| name | syllabify-lyrics |
| description | Use when lyrics.txt needs to be parsed and syllabified into lyrics.json for downstream vocal alignment. Respects explicit hyphens and applies a heuristic syllabifier. Does not inspect or modify the score. |
| allowed-tools | Read Bash Grep Glob Write |
| argument-hint | ["lyrics-txt"] |
| effort | low |
Skill: syllabify_lyrics
Purpose
Turn lyrics.txt into a structured lyrics.json that downstream tools can align against a melody.
This step is lyrics-only. It should not inspect or modify the score.
Inputs
lyrics.txt
Optional config:
{
"language_hint": "English"
}
Core responsibilities
- Read lyric lines (preserve original text for each line).
- Tokenize into words/syllables.
- Respect explicit hyphenation in the input (e.g.,
Twin-kle).
- If no explicit hyphens are present, apply a deterministic heuristic syllabifier.
- Emit
lyrics.json.
Output
Write lyrics.json matching schemas/lyrics.schema.json.
Suggested CLI
./bin/syllabify_lyrics lyrics.txt --language English --out lyrics.json
Failure modes
Warn (do not fail) if:
- the file is empty
- a line contains no usable tokens after cleanup
- syllabification is heuristic and may be inaccurate for the language
