Set expectations: music lowers accuracy
The model behind RocketScribe was trained mostly on speech. Singing stretches vowels, bends pitch and sits under drums, guitars and synths, so a full mix transcribes noticeably worse than a podcast. Dense mixes, heavy effects on the voice, fast rap and backing vocals singing different words all make it harder.
Instrumental passages can produce stray words or a repeated line where nothing was sung, and a chorus can be dropped or duplicated. Treat the output as a draft that saves you typing, then correct it by ear.
What gives the best result
Clear vocals are what matters most:
- An isolated vocal track or stem from your own session gives far better results than the final mix.
- Acoustic recordings with one voice and one instrument come out better than full-band arrangements.
- A demo sung on a phone in a quiet room works well for songwriters capturing ideas.
- Pick the language of the song rather than auto-detect, especially when the intro is instrumental.
Where songs come from
Upload MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC or OGG audio, or a music video as MP4 or MOV, as it is. A public YouTube, TikTok or SoundCloud link can be imported with Import from link. Only the audio is fetched. Streaming services do not give you a file to upload, so this works with recordings you have.
Songwriters often use the browser mic recording in the upload box to sing a verse straight in and get the words down while the idea is fresh.
Correcting and exporting lyrics
The current line is highlighted as the song plays. Click a line to replay it and edit the words in place. Line breaks follow the timing of the recording, so you may want to rearrange them into verses and choruses in your own document.
Export TXT or press Copy for a lyric sheet. SRT or VTT give timed lines you can use as captions on your own lyric video or performance clip; subtitles are not burned into the video. DOCX suits a songbook or a lyric sheet for a choir or band.
Copyright
Lyrics are usually protected by copyright. Transcribing your own songs, songs you have rights to, or lyrics for private study and practice is one thing; publishing someone else's lyrics or captioned videos of their songs generally needs permission from the rights holder. For songs on YouTube, see the YouTube song lyrics transcript page.