OK, here is a step-by-step report:

Goal: to exchange midi files with lyrics in and out of BIAB with other programs that involve lyrics, such as Synthesizer V, Sibelius, Musescore, Studio One, etc.

DOWNLOAD TWO TEST FILES ATTACHED File 1 is a BIAB file with note-based lyrics. File 2 is a standard MIDI file with lyrics.

Experiment 1:
1- Open file 2 in any program that handles lyrics with MIDI (except BIAB) and you will see that the lyrics appear correctly.
2- Import file 2 into BIAB and you will not get the lyrics, even if you check the option to “include lyrics.”

Experiment 2:
1- Open file 1 in BIAB and see the melody track notation has the note-based lyrics correctly attached to each note.
2- Export the file out of BIAB as MIDI, and open it in any other program that handles lyrics with MIDI.
3- You will not find lyrics were exported by BIAB. In almost all programs the BIAB MIDI has notes and nothing else. In one program only, Sibelius, the lyrics from BIAB are printed as staff text, which shows that BIAB is putting lyrics in the wrong MIDI place for most programs to recognize.

Experiment 3:
1) As a workaround, export File 1 from BIAB as music XML instead of MIDI.
2) Open the XML in Sibelius and you will find that the BIAB note-based-lyrics are now exported correctly, and in the right place. Studio One will not even open a BIAB XML file, and Synthesizer V does not have XML import, but you can use Sibelius as a bridge, exporting the BIAB XML file to Sibelius, then saving it as MIDI in Sibelius, then import in Synthesizer V and you finally get the lyrics all the way from BIAB to Synthesizer V in a cumbersome three-stage process.
3) If you don’t own Sibelius, you can use the free online xml converter at https://sdercolin.github.io/utaformatix3/ and convert the file to Synthesizer V format, and that also works.

Experiment 3 shows a promising workaround for half the problem, ie getting lyrics OUT of BIAB into Synthesizer V. It also shows that BIAB seems to know what are lyrics, because they put them in the right place in XML, but it doesn’t know how to place them correctly in MIDI.

Experiment 4: trying to get Lyrics INTO BIAB, using the checkbox “include lyrics”
1) All experiments fail, either using XML or MIDI

It is important to get lyrics in and out of BIAB in both directions. This is not a trivial issue for a growing number of users of Synthesizer V. It has one of the longest threads and active discussions on VI Control, and many are keen to incorporate BIAB in their workflow, especially after I posted two examples of using BIAB to automatically generate vocal melodies to be sung by Synthesizer V here.




Both the above tracks were made instantaneously by letting BIAB generate the harmonies for the vocals (as well as the backing.) But I had to re-type all the lyrics into Synthesizer V if I wanted to go back and forth between BIAB.

Conclusion: BIAB needs to both IMPORT and EXPORT lyrics in its MIDI files, preferably without the need to use XML as an intermediate bridge.

Perhaps I am doing something wrong and someone knows how I can do this already?

Last edited by ThomasS; 01/05/24 05:21 PM.