The musical community is growing here on Genius, and growing fast! I've put together a guide to help you transcribe musicals. Metadata Searching for Duplicates Always search for duplicates before transcribing a new version of a song. Search by name, search by composer, search by a line in the song - however you can so you do not create a duplicate. This will ensure that you are not putting hard work into a transcription only to have it deleted. The Composer is the Artist Always put the composer as the artist. Why? We want that song - and the annotations that are on it - to stay with the musical. Do not use the actors, name of the musical, various artists, or any other person a**ociated with the show. Yes, that means that one song page will be on multiple albums. Actors are Featured Artists Always use the featured artists field to list actors in the song. Since one song page will hit multiple albums, you will be featuring them all.
Example:
"I Dreamed a Dream" is written by Claude-Michel Schonberg, and features Madalene Alberto, Anne Hathaway, Ruthie Henshall, Patti LuPone, and anyone else who has played Fantine on a recorded album of Les Miserables. Lyrics How Do I Transcribe the Song? [CHARACTER] = character singing
[CHARACTER, spoken] = dialogue
(sung) or (spoken) = if a character switches between singing and speaking without another character speaking or singing in between
Example:
[TEVYE, spoken]
I'll tell her!
(sung)
You must have heard wrong, Grandma
There's no tailor
You mean the butcher, Grandma
By the name of Lazar Wolf [actions] = actions that are important enough to be in the libretto
Example:
[A shot rings out. Éponine climbs over the barricade.] Counterpoint Lyrics Counterpoint lyrics are key to musical transcriptions. They are best transcribed using HTML tables.
Example: [COMPANY]
In New York you can
Be a new man—
In New York you can
Be a new man— [HAMILTON]
Just you wait!
Just you wait! To read the table guide, click HERE. Albums Different Lyrics from Different Recordings This is something that we are currently working out on a case by case basis. Please reach out to @cordyleome, @lemoncaves, or @epaulettes if you have any concerns regarding this. Different Track Cut-Offs Unfortunately, many musicals have the same lyrics in all their recordings, but cut the tracks at different points. Assa**ins is a prime example of this. Instead of creating new pages, each song will be transcribed and then added to the album. This means that track numbers may not match, but the over all lyrics will.
Example: In Assa**ins, the "Gun Song" and "The Ballad of Czolgosz" are combined on the Off-Broadway recording, and separate tracks on the Broadway recording. Both albums on Genius contain separate pages for each song. If you have any questions, please reach out! We are here to help the musicals community succeed and grow!