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Tutorial

How to use FrontLine Lyrics

waving_hand

Welcome to FrontLine Lyrics

This app identifies whatever song is playing on your computer and shows the synced lyrics on screen. Works with Spotify, YouTube, or any other player. Just let the music play.

FrontLine Lyrics home screen
Home screen elements, numbered
STEP 1

Getting to know the home screen

The numbers below match the markers on the screenshot.

  1. Identifies the song and shows the synced lyrics.
  2. Manual search. Type the artist and song to find the lyrics.
  3. Festival Mode: built for live shows — put together the show's playlist and follow the lyrics manually until the app takes over the sync on its own.
  4. Reopens this tutorial.
  5. The three-dot menu, the minimize button, and the button that closes the app.
  6. Button to support the project with a coffee.
STEP 2

The settings menu (v1.4.2)

  1. These are tabs that switch the configuration options below: the first is for lyrics settings, the second for translation settings, and the third for general app settings.
Tabs in the settings menu

In the lyrics settings we have:

  1. Choice of lyrics font
  2. Lyrics color
  3. Lyrics font weight
  4. Lyrics style (whether it's italic or not).
  5. Font size
  6. When enabled, shows the original lyrics in a smaller font right below the translation
  7. Controls the background opacity behind the lyrics, from fully transparent to fully opaque.
Lyrics settings

In the translation settings:

  1. Translates the lyrics into another language, or converts them to a romanized version.
Translation settings

In the general app settings:

  1. Dropdown to change the app's language.
  2. Configure an optional global keyboard shortcut to lock or unlock the overlay. No shortcut is assigned by default.
  3. Theme selector: choose the Default theme, the Seasonal theme, or one of three additional themes. Seasonal themes are available only on their scheduled dates and in supported regions.
General settings
NEW IN v1.4.2

Lock the app window

Lock mode keeps the lyrics visible and lets mouse clicks pass through the app.

  1. While lyrics are playing, move the cursor over the app to reveal the lock icon in the top-left corner. Click it to lock.
  2. When locked, the overlay stays in its compact view and ignores clicks and dragging, except on the small lock icon used to unlock it.
  3. To move or adjust the overlay again, hover over the lock icon and click to unlock. Reposition it and lock it again if you like.
  4. Optional: in Settings → General, set your own keyboard shortcut to lock and unlock. There is no predefined shortcut.
Lock overlay control
Controls after clicking LISTEN
STEP 3

When you click LISTEN

The screen switches to show:

  1. The waiting area, showing "Listening..." while the app captures the audio.
  2. Next and previous track buttons.
  3. The LISTEN button, to identify the song.
  4. The AUTO mode switch.
  5. The button that clears the screen and returns to the start.
  6. The manual search button.
STEP 4

Song identified!

The lyrics appear on screen, along with:

  1. The synced lyrics, always showing three lines: the previous one, the current one, and the next one.
  2. The album cover.
  3. The song name and, right below it, the artist or band name.
Song identified, lyrics on screen
Manual sync arrows
STEP 5

Lyrics out of sync?

When the song isn't coming from Spotify — meaning it was identified by Shazam or you're in Festival Mode — up and down arrows appear on screen. Use them to change which line is current, moving forward or back until you land on the line the singer is on. It's the way to manually fix any drift, especially during live shows.

STEP 6

Setting up Festival Mode

  1. Field to enter your setlist.fm API key.
  2. Link to get your own setlist.fm API key.
  3. Search fields: artist or band is required; country, venue, and year are optional and help narrow the search.
Festival Mode setup screen
STEP 7

Getting your setlist.fm API key

You only need to do this once. Here's the full path, from the link inside the app to the key you'll paste back in:

  1. Inside the app, click the link next to the API key field — it opens the setlist.fm sign-up page in your browser.
  2. Create a free account and confirm it through the link setlist.fm sends to your email.
  3. Back in the app, click that same link again. This time, since you're logged in, it takes you straight to the API key request page.
  4. Fill in "Application Name" — anything that identifies your use is fine.
  5. Fill in "Application Description" with 30 to 4,000 characters explaining what you'll use the API for.
  6. Click Submit.
  7. Your API key shows up on the next screen. Copy it and paste it into FrontLine Lyrics.
Suggestion for Application Name

FrontLine Lyrics – Personal Use

Suggestion for Application Description

Personal, non-commercial use of the setlist.fm API inside the FrontLine Lyrics desktop app, to search setlists and build show playlists for Festival Mode, which displays synced lyrics during live performances.

Feel free to write your own version — setlist.fm just wants to know who's using the API and why.

Setlist search results
STEP 8

Searching for a setlist

  1. Example search for Twenty One Pilots, without using any optional filter.
  2. The 10 most recent results are shown.
  3. Button to build a playlist from the selected setlist.
STEP 9

Your Festival Mode playlist

  1. Playlist name, which you can freely edit.
  2. Icon to the left of each song: click and drag to reorder it.
  3. X button on each song, to remove it from the playlist.
  4. Artist and song fields to search for a track and add it wherever you want.
  5. START button, to begin the playlist.
Festival Mode playlist created
Festival Mode running
STEP 10

Festival Mode in progress

  1. Manual sync buttons, to skip forward or back a line of lyrics.
  2. Buttons to move to the next song or back to the previous one in the playlist.
  3. Button that opens the edit screen, to reorder, add, or remove songs.
  4. Button to end Festival Mode.
  5. Button to search for songs to add to the playlist.

Haven't installed it yet?

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