Demos and rough mixes
Get a working transcript down before you forget your own lyrics.
SONG TO LYRICS
Get lyrics from any song recording
Upload your song recording and LyricTime captures the lyrics, lines them up with the audio, and gives you an editable transcript you can fix, time, and export.
Create a free account to test LyricTime on one of your own songs. Export unlocks with paid minutes.
Captures lyrics from almost any kind of song recording, not just polished studio tracks
Works when you need lyrics from your own recording, demo, freestyle, or voice memo
Full editor to correct words and timing before you export anything
Already have the lyrics typed up somewhere? Skip straight to timing instead of transcribing
Best for
Who this is built for
Your own song recordings
Upload a track you recorded yourself and turn the vocal into lyrics you can edit, time, and export.
Freestyles and improvised vocals
Capture lines you didn't write down as you recorded them.
Voice memos
Turn a phone recording of an idea into text you can actually work with.
AI-generated songs (Suno, Udio, etc.)
Get the generated lyrics into a clean, editable, timed format.
Worth knowing
Get lyrics from your own song, demo, or voice memo
Whether it is a finished track, rough demo, freestyle, or phone recording, LyricTime turns your own vocal recording into editable timed lyrics.
Use it when you need to get lyrics from your song, turn your recording into lyrics, or recover lyrics from a demo before the words disappear from memory.
The process
How it works
01
Upload the recording.
Whatever you've got — a polished take or a rough phone memo.
02
Choose your option.
No lyrics yet? Choose "Upload MP3 only." Lyrics already exist somewhere — notes app, AI tool output, a napkin? Choose "Upload MP3 + paste lyrics" instead, for more reliable timing.
03
Edit the result.
Fix any misheard word, adjust timing, or clean up structure using the editor's three modes — Timeline for visual drag-and-drop timing, Blocks for line-by-line text fixes and Find & Replace, and Focus for a final listen-through. See our How It Works page for a full breakdown.
04
Export or keep working.
Download SRT, LRC, or VTT, or save the project and come back to it later.
What to expect
Go in expecting something close to finished
Expected result
The main thing to know
Transcription quality tracks closely with how clear the vocal is — that's true of any AI transcription, not a LyricTime-specific limit, because the underlying problem is genuinely harder when vocals are buried, distorted, or recorded on a phone in a noisy room. A clean solo vocal transcribes very well. Dense rap, mumbled freestyles, heavy harmonies, or a vocal sitting low in the mix will need more correction — and if the same word gets misheard more than once, switch to Blocks mode and use Find & Replace to fix every instance in one go rather than hunting down each line individually.
Expected result
A quick review still matters
If you already have the lyrics written down accurately, pasting them in with "Upload MP3 + paste lyrics" will almost always give you a cleaner result than starting from audio alone — there's no reason to make LyricTime guess words you already know. The important word there is accurately: paste the lyrics as they're actually sung, not your best guess or a partial draft. LyricTime times the words you give it against the vocal rather than double-checking them against what's actually sung, so incorrect or incomplete lyrics can throw off the result rather than fix themselves. If you're not confident the lyrics you have are correct and complete, "Upload MP3 only" is the safer choice.
Worth knowing
Ad-libs, background vocals, and non-word sounds
Rough recordings often have more than just the main vocal — ad-libs, harmonizing, hype shouts, or sounds that aren't really words at all. Worth knowing before you upload: there's a real difference in how these come through.
Short, actual words used as ad-libs — things like "yeah," "check it," "let's go" — generally do get picked up, the same as any other word in the song. Non-word vocal sounds, on the other hand — things like "uh," wordless harmonizing, or scatting — generally don't get transcribed, since there's no actual word there to capture. This isn't a flaw to fix; it's just the nature of turning audio into text, and it means your lyric file will mostly reflect the words that are actually said or sung rather than every vocal sound on the track.
If a non-word sound is important to how the song reads on screen — a signature ad-lib, a recurring "ooh" in a hook — you can always add it back in manually in the editor and set a rough timestamp for it. It just won't show up automatically the way a spoken word would.
Tips
Common mistakes and what to do instead
Only paste lyrics into "Upload MP3 + paste lyrics" if you're confident they're accurate and complete. LyricTime times the words you give it rather than fact-checking them, so a guess, a partial draft, or lyrics with mistakes can throw off the result. If you're not sure your lyrics are right, use "Upload MP3 only" instead.
For freestyles, expect more manual cleanup on slang, ad-libs, and fast sections — that's the hardest case for any transcription tool, not just this one.
If you have access to a version of the recording with the vocal isolated or pulled forward — even a rough one from a stem-splitting tool — that genuinely helps. Industry testing on music transcription has found that working from an isolated vocal rather than a full mix can meaningfully cut down on word errors, since the model isn't trying to separate voice from instruments and guess at the same time.
If a recording has a long instrumental intro, that's normal and doesn't affect transcription of the vocal sections — LyricTime should skip straight to where the vocal actually starts.
If the transcript is mostly right but the whole thing feels shifted slightly early or late, that's usually a consistent offset rather than a transcription error — check whether nudging every line by the same small amount fixes it before editing lines one by one.
Practical details
Before you upload
How long does processing take?
Most songs are done in well under a minute — often around 25 seconds in practice. To be safe, plan for up to 30-60 seconds depending on the song.
Is there a file size limit?
Yes — uploads are capped at 15MB per file. A typical full-length MP3 at standard quality comes in well under that.
What languages does this support?
Eight languages are officially supported: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. Outside of those, results aren't guaranteed, though other languages have worked for some users in practice.
Is there a free way to try this first?
Yes. New accounts get a short free trial on their own song before any paid minute pack is needed.
FAQ
Got a question?
Will this work on a rough demo or phone recording?+
Yes. Quality affects accuracy, but it's built to handle imperfect, non-studio recordings.
Can I get lyrics from my own recording?+
Yes. Upload your own recording as an MP3 and LyricTime will create an editable timed lyric transcript from the vocal. It works for finished tracks, demos, rough mixes, freestyles, and voice memos, though clearer vocals give better results.
Can it transcribe rap and fast vocals?+
Yes, though fast or dense vocals are more likely to need manual correction afterward — that's the hardest case for any music transcription, since words come faster than typical sung phrasing.
I already have lyrics written somewhere — do I still need transcription?+
Not if you're confident they're accurate and complete. Paste them in with "Upload MP3 + paste lyrics" instead — it's generally more reliable than transcribing from audio alone, but only if the lyrics you supply are correct. If you're working from memory or a rough draft you're not sure about, "Upload MP3 only" is the safer option, since LyricTime times whatever words you paste in rather than checking them against the vocal.
Does this work for AI music tools like Suno or Udio?+
Yes — see our Suno & Udio lyrics page for the specific recommended workflow.
What if the transcription gets some words wrong?+
Use the built-in editor to correct any line before exporting. This is expected and normal, not a sign something's broken.
Will LyricTime pick up ad-libs, harmonizing, or background vocals?+
It depends on whether there's an actual word there. Short ad-lib words like "yeah" or "check it" generally come through fine, the same as any other word. Non-word vocal sounds — things like "uh," wordless harmonizing, or scatting — generally don't get transcribed, since there's no word to capture. If a sound like that matters to your final lyric file, you can add it in manually in the editor.
Ready to get your lyrics out of the recording?
Try the demo first to see the output quality for yourself. To process your own song, choose a minute pack.
Create a free account to test one song • Export unlocks with paid minutes
