What an LRC file is
An LRC file is plain text. Each lyric line starts with the moment it is sung, in minutes, seconds and hundredths of a second, so a line sung at one minute 23.45 seconds reads [01:23.45] followed by the words. Music players and karaoke apps that show synced lyrics read this file to light each line on time. The file Groovalizer writes also opens with a [ti:] tag carrying the song’s name.
The .srt file holds the same lines as numbered subtitles, each with a start and an end time. Each subtitle stays up until the next line starts, so captions don’t blink off between lines in a video editor.
Make one in five steps
- 1.Add the song. Open the lyric page in your browser and drop in an MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG or AAC file.
- 2.Paste the lyrics. Paste them the way lyric sites print them. Section labels in square brackets, like [Chorus], are skipped, and repeat marks like (x2) are written out.
- 3.Tap along. Press play and tap Space or Enter as each line starts. Backspace takes the last tap back, and Escape stops.
- 4.Fix any line. Play it through with each line lit as it is sung. Drag a line that is early or late, nudge it, or retype a word.
- 5.Download the file. Save the timed lines as .lrc for players or .srt for video editors.
Tapping along, and why it lands on time
Everyone taps a fraction late: you hear the line start, then your finger moves. Groovalizer moves every tap a tenth of a second earlier to make up for it, which is why a single pass through the song is usually close. Anything still off can be dragged into place on the timeline under the song while it plays.
Tap-along runs entirely in your browser. The song never leaves your computer for it.
Or let it listen
On Pro, automatic timing listens to the song and gives every word a time, either for words you pasted or for words it writes out itself. Pro includes 300 minutes of song a month, 30 during the free trial, and a song it has already heard can be timed again at no cost. The song is sent to a speech service for this step. Lines it heard little of are marked for a check, and it is worth reading the rest through too: speech models mishear lyrics the way people do.
From a lyric file to a lyric video
The lines you just timed can become a video in the same tab. Pick one of 3,500+ visuals that react to the music, choose how the words arrive and where they sit, and export on Pro. The lyric video maker page covers the styles, the sizes and how it compares with other lyric tools.