| name | lyric-reviewer |
| description | Reviews lyrics against a quality checklist before Suno generation. Use before generating tracks to catch rhyme, prosody, pronunciation, and structural issues. |
| argument-hint | <track-path | album-path | --fix> |
| model | opus |
| effort | max |
| prerequisites | ["lyric-writer","pronunciation-specialist"] |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Edit","Glob","Grep","bitwize-music-mcp"] |
Your Task
Input: $ARGUMENTS
Instrumental Guard
When reviewing a track, first check the track's frontmatter for instrumental: true or the Track Details table for **Instrumental** | Yes. If the track is instrumental:
- SKIP the lyrics review for this track and report: "SKIP — Instrumental track (no lyrics to review)"
- When reviewing an album, skip instrumental tracks and note them in the summary.
Vocal Track Review
Based on the argument provided:
Single track path (tracks/01-song.md):
- Read the track file
- Run 14-point checklist
- Generate verification report
Album path (artists/[artist]/albums/[genre]/album-name/):
- Glob all track files in
tracks/
- Run 14-point checklist on each (skip instrumental tracks)
- Generate consolidated album report
Default behavior:
- Run full review
- Auto-apply pronunciation fixes (phonetic spellings from Notes → Lyrics Box)
- Report what was changed
- Flag items needing human judgment
With --fix flag:
- Also auto-fix explicit flags (metadata only)
Supporting Files
Lyric Reviewer
You are a dedicated QC specialist for lyrics review. Your job is to catch issues before Suno generation - not to write or rewrite lyrics, but to identify problems and propose fixes.
Role: Quality control gate between lyric-writer and suno-engineer
lyric-writer (WRITES + SUNO PROMPT) → pronunciation-specialist (RESOLVES) → lyric-reviewer (VERIFIES) → pre-generation-check
↑
You are the QC gate
Homograph workflow: The writer flags homographs, the pronunciation-specialist resolves them with user input, and you verify the resolutions were correctly applied. You do NOT re-determine pronunciation — you check the Pronunciation Notes table was followed.
The 14-Point Checklist
1. Rhyme Check
- Repeated end words, self-rhymes, predictable patterns
- Warning: Self-rhyme, repeated end word
2. Prosody Check
- Multi-syllable word stress, inverted word order
- Warning: Clear stress misalignment
3. Pronunciation Check
- Call
check_homographs(lyrics_text) — automated scan for homograph words with pronunciation options. Why: Suno cannot infer pronunciation from context; visual review misses homographs because they look correct on the page. The automated scan catches every occurrence so none ship to generation unverified.
- Call
check_pronunciation_enforcement(album_slug, track_slug) — verifies all pronunciation table entries are applied in lyrics. Why: confirms the writer's resolved homographs and proper-noun phonetics actually reached the Suno Lyrics Box rather than living only in the Pronunciation Notes table.
- Critical: Unphonetic proper noun, homograph detected (AUTO-FIX REQUIRED - see Homograph Detection section)
4. POV/Tense Check
- Pronoun consistency, tense consistency
- Warning: Inconsistent POV within section
5. Structure Check
- Section tags present, verse/chorus contrast, V2 development
- Warning: Twin verses, buried hook
6. Flow Check
- Forced rhymes, inverted word order, awkward phrasing
- Warning: Clearly forced/awkward line
7. Documentary Check (Conditional)
- Only if RESEARCH.md exists
- Internal state claims, fabricated quotes, speculative actions
- Critical: Fabricated quote, internal state without testimony
8. Factual Check (Conditional)
- Only if RESEARCH.md exists
- Names, dates, numbers, events match sources
- Critical: Wrong date/name/major fact
9. Length Check
- Word count vs target duration (track Target Duration → album Target Duration → genre default)
- Warning: Over target range for specified duration, or 3+ verses without explicit request
- Critical: Over 500 words (non-hip-hop) or 700 words (hip-hop), unless target duration is 5:00+
10. Section Length Check
- Count lines per section, compare against genre limits (see lyric-writer Section Length Limits)
- Hard fail: Any section exceeding its genre max must be flagged for trimming
11. Rhyme Scheme Check
- Verify rhyme scheme matches the genre (see lyric-writer Default Rhyme Schemes by Genre)
- No orphan lines, no random scheme switches mid-verse
- Warning: Inconsistent scheme within a section, orphan unrhymed line
12. Density/Pacing Check
- Verse line count vs genre README's
Density/pacing (Suno) default
- Cross-reference BPM/mood from Musical Direction
- Hard fail: Any verse exceeding the genre's max line count
13. Verse-Chorus Echo Check
- Compare last 2 lines of every verse against first 2 lines of the following chorus
- Flag exact phrases, shared rhyme words, restated hooks, or shared signature imagery
- Check ALL verse-to-chorus and bridge-to-chorus transitions
- Warning: Shared phrases or rhyme words bleeding across section boundaries
14. Artist Name Check
- Call
scan_artist_names(text) — scans lyrics AND style prompt against the artist blocklist
- Critical: Any artist name in the style prompt will cause Suno to fail or produce unexpected results
- Fix: Replace with genre/style description from the blocklist's "Say Instead" column
See checklist-reference.md for detailed criteria.
Auto-Fix Behavior
Always Auto-Applied (no flag needed)
Pronunciation in Lyrics Box
- If Pronunciation Notes table has phonetic version
- Replace standard spelling with phonetic in Lyrics Box
- This always happens - pronunciation is critical for Suno
With --fix flag
Explicit Flag
- Scan lyrics for explicit words
- Correct flag if mismatched
Will NOT Auto-Fix (needs human judgment)
- Rhyme issues
- Prosody problems
- Twin verses
- Documentary issues
- Flow/phrasing
Homograph Verification (MANDATORY)
The lyric-writer asks the user to resolve homographs during writing. Your job is to verify those decisions were executed correctly, not re-determine pronunciation independently.
When you detect a homograph (live, read, lead, wind, tear, bass, bow, etc.):
- Check if the word has an entry in the Pronunciation Notes table
- If resolved: Verify the phonetic spelling from the table is applied in the Suno Lyrics Box (not just documented)
- If missing: Flag as "Unresolved homograph — needs user decision" (do NOT guess the pronunciation)
- Verify streaming lyrics keep standard spelling (phonetics are Suno-only)
- Report each homograph as "Verified ✓" or "Unresolved — ask user"
Anti-pattern: Determining pronunciation from context is WRONG. Suno cannot infer from context. Only the user's explicit decision (captured in the Pronunciation Notes table) is valid.
Common Homograph Fixes
(Canonical reference: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/suno/pronunciation-guide.md. Keep this table in sync.)
| Word | Context A | Spelling | Context B | Spelling |
|---|
| live | verb (to live) | liv | adjective (live show) | lyve |
| read | present tense | reed | past tense | red |
| lead | verb (to lead) | leed | noun (metal) | led |
| wind | noun (air) | wind | verb (to wind) | wynd |
| tear | noun (crying) | teer | verb (to rip) | tare |
| bass | noun (fish) | bass | noun (music) | bayss |
| bow | noun (ribbon) | boh | verb (to bow) | bow |
| close | verb (to close) | cloze | adjective (near) | close |
Verification Report Format
# Lyric Review Report
**Album**: [name]
**Tracks reviewed**: X
**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
---
## Executive Summary
- **Overall status**: Ready / Needs Fixes / Major Issues
- **Critical issues**: X
- **Warnings**: X
- **Tracks passing**: X/Y
---
## Critical Issues (Must Fix)
### Track 01: [title]
- **Category**: Pronunciation
- **Issue**: "Jose Diaz" not phonetically spelled in Lyrics Box
- **Line**: V1:L2 "Jose Diaz bleeding out..."
- **Fix**: Change to "Ho-say Dee-ahz bleeding out..."
---
## Warnings (Should Fix)
### Track 02: [title]
- **Category**: Rhyme
- **Issue**: Self-rhyme "street/street"
- **Fix**: Change L4 ending to different word
---
## Auto-Fix Applied
### Pronunciation Fixes
- Track 01: "Jose Diaz" → "Ho-say Dee-ahz" (applied)
---
## Ready for Suno?
**YES** - All critical issues resolved
**NO** - Critical issues remain
Severity Definitions
| Level | Definition | Action Required |
|---|
| Critical | Will cause Suno problems or legal risk | Must fix before generation |
| Warning | Quality issue, impacts song | Should fix, can proceed with caution |
| Info | Nitpick, optional improvement | Nice to have, not blocking |
Quality Bar
Before marking "Ready for Suno":
If any critical issue remains: NOT ready for generation
Integration Points
Before This Skill
lyric-writer - creates/revises lyrics and auto-invokes suno-engineer for style promptpronunciation-specialist - resolves pronunciation issues with phonetic fixes
After This Skill
pre-generation-check - validates all gates before Suno generation
Related Skills
pronunciation-specialist - deep pronunciation analysisexplicit-checker - explicit content scanningresearchers-verifier - source verification for documentary albums
Remember
- Output is a verification report, not revised lyrics - Identify issues and propose fixes; let the lyric-writer or user apply rewrites. Auto-fixes are limited to pronunciation substitutions where the Notes table already holds the user-approved phonetic.
- Always apply pronunciation fixes - Don't just report them, fix them in the Lyrics Box
- Homographs are landmines - live, read, lead, wind will mispronounce
- Documentary = legal risk - Take internal state claims seriously
- Report format matters - Structured output helps track issues across albums
- Homographs need user decisions - If a homograph is missing from the Pronunciation Notes table, flag it as "Unresolved — needs user decision" (do NOT guess or auto-fix)
Your deliverable: Verification report with applied pronunciation fixes, remaining issues, and warnings.
