| name | lyrics-translator |
| description | Translate lyrics while preserving musical constraints (syllable counts, rhyme scheme, syllable patterns). Use when the user wants to translate song lyrics from one language to another while maintaining singability. |
Lyrics Translator
Translate lyrics between languages while preserving syllable counts, rhyme scheme, and word-level syllable patterns so the translation remains singable.
Workflow
Follow this 3-phase pipeline. Use the sub-skill scripts to verify at each step.
Phase 1: Extract Constraints
Before translating, analyze the source lyrics to extract targets:
-
Count syllables per line:
python skills/syllable-counter/scripts/count_syllables.py "<line>" "<source_lang>"
-
Get syllable patterns (word-level distribution):
python skills/syllable-pattern-analyzer/scripts/pattern_analysis.py "<source_lang>" "<line1>" "<line2>" ...
-
Detect rhyme scheme:
from rhyme_analysis import detect_rhyme_scheme
scheme = detect_rhyme_scheme(lines, source_lang)
Record the target syllable counts, patterns, and rhyme scheme.
Phase 2: Initial Translation
Translate all lines at once, considering all 3 constraints:
- Each line must have EXACTLY the target syllable count.
- Lines sharing a rhyme label must rhyme in the target language.
- Word-level syllable distribution should match the target pattern.
- Maintain poetic quality and emotional impact.
Key rules for Chinese targets:
- Each Chinese character = 1 syllable.
- Strip all punctuation when counting.
Phase 3: Iterative Refinement
For each line, verify and refine:
-
Check syllable count:
python skills/syllable-counter/scripts/count_syllables.py "<translation>" "<target_lang>"
-
If count is wrong, adjust the translation:
- Too long: remove adjectives, use shorter words, merge concepts.
- Too short: add descriptive words, use longer alternatives.
- Re-check after each adjustment. Repeat up to 10 times.
-
Check syllable patterns:
python skills/syllable-pattern-analyzer/scripts/pattern_analysis.py "<target_lang>" "<translated_line>"
- Skip refinement if average pattern similarity is already >75%.
- Only accept pattern changes that improve similarity by >15%.
-
Verify rhyme preservation after pattern adjustments using the rhyme-analyzer.
Final Validation
Run the full validator on all translated lines:
python skills/lyrics-validator/scripts/validate.py "<target_lang>" '<target_syllables_json>' "<line1>" "<line2>" ...
Output Format
Present the final translation as:
1. <translated line 1>
2. <translated line 2>
...
Syllable accuracy: X/Y lines match
Pattern similarity: X%
Rhyme scheme: <scheme>
Sub-Skills Used
Configuration Reference
See references/config.md for language codes and defaults.
See references/graph-pipeline.md for pipeline architecture details.
