Skill Level: Easy
MiniLyrics is lyrics plugin software that can display music lyrics in all the most popular media players. Those supported include iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, MediaMonkey and VLC but there are many more.
[Note: it does not yet appear to work with the brand new version of VLC (2.0) released earlier this week but the developers are aware of the issue]
What Does MiniLyrics Do?
- It automatically displays scrolling lyrics synchronized in time with the song within your media player – so you can follow along with the artist and catch every word, or sing along if your ears are up to it
- MiniLyrics automatically searches for, and downloads, lyrics in the background whenever you start to play a song – lyrics are found using tags based on the Artist Name and Song Title
- Lyrics that are found are also saved into your computer (C:\Lyrics by default) and there is a basic editor provided to edit lyrics
- You can also save lyrics into your mp3 files – so you can view them on your iPod or iPhone
- The lyrics database is claimed to expand daily and appears to be huge. Lyrics are created by users and uploaded to the MiniLyrics server where they are rated for accuracy
- MiniLyrics supports saving/loading of embedded ID3v2, Lyrics3v2 standard lyrics
- There is an optional karaoke mode which highlights the current words so you can sing in time
Using MiniLyrics
Download MiniLyrics from the developer here – for XP, Vista and Windows 7 but there is also a .apk version for Android available
Note: MiniLyrics is a free Trial version that never expires but it does have a ‘nag’ registration message appearing on startup – I found this easy to ignore or click off but to remove it permanently costs $24.99 to buy a perpetual license for up to 3 computers.
When MiniLyrics is installed it automatically finds and configures plugins for most media players installed on your computer – see the Download page above for specific instructions for less common players.
Initially MiniLyrics displays as a full Window as shown in the example (within Winamp) below:
Initial full window view - with nag message
Moving the cursor focus away from the window changes it to a much nicer translucent skin (plenty of different skins to choose from) as shown below:
Translucent skin and nag message clicked off
How Good Is The Database?
The acid test of a lyrics plugin is how comprehensive the lyric database is. I tested a really eclectic selection of modern(ish) music ranging from pop and jazz to goth rock and metal and am happy to report that the MiniLyrics database was extremely good, finding almost everything I threw at it.
As an example of obscure tracks it couldn’t find – one was by the UK 80s star Toyah and another was the operatic Flower Duet used in a lot of adverts (but a manual search did bring up the correct lyrics from a Charlotte Church version of the same song!)
If no results are found because the song’s artist name or title are incorrect / incomplete a manual search is required – from the menu bar \ Lyrics \ Search Lyrics option as shown below. You can choose the lyrics with the highest rating if more than 1 result is found:
Manual search for an artist/title
Conclusion
The nag message isn’t a big deal for me and I wouldn’t use MiniLyrics often enough to justify paying for a license to remove it permanently. However, it’s the best lyrics plugin I have used and is a great way to display music lyrics in a large number of media players.
It has many display options with the ability to save lyrics to your computer and into the song itself. It’s also a lot of fun when you realize you have been singing the wrong lyrics to your favorite song for years!
I was surprised at how comprehensive the lyric database seems to be as even tracks I thought quite obscure were often covered – it is certainly not restricted to just singles or chart music.
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