Working with Lyrics in a Cue

Lyric cues are used to display song lyrics during a presentation. Songs are stored in the Lyric Library, and any song in the library can be inserted into a script. When a song is inserted, MediaShout automatically creates pages based on the lyrics and play order you've configured.

Insert a Lyric Cue

Song lyrics are stored in the Lyric Library. When a lyric cue is added to a script, MediaShout automatically places overflow text onto additional pages within the cue.

Inserting a Lyric Cue

1. On the Home tab, click Insert Lyric.
2. Select a song from the Lyric Library, create a new song (New Lyric button at the bottom), or import a song from another file format.
3. (Optional) Edit the stanzas, play order, or template as needed.
4. (Optional) Click Insert into Selected Cue if you want to replace the currently selected cue instead of creating a new one.
5. Click Insert.

Once inserted, the cue's font, text color, and background can be customized using the Inline Editor.

Add and Manage Stanzas

Stanzas can be created, duplicated, renamed, reordered, skipped, and deleted. You can manage stanzas directly from the Pages Area or through the Lyric Library.

To edit a lyric cue in the Pages Area, select the cue in the Script Area. All pages within the cue will appear in the Pages Area.

To edit the song record itself, select the cue and click Insert Lyric to open the Lyric Library editor.

Add a Blank Page

1. Open the lyric cue in the Pages Area.
2. Select the page after which you want the blank page to appear.
3. Click Add Page.

You can also right-click a stanza and select Add Page > Blank.

Blank pages can be customized with backgrounds, templates, and other objects while displaying no lyric text.

Add an Existing Stanza

If a stanza already exists in the song but is not currently part of the play order:

1. Right-click the stanza that the new stanza should follow.
2. Select Add Page > Stanza.
3. Choose the stanza you want to insert.

The stanza is added to the play order list.

Tip: You can also click Add Stanzas from the Home tab.

Duplicate a Stanza

1. In the Pages Area, right-click the stanza you want to duplicate.
2. Click Copy.
3. Click Paste.

The duplicated stanza is inserted immediately after the original.

Add a New Stanza

1. Select the lyric cue and click Insert Lyric.
2. Choose the song you want to edit.
3. At the bottom of the center column, select the type of stanza you want to create.
4. Click Create Page.
5. Click the pencil icon to enter lyric text.
6. If needed, click the stanza title to change the stanza type.
7. Select Insert into Selected Cue.
8. Click Insert.

Edit an Existing Stanza

1. Select the stanza in the Pages Area.
2. Use the Inline Editor to edit the text within the Text Object.

Note: Any changes made to the stanza text will update all occurrences of that stanza throughout the song.

Skip a Page in the Play Order

To temporarily remove a page from the play order without deleting it:

1. Open the lyric cue in the Pages Area.
2. Click the Cue Options button on the page you want to skip.
3. Select Skip Page.

Remove a Stanza from the Play Order

1. Right-click the stanza you want to remove.
2. Select Delete Stanza.

The stanza is removed from the play order but remains available in the song record and can be added back later.

Choose a Play Order

The play order determines which stanzas, title pages, and blank pages appear when the song is presented. Any page can appear multiple times, once, or not at all.

Changing the Play Order

1. Select the lyric cue in the Script Area.
2. Click Insert Lyric.
3. Select the song you want to edit.
4. Modify the play order as needed:
   • Drag and drop stanzas in the play order list to rearrange them.
   • Drag stanzas from the song record into the play order list.
   • Select a stanza in the play order list and click Delete to remove it from the play order.
   • Select a stanza in the song record and click Delete to permanently remove it from the song.
5. Click Insert to save your changes.

You can also drag and drop stanzas directly in the Pages Area to change the play order.

Note: Multi-page stanzas are moved and deleted as a single group.

Display Song Credits

Song title, author, copyright, CCLI information, and other song metadata can be displayed on lyric pages using Reference objects.

Displaying Song Credits

1. Select the lyric cue and open it in the Inline Editor.
2. Select the stanza where you want the credits to appear.
3. Click Insert Object > Reference.
4. Position the new text box where you want the credits displayed.
5. Click Insert Token and choose the information you want to display, such as:
   • Title
   • Author
   • Copyright
   • CCLI License
   • Hymnal
6. Format the text as desired.

Helpful Tips

• Add custom text such as "Written by" before inserting a token.
• Use Object Visibility to control which stanzas display the credits.
• Select Show on All to display credits on every stanza page.
• Select Last Stanza to automatically display credits only on the final stanza.
• Save your credit layout in a template so it can be reused automatically with future songs.

Add a Title Page

Title pages can be used to display the song title, author, copyright, and other information before the lyrics begin.

Adding a Title Page

1. Select the lyric cue in the Script Area.
2. On the Home tab, click Title Page.

A title page is automatically generated and added to the cue.

After adding a title page, a yellow notification icon may appear indicating that the cue differs from the song record. To save the change to the song record, click Cue Options and select Save to Library or Add Copy to Library.

The title page can be customized just like any other page by formatting text and adding additional reference objects.

Removing a Title Page

1. Open the lyric cue in the Pages Area.
2. On the Home tab, clear the Title Page option.

The title page is removed from both the play order and the song record.

Working with Blank Pages

Blank pages display backgrounds without any lyric text. They are commonly used before a song begins, during instrumental sections, or after the song ends.

Adding a Blank Page

1. Open the lyric cue in the Pages Area.
2. Select the stanza after which the blank page should appear.
3. Click Add Page.

Blank pages can be customized by changing the template, background, or by adding other objects.

Removing a Blank Page

1. Open the lyric cue in the Pages Area.
2. Right-click the blank page you want to remove.
3. Click Delete.

Additional Help

For more information about working with song lyrics in MediaShout, see:

• Lyrics Settings
• Lyric Library
• Cue Notifications
• Edit a Cue

Questions?

Email Support@mediashout.com if you need additional help working with lyric cues.