', '[Hook]', '[Intro]', '[Outro]'.

[Verse 1]
Paper boats along the gutter
Racing to the drain

[Chorus]
Count the buses going by
Count them till you're home

2. An empty tag repeats a section. A '[Chorus]' with no lines under it repeats the last block you labelled '[Chorus]'.

[Verse 2]
Coats still drying on the chair
Kettle on again

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
...

Here the second '[Chorus]' is sung with the same two lines as the first.

3. A count in the tag. '[Chorus x2]' sings the lines under that tag twice.

4. A count at the end of a line. A line ending in 'x2', '(x2)', '2x', '×2' or '(repeat)' is sung that many times. This works for 2 to 8 times.

Count them till you're home x2

5. A repeat marker on its own line. A line that is only '(x2)' or '(repeat)' repeats the stanza just above it.

Run, run, run around the block
Run until the streetlights stop
(x2)

6. A blank line starts a new stanza. Leave a blank line between verses and choruses. It helps lyrik find the chorus when you haven’t tagged it.

7. No tags? lyrik looks for the block of two or more lines that repeats most and treats it as the chorus. If two blocks repeat equally, the one with the song title in it wins.

Habits that break it

• '(Repeat chorus)' after a verse repeats that verse, not the chorus, because it repeats the stanza just above it. Write an empty '[Chorus]' instead.
• 'Chorus:' or 'Chorus x2' without square brackets is treated as a sung line, so 'Chorus' would appear in your video. Always use square brackets.
• 'x9' or more isn’t understood, and the count stays in the text. Write the line out, or use a count from 2 to 8.
• Names at the start of a line, like 'Ana: hello', stay in the lyrics. To mark who sings, see How do I show a duet or a featured singer?

Good to know

• Tags never show as lyrics. A few styles print a small label above the words, such as the section or, in a duet, the singer’s name (Folio does this).
• After upload you can still fix spellings and timing, but you can’t add, remove or repeat lines.
• If Sync says 'We hear singing at 1:23, 2:45 that no line starts on. It’s often an oh or a woah, or a line sung more times than your lyrics show.', listen at those times. If it isn't an oh or a woah, a repeat is probably missing. See Sync says ‘We hear singing at 1:23 that no line starts on’. What does that mean?

If something goes wrong

• A chorus repeat is missing on the Sync screen. Start a new video with the same audio file and paste the lyrics again with every repeat. If it’s the very same file, syncing it again can be free. See Starting another project with the same audio
• The word 'Chorus' shows up in my lyrics. It was written without square brackets. Start again with the same file and fix it.

Hidden extras

• A template with all of these rules is here: Is there a lyrics template I can copy?