[Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

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Andre_H
Posts: 415
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:04 pm
Location: Germany

[Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by Andre_H »

Hello, everyone,

I haven't really dealt with lyrics so far, would want to start now. Fetching the lyrics of individual tracks manually in MMW and MMA is clear to me so far.

Questions about the "Workflow" here:

- can I, and how, fill a larger number of tracks / albums? (This does not seem to work from the track properties with multiple selected files.)
- is there a possibility to let it take place "passively while playing"? I found options in MMW and MMA that sound like this, but I'm not sure what exactly they do)

- is there anything special to consider when it comes to lyrics? I'm still "new" here and would like to avoid major mistakes and repeated work.

I am grateful for all tips!

Have a nice weekend everyone!
- MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 2016 # only essential addons # my 24/7 media server
- MMW MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 10 # playing, testing skins & addons # my desktop app
- MMA Pro (2.0.0.1063) on Android 10, 11, 12 Phones & Tabs # WiFi Sync # playing

- MP3Tag, MP3Diags, MP3DirectCut, IrfanView
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Andre_H wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:58 am - can I, and how, fill a larger number of tracks / albums? (This does not seem to work from the track properties with multiple selected files.)

- is there a possibility to let it take place "passively while playing"? I found options in MMW and MMA that sound like this, but I'm not sure what exactly they do)

- is there anything special to consider when it comes to lyrics? I'm still "new" here and would like to avoid major mistakes and repeated work.
Hi Andre,

In my opinion MMW4 + Lyricator is currently a better combination to add lyrics. This is because:

1). You can set Lyricator to handle 1000's of files in a few clicks
2). Lyricator has more "sources"
3). My "hit rate" with Lyricator / MMW4 is above 80% whereas MMW5 (with less sources) is down around 50%
4). MMW4 is pretty much set and forget (e.g. overnight) whereas MMW5 needs more "user input" and thus less efficient of your time.

My personal approach is to have a master MMW4 library (on my D: drive) and then synchronise it to another location (E:\ drive) every now and again. This means I can - potentially - set MMW4 "lyricating" whilst I listen using MMW5.

I also have a couple of "Lyrics" specific Collections (initially defined in MMW4 but also copied over to MMW5 during install). For example, "No Lyrics AND Not Played Recently" is:
Lyric is Unknown
Type equals Music
Album Artist doesn't equal Various
Artist/Director doesn't equal Various
Last Played >(days ago) 90
Bitrate (kbps) >160
Length (seconds) between (45,600)

So I do not waste time searching for lyrics if quality is low, track is too short or too long or has been played recently (as attempt to lookup lyrics will have happened during the play). I am also not too worried about lyrics for "Various Artists" compilations.

I recommend running the debug version of MMW4 or MMW5 as this will give you an idea of what is going on (and possible hint if something is not happening as expected).

Also take some time - when you first download / add music to your library to check ALL the tags etc. I like to add the Disc number and make sure tracks (1-9) have a preceding 0. I also check Genre but Artist/Album/Title/Date are most important for lyric matching in my experience / opinion. I tend to do this "per album" whilst in a temporary "Downloads" folder. Once complete I then use "Auto-Tag" (as a check) followed by "Auto-Organise" to the final folder. Auto-Tag doesn't often find lyrics in my experience but that might improve in time I guess (i.e. sources improve).

Whilst not essential for Lyrics, I do take some time to get the album art right and analyse volumes. Once all the previous is done, I create an Album Playlist and try to listen to the playlist before synching to devices (using the playlist).

On a few occasions, MMA has found Lyrics not found by MMW. This is where you need to be a little careful - if multiple devices!!! Things work better for me by having JUST ONE of my devices set to "Auto-sync file metadata from the device to the PC"

If tracks are obviously "instrumental" or "talking" etc., then I tend to put a "one-word" comment in the lyrics. You can do this in a single hit if you are confident with editing multiple files!

Hope this helps.
Ian Taylor
Andre_H
Posts: 415
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:04 pm
Location: Germany

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by Andre_H »

Hi Ian,

thanks for the valuable tips. I will then set up an MM4 portable installation next to my MM5 "master" and have a look at the add-on mentioned.

The tip with the collection sounds great!
- MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 2016 # only essential addons # my 24/7 media server
- MMW MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 10 # playing, testing skins & addons # my desktop app
- MMA Pro (2.0.0.1063) on Android 10, 11, 12 Phones & Tabs # WiFi Sync # playing

- MP3Tag, MP3Diags, MP3DirectCut, IrfanView
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by Lowlander »

1) You can set the Preview window to Playing and Lyrics will be auto-looked-up if Lyrics are enabled to be shown and auto-lookup is enabled.
https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... ng_Preview
https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... ata_Lookup

2) You can use Auto-Tag to tag Lyrics to multiple files with Lyrics: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... 0#Auto-Tag
Andre_H
Posts: 415
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:04 pm
Location: Germany

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by Andre_H »

Hi Ian,

there are some problems with tagging tracks in MMW4, if you use the custom fields, at least that new ones with MMW5: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=100442&p=489199#p489199. So, tagging lyrics with MMW4 seems no option to me so far.

Hi Lowlander,

thanks for the tips. I'm a little hesitant about automatisms; there is a lot of work and time in my tags, and I would be reluctant to see unwanted / unknown side effects after updating thousands of tracks. I would at least work album-wise, but fully automatic correction / addition of my tags ... I don't know ... :wink:

Then I will stick with manual tagging for now, there I can see directly whether tags other than "Lyrics" have been changed.
Last edited by Andre_H on Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
- MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 2016 # only essential addons # my 24/7 media server
- MMW MMW 5.0.4.2690 (non-portable, shared DB & files) on Windows 10 # playing, testing skins & addons # my desktop app
- MMA Pro (2.0.0.1063) on Android 10, 11, 12 Phones & Tabs # WiFi Sync # playing

- MP3Tag, MP3Diags, MP3DirectCut, IrfanView
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Andre_H wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 4:30 am there are some problems with tagging tracks in MMW4, if you use the custom fields, at least that new ones with MMW5: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=100442&p=489199#p489199. So, tagging lyrics with MMW4 seems no option to me so far.

thanks for the tips. I'm a little hesitant about automatisms; there is a lot of work and time in my tags, and I would be reluctant to see unwanted / unknown side effects after updating thousands of tracks. I would at least work album-wise, but fully automatic correction / addition of my tags ... I don't know ... :wink:

Then I will stick with manual tagging for now, there I can see directly whether tags other than "Lyrics" have been changed.
Yes I can see that if you use Custom 6-10 there will be a problem. Your reply is really why I keep my MMW4 and MMW5 libraries separate! This allows me to use the best of both versions.

If you want to gain some "feedback" on "automatisms" then you might want to make a test version of your library and then compare your test post-automatisms with your live / production.
Ian Taylor
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: [Question]: Workflow to add Lyrics

Post by Lowlander »

Auto-Tag can be set to tag only Lyrics: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... g_Settings

This way your other tags remain untouched if you want to do bulk (sets of 100 for Gold users) tagging of Lyrics.
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