When composing or recording a song, it would be very helpful to have a lyrics track below (or above) the vocal or instrument track.
This idea has been voiced in 2017 but was never implemented.
I propose it again for your consideration.
4 Likes
Hi,
Please add the optional feature-request tag to your post.
Btw, your title looks like there is a āLyrics trackā type in Cubase, but the entry is missing in the menu. I would change the title, just to add a Lyrics track.
Btw, Why is not the Marker track working for you?
How do you write in the Marker Track? You can add Markers, but how do you write words there?
Open the Markers window, then edit the Description field for any marker where you want to add text. (I think it would be hard to use this meaningfully for lyrics, especially if you want to use them from a distance, thus needing bigger text. I use it all the time to mark song sections, to easily see song structure, though.)
Thanks a lot. However, because the text is rather small, it would be helpful to be able to resize the width of the marker and thus the text, just as you can resize the width of the track. Steinberg please take note.
Even though this is a workaround, it would be highly appreciated to add a dedicated lyrics track.
One other thought is using the Score Editor, which does support lyrics, though youād have to have the melody entered to get the lyrics in time with the recording.
You may also want to check out this video that talks about various notepad functions in Cubase, with the potential one of interest here being the project-level notepad, which specifically alludes to putting lyrics there (and also demonstrates the ability to copy those into the Score Editor):
1 Like
Very helpful, indeed. The Project Notepad is perfect to keep lyrics with a project. As of now I have them in a Word docx. Much handier to have them associated with the project. Thanks again.
Not necessarily. Youād only need to have the rhythmic pattern, or even a so-so approximation of it. Create a dummy MIDI Track that doesnāt actually produce any sound. Now enter a Note in the Key Editor and in that Noteās Text Field on the Info Line enter whatever Lyrics youād like to see at that point. including multiple words. In the example below Iāve just used 1 Note per bar. Obviously youād want to clean up the Scoreās display. There is (was?) a section in the manual on creating Lead Sheets that can help with the cleanup. Now you can have the Lyrics scroll by in the Score Editor as the Project plays.
2 Likes
+1 googol. FWIW, this has been requested for (literally) two decades. What I fail to understand is that, given that it canāt be -that- hard to program but it hasnāt materialised.
Basically, āallā one needs as a baseline is a Marker Track with a different colour scheme. If there was a way to do a Marker Track with a transparent background, weād be half the way there. If we could edit the description field FROM WITHIN THE PROJECT EDITOR (ie. without having to go to the Inspector for each edit) weād be the other half the way there.
1 Like
Just to add:
If we had a lyrics track, could the lyrics be output to a monitor, like Time Display in Studio ā More Options ā Time Display? Big lyrics that scroll through the monitor window and indicate the current song position? So that a singing artist could be displayed this stuff?
2 Likes
Indeed. I was thinking this morning. Actually, you simply have to modify the marker track a bit. Use Markers to enter text, as now, but bigger font. Edit right in the track instead of a separate Window in the inspector. Done. Of course, what Johnny suggest is a step further which would be superb. But, if thatās too complicated, just modify the Marker Track and give it a new name, Lyrics Track, and add it to the menu.
Or just add another Marker Track & name it yourself. Iāve long had a Marker Track in my Templates named Notes that I use like sticky notes along the timeline; saying stuff like āfix sibilanceā or ādouble this section?ā
One advantage of using the Score Editor over a Marker Track - larger text.
Interesting approach! Oh, and cool lyrics by the way 
Here is what the Score Editor can look like. I just brute force hid stuff, Iām sure a more elegant approach exists (I havenāt really used the Score Editor for about 5 years, so a bit rusty).
Hereās the Project file for it.
Test Lyric Display.cpr (310.7 KB)
1 Like
+1
Workarounds are old; surely by now Cubase should have better, more elegant solutions for handling lyrics.? Pinch a few ideas from the āVST Liveā app for exampleā¦
1 Like
It is hard to believe that in 2024, a basic feature of MIDI is still not supported in Cubase.
Studio One seems to have pretty good lyrics support.
Why am I paying for cosmetic updates to Cubase when basic and much-requested features havenāt been implemented?
Yes - and its dedicated āLyrics trackā has been improved further in recent release S1 v7.
As I indicated earlier, Steinbergās āVSTLiveā app does pretty well, as far as I can see - no need to reinvent any wheels hereā¦
I also use the lyrics feature in VST Live and wonder why Cubase doesnāt have it, too. I tried to add a lyrics track yesterday and couldnāt believe it when I didnāt find it and ended up here.
In the meantime I used the new Score Editor (Dorico Jr.) in Cubase 14 to enter the lyrics and was able to keep working. But a lyrics track is much needed as a performing and composing aid - even better if it would be optionally tied to the new Score Editor in Cubase 14.
1 Like
Cross-grade, to Nuendo I did, for just this purpose.