
· By Will Harken
How To Change Song Lyrics With AI
Ever thought about personalizing your favorite songs with your own lyrics? Whether it's for an event, a unique gift, or just for fun, you're in the right place! This guide will walk you through changing song lyrics using AI tech—all while keeping the original vibe of the artist.
Curious about changing your song lyrics the fast way? Be sure to check out my lyric swap service and examples.
Table of Contents
- The Quick Way
- Step 1: Write Your Custom Lyrics
- Step 2: Obtain the Original Track
- Step 3: Record the Custom Lyrics
- Step 4: Convert the Audio with AI Voice Cloning
- Step 5: Mix and Prepare the Final Track
- New AI Tools for Lyric Swapping
- Limitations of AI Lyric Swapping
- Simplify the Process
- Why It's Worth the Effort
The Quick DIY Explanation
The Even Quicker Way
Step 1: Write Your Custom Lyrics
Start by crafting some new lyrics that flow with the song's rhythm.
2025 UPDATE: I suggest using the AI lyric swap tool. Simply paste the original lyrics, toss in your ideas, and watch it generate new lyrics. It even highlights your changes and lets you know about any mismatches!
Here are some other handy tools:
- Diffchecker: This side-by-side comparison helps ensure your new lyrics flow just right.
- ChatGPT: Use it for fresh ideas. You can ask the AI something like:
Please rewrite the lyrics below to be about my new ideas while keeping the rhyme scheme and syllable count. Here are my ideas: [insert ideas here]. Here are the original lyrics: [insert lyrics here].
Pro Tip: Don't be surprised if AI output needs some tweaking. Edit until it feels right - this is what it takes to get good generative AI results - whether it's generating words, images, or videos.
Another Huge Tip! Keep your changes to the original lyrics subtle to maintain your message's impact. If the syllables or rhymes are significantly different, it will feel "off" to listeners.
Step 2: Obtain the Original Track
To craft a polished piece, you'll need to gather the original track's elements:
- Official Instrumentals: Look for these on music platforms.
- Karaoke Versions: These are great bases to start with.
- AI Isolation (What I do): Use tools like LALAL.AI to separate vocals from instrumentals effectively.
Step 3: Record the Custom Lyrics
You'll need to record those new lyrics as a pilot vocal for AI to guide the timing and melody. Here's how:
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DIY Recording: Feeling up to it? Fire up your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and record yourself:
- Free options: GarageBand (Mac) and Audacity (Windows)
- Paid options: Ableton, Logic, Reaper
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Home Recording Tips:
- Pick a quiet space—no distractions.
- Use a pop filter to control sharp sounds.
- Stay about 6 inches from the mic.
- Try multiple takes and pick the best.
- Hire a Pro: Fiverr or Upwork are fantastic for finding vocalists.
- Synthetic Vocals: Want to dabble with programming a vocal? Use tools like Synthesizerv for a "pilot vocal." ☠️ Just a heads up: this takes A LOT of effort - from a time + cost perspective, it makes more sense to use a real singer.
Step 4: Convert the Audio with AI Voice Cloning
Next, you want to transform your voice recording to match the original artist:
- Voice Cloning Tools: Try services like Jammable or Weights.gg. They analyze the singer's voice and "replace" your vocal tone.
- Custom AI Models: Feeling brave? Build your own AI voice model. Check this out.
- Local Processing: If you are coding-inclined, there are GitHub projects for voice cloning.
New AI Tools for Lyric Swapping
There are now generative AI tools specifically for audio inpainting that can help with lyric swapping.
Important Legal Note: While these tools technically can be used for lyric swapping, be aware that the responsibility for copyright compliance falls on you as the end user. Companies typically include clauses in their terms of service that put the legal onus on the customer, similar to how gun manufacturers aren't held responsible for misuse of their products.
- Udio.com: This tool allows you to make small lyric changes that may pass their content moderation. With subtle changes, you can often achieve decent results.
- Riffusion: This platform currently has less stringent content moderation for lyric swapping, though their terms of service still specify you should only upload content you own the rights to.
With Udio inpainting, you typically need to isolate the vocals and upload the isolation into Udio.
Pictured: Lyric swapping with Riffusion's replace feature.
Limitations of AI Lyric Swapping
While generative AI has made lyric swapping more accessible, there are important limitations to be aware of:
- Tonality Issues: AI often struggles with matching the exact tonality of the original singer, requiring additional filtering and processing to smooth out.
- Phrasing Problems: Many AI tools have difficulty with specific phrasing or unique vocal characteristics that make the original song distinctive.
- Reverb and Stereo Field: AI frequently struggles with properly replicating reverb, stereo field effects, vocal doubling, and panning from the original recording.
- Quality Variations: While AI outputs may be "good enough" for casual or parody purposes, they often lack the polish of professionally processed audio.
- Additional Mixing Required: Most AI-generated swaps will need human mixing intervention to sound professional.
For one-off projects like wedding gifts, it often makes more financial sense to hire professionals rather than investing time in learning these tools and techniques. However, if you're planning to do multiple lyric swaps and are passionate about the process, the DIY approach with these tools might be worth exploring.
Step 5: Mix and Prepare the Final Track
Now it's time to bring everything together. Here's what you'll need:
- Instrumental track (just the music)
- Original vocal track
- Your converted AI voice files (custom lyrics) - if your goal is reproducing the sections of most popular songs, you will most likely have multiple AI-created audio files.
Pro Tip: Free DAWs like GarageBand and Audacity work fine, but premium options like Logic Pro or Ableton offer more features.
For the final mix:
- Remove the original vocals where needed and replace them with your AI vocals.
- Add effects to blend the AI sound with the original.
- Use AI tools like iZotope Plugins for stellar mixing.
Mixing Tips:
- Use EQ to align the AI vocals with the original.
- Add reverb for a cohesive sound.
- Compress tracks for balanced levels.
- Adjust timing to sync everything seamlessly.
Avoid These Mistakes:
- Don't overdo it—start with light effects.
- Keep an eye on volume consistency.
- Use crossfades for smoother transitions.
Feeling overwhelmed by mixing? No worries! Check out YouTube for tutorials on audio mixing. Some favorites include:
- In The Mix for FL Studio
- CompleteProducer for Ableton
- Or just search on YouTube for mixing tutorials.
Simplify the Process
This can seem like a lot. So I offer a professional service to help with lyric swaps. I handle the whole process, from changing the lyrics to the final mix. With my satisfaction guarantee and glowing reviews, you can trust your lyric swap will turn out well!
Why Hire a Professional? We've worked with major brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Guitar Center. These companies choose professional services because:
- They want quality results without assigning employees to learn specialized skills
- They understand that even with AI, human expertise is needed for professional-quality output
- They value their time and recognize that outsourcing makes financial sense for specialized tasks
The AI Value Misconception: In today's AI world, many expect everything to be cheap or free. But the reality is that creating quality content still requires human effort and expertise. While AI has made many processes easier, the human touch remains essential for truly professional results.
Why It's Worth the Effort
You might wonder if there's a magic app that can do it all. Truth is, keeping the artist's essence while changing lyrics takes skill and a personal touch.
No shortcuts give you the same quality—at least, not yet...
If you love music, altering song lyrics opens up creativity. With the right tools, you can create something truly special.
Ready to Transform Your Favorite Song?
Go ahead—remix those lyrics or craft a story that's uniquely yours!