Lyrics

Lyrics in Praxis are not just a single text box. They are a full multi-tab workspace per song, designed for real-world rehearsal and performance prep: alternate arrangements, instrument-specific charts, backup versions, rehearsal notes, and timestamped cue sheets.

Why Lyrics Tabs Matter

Each song can contain multiple tabs. This is one of Praxis’s core strengths.

• Keep a clean “performance” tab and a separate “work-in-progress” tab.
• Maintain different tabs for different instruments (for example Guitar, Bass, Keys).
• Create backup lyric versions before large edits.
• Keep one tab optimized for live readability and another for detailed arrangement notes.

Tab Management

• Click + to create a new tab.
• Right-click a tab to rename or delete it.
• Double-click a tab name to rename it inline.
• Drag tabs to reorder them.
• Each tab stores its own content, timestamps, embedded MIDI, and font mode preference.

Editor Basics

Toggle Edit mode to modify lyrics/tabs. The editor supports structured formatting, chord-aware parsing, color markup, timestamps, and MIDI embedding.

• Mono/Pro mode: use monospaced mode for chord charts/tab alignment; proportional mode for plain lyrics.
• Find/Replace: built into the editor toolbar for fast in-tab searching and edits.
• Formatting controls: headings, emphasis, underline, color, and timestamp insertion.

Supported Markup

Praxis supports simple, fast markup designed for musicians, not heavyweight document syntax.

• Headings: # through ######
• Bold: text
• Italic: _text_
• Underline: +text+
• Inline/block color: {c:color}...{c}
• Timestamps: [m:ss], [m:ss.xx], [s.xx], etc.

Chord Entry Styles

Praxis supports multiple chord workflows so you can write charts in the format that matches your playing style.

• Lead-sheet style (chords embedded in line): [G]Hello [D]world
• Chord-only line: G D Em C
• Bracketed chord-only line: [G] [D] [Em] [C]
• Chord-over-lyrics pair: chord line above a lyric line for aligned display.
• Forced chord-text line: start line with backtick ``` to treat it as chord text.

Color Markup

Use color tags for section cues, warnings, arrangement markers, or role-specific highlights.

• {c:yellow}text{c} for inline color.
• Named colors and hex colors are supported (for example yellow, #ffcc00).
• Use color sparingly for clarity; reserve bright colors for high-value cues.

Time Coding

Timestamps can be placed inline and are used by scroll sync and timing cues.

• [0:15] = 15 seconds
• [1:23.45] = 1 minute, 23.45 seconds
• [75.2] = 75.2 seconds

Scroll Behavior

Lyrics auto-scroll can follow timestamps or run by percentage mode.

• Timestamp mode: scroll position follows your embedded lyric timestamps.
• Percent mode: scroll progresses based on song duration when explicit timestamps are not available.
• Wait Until / Finish Scroll: control start and stop regions for scrolling.
• Scroll Target: controls where active content sits in the viewport (Top, Top Third, Middle).

Default scroll behavior can be adjusted in Settings > Lyrics.

Embedded MIDI in Lyrics

Lyrics can contain embedded MIDI commands. When present, embedded MIDI takes priority for that song/tab flow and enables cue-style control directly in chart text.

Supported MIDI payload tokens:

• Program Change: PC10 or PC10@2 (optional channel)
• Control Change: CC69.0 or CC69.0@2

Supported trigger modes in tag form:

• [midi:PC10,CC69.0] on song load
• [midi@play:PC10] on play
• [midi@stop:CC69.0] on stop
• [midi@1:23.45:CC69.0] timed trigger

You can also shift timed embedded MIDI events with an offset: [offset:+120] or [offset:-80] (milliseconds).

The default MIDI channel used by embedded MIDI messages can be configured in Settings > MIDI.

Real-World Example (Monospaced)

Example chart text exactly as you would enter it in the editor:

{c:yellow} # The Replacements - I'll Be You ### Standard Tuning --- {c} {c:yellow} ## Intro:[0:00] {c} G D C D {c:yellow} ## Verse:[0:15.10] {c} ## More Example Patterns Lead-sheet style (chords embedded in lyric text):

[G]Hello, [D]it's me [Em]I've been [C]wondering Chord-over-lyrics style:

G D Em C Hello, it's me, I've been wondering Embedded MIDI examples:

[midi:PC10,CC69.0] [midi@play:CC20.127] [midi@0:45.00:CC20.0] [midi@stop:CC21.0] ## Templates and Reuse Praxis supports lyric/tab templates so you can create consistent chart structures quickly.

• Create a new tab from a template.
• Create a new tab from the last-used template.
• Save current tab as a template for reuse.
• Templates can include formatting and defaults for consistent workflow.

Editing Safety

If enabled in Settings, Praxis can ask for confirmation before deleting non-empty lyrics tabs. Use this if you want extra protection against accidental tab loss.