Two ways to display lyrics on your MP3 player

Date of creation: 16 july 2024

Today i found out my MP3 player - an AGPTEK AO2 - was able to display lyrics while the song was playing, and this felt extremely revolutionary.
I had already tried making a lyrics file, but i never understood how to make it work... so here's a tutorial for anyone interested!

The premise: compatibility and LRC files

Both of the methods i'm going to show you depend on a file, called LRC file, which contains lyrics and timestamps for songs. In order to be able to use these methods, please first of all check if your device supports this file type! Usually by searching the model of your player you should be able to make this work.

LRC files, as i was saying, are made of timestamps and lyrics. Each string has one timestamp, and the relative line of lyrics it has to display at that time.

Method 1: manually creating your LRC file.

1. In order to make your own LRC file, firstly open a new TXT file on Notepad or your preferred file editor.

2. Copy and paste your lyrics on the file - you can find plenty online on websites like Genius. Make sure each line of lyrics takes up ONE string. You can fill eventual spaces with music with a tiny symbol like [ ♪ ].

3. At the start of each string, add a timestamp. The timestamps are formatted the following way:

So, you must put the timestamp inside square brackets, in the format [MINUTE:SECOND.MILLISECOND]
You can usually leave the milliseconds as 00.

4. Once you're done adding all your timestamps, click on "File", then "Save as", and save your file as Song.lrc
NOTE: you must name your LRC file the same exact way you've named your mp3 file, or else it won't work.

5. Move your new LRC file in the same folder as your MP3 file.

Done! Now your MP3 player should display your lyrics synchronized with your music.

Method 2: use LRC Generator to create your LRC file.

Another method you can use to create an LRC file without manually adding timestamps is using [this website, "LRC Generator"]. You can make your LRC file by following these steps:

1. The website will open the following window:

Copy your song's lyrics in the box that says "Type, paste or load the lyrics here".
TIP: If you enter the song, artist and album name in the fields on top, and click the lens, it will automatically search on the web for the lyrics! Personally i used Genius, but here's an example with the song "Dream Boy" by Waterparks, for which i used this tool in order to make a LRC file:

2. Click the "Synchronize to music" button. The page will change.

3. You should now be seeing another box with your lyrics in it. In order to synchronize it with your music, click the button that says "Audio" and select the mp3 file from your local files.

4. You can now click on "START". What you'll need to do now is click on "Next Line" each time the song moves to the following lyric, so the website will automatically add timestamps. Here's a visual tutorial in case it wasn't very clear:

5. When you're done synchronizing all the lyrics, the "Next Line" button should automatically change to "GET FILE". You can click it and download your LRC file.

6. Move your new LRC file in the same folder as your MP3 file.

Done! Now your MP3 player should display your lyrics synchronized with your music.

Conclusion

Here's two simple ways you can use to display lyrics on your mp3 player! I personally think it's a nice addition to the listening, especially if you wanna sing along and you don't know the song by heart!

It got kind of addicting so i think i'll make more of these.

Thanks for reading!! If you end up using these methods, feel free to let me know!