How to sync lyrics to music
Line-level sync in one click, beat-accurate polish on the timeline, and word-level timing when you want karaoke highlights.
Lyric timing has three levels of fidelity: lines that appear roughly with the vocal, lines that land exactly on the phrase, and individual words that light up as they are sung. Motion Text supports all three, and you can stop at whichever level your video needs.
Start rough, refine where it matters. Choruses and hooks deserve word-level care; verses usually read fine at line level.
Rough pass: Auto-sync
Paste lyrics one line per row, set the sung range (skip the intro), and Sync spaces every line evenly across it. This alone gets you 80% of the way on most songs.
Line pass: drag against the waveform
Play back and watch the waveform — vocal phrases are visible as energy bursts. Drag each line so it starts on its phrase; beat markers snap your eye to the grid.
Word pass: LRC or transcription
For karaoke highlights, import an .lrc file with word timestamps, or use Pro transcription to time every word from the audio itself. Words stay individually adjustable.
Check the edges
Trim each line to disappear just before the next arrives — a 0.1–0.2 second gap reads cleaner than butted cues. Frame-step with arrow keys to check entrances.
Questions
What is an LRC file?
A lyric file format with timestamps, exported by many karaoke tools. Motion Text imports line-level and word-level (enhanced) LRC.
Can AI do the whole sync for me?
Pro transcription listens to the track and returns word-timed captions automatically — best on clear vocals. You keep full manual control over every result.
Why do my lyrics feel late even when timed correctly?
Perception: text needs a beat to be read. Start lines 100–200 ms before the vocal and they will feel simultaneous.