Line-by-line karaoke is karaoke where the line to be sung is highlighted at the right moment. Admittedly, it’s not as good as syllable-based karaoke, but given the ease with which you can create them, you might as well enjoy it.
The principle we’re going to follow is fairly simple.
It comprises the following four actions:
- Retrieve the lyrics of the song.
- Create a text file in which each line of lyrics is preceded by a time stamp indicating when the line should be sung (this is the famous LRC format)
- Test the LRC file with the mp3 to check that the lyrics are correctly synchronised with the music.
- Integrate the time-stamped lyrics into the mp3.
The lyrics
Retrieve the lyrics corresponding to the version of your mp3 in one way or another, and save them in a text file (with the .txt extension) using the text editor of your choice.
Loading lyrics into Karaboss
Load the mp3 file in edit mode (or double-click on the mp3 file and stop it)
Click on the ‘Edit’ menu > ‘Edit lyrics’.
The following window appears:
Click on the ‘Import’ menu > ‘Import raw lyrics’
Select your lyrics file, it will be displayed in the ‘TEXT’ column and the program will prompt you to switch directly to ‘synchro’ mode, i.e. the mode in which each line of lyrics must be synchronised with the music.
Synchronising lyrics with music
This part involves synchronising each line of speech with the music by ear.
This is the trickiest part, but nothing insurmountable, especially if you know the song well!
The trick is to press the ‘ENTER’ key when the line needs to be sung.
Start playing the music and press the ‘ENTER’ key until all the lines have been time-stamped.
Once all the lines have been time-stamped, click on ‘Export’ > ‘Export as .LRC’.
Choose to export in line mode: in fact, we have only set the lines of the song (not the syllables)
The file is saved under the same name as the mp3, in the same folder and with the .lrc extension
The content of the file is nothing more than the time-stamped lyrics:
[00:22.42]I am a passenger
[00:25.86]And I ride, and I ride
[00:29.55]I ride through the city's backsides
[00:33.14]I see the stars come out of the sky
[00:36.83]Yeah, they're bright in a hollow sky
[00:40.30]You know it looks so good tonight
[00:51.04]I am the passenger
[00:54.49]I stay under glass
[00:57.99]I look through my window so bright
[01:01.56]I see the stars come out tonight
[01:05.50]I see the bright and hollow sky
[01:08.76]Over the city's ripped back sky
[01:12.33]And everything looks good tonight
[01:15.93]Singin' la la la la la la la la
[01:22.69]La la la la la la la la
[01:26.24]La la la la la la la la, la la
You can exit the editor.
Testing the LRC file
We now have an mp3 file and an LRC file with the same name:
Run the mp3 (double-click) and the lyrics should appear synchronised with the music.
Embedding the lyrics in the mp3
In this section, we embed the time-stamped lyrics in the mp3 so as to create a standalone mp3 file that can be played by any player capable of reading mp3s and displaying lyrics when they are included.
As before, load the mp3 file in edit mode (or double-click on the mp3 file and stop it running)
Click on the « Edit » > « Edit lyrics » menu
You will get the same edit window as before, except that it has detected your LRC file and displays its contents directly.
Click on the ‘Save lyrics to mp3 file’ button, and you’re done.
Note: when recording, you will be offered the option of saving your mp3 under a different name. It is not possible to overwrite the original file, which is locked by Karaboss (and it is always better to keep your original file unchanged as a precaution).
That’s all folks
Now you’re ready to build your own mp3 karaoke library.