Free syllable counter
Syllable Counter for lyrics.
Paste your lyrics and see how many syllables are in every line and every word. Free, no sign-up, and it counts the way songs are sung.
- [Verse]
- 8
I1became2another3stranger2
- 9
No1way1that1I1could1be1forgiven3
- 5
Oh1what1have1I1done1
- 6
Now1I'm1lost,1like1a1ghost,1
- 6
bleeding2out1for1your1love1
- [Chorus]
- 7–9
Every2–3fire1–2I1been1feeding2
- 9–10
burns1a1little2higher2every2–3night1
Gold counts can be sung more than one way, like “fire” (1 or 2). Lines in [brackets] are section names and aren't counted. See counts beside every line as you write in Lyric Genie.
How the syllable counter works
Each word is looked up in a pronouncing dictionary of over 120,000 English words, the same one the Lyric Genie songwriting app uses. Words that aren't in it, like slang and words with a dropped g ("runnin'"), are worked out from the words they come from, so "tryin'" counts like "trying" and "situationship" counts like "situation" plus "ship".
A line's count is the sum of its words. Section names in brackets, like [Chorus], are skipped.
Why some counts are a range
Some words don't have one fixed count when they're sung. "Fire" can be one syllable or two, "every" two or three, "our" one or two. The counter shows these in gold with both counts, so a line might read 7–8. That range is the room you have when you fit the line to a melody.
Why syllables matter in songwriting
A melody has a set number of notes, so lines sung to the same melody usually want the same number of syllables, or close to it. When the second verse has three more syllables than the first, the singer has to cram them in. Counting shows you where.
- Match your verses. Line 1 of verse 2 against line 1 of verse 1.
- Keep the chorus consistent when you change a word.
- Check a rewrite still fits before you sing it.
Counts beside every line, while you write
In Lyric Genie the syllable count sits beside every line as you write, on the web and on iPhone, with rhymes, a thesaurus and help fitting a line to a count built in. It's free to start. Rhymes for songwriters · Pricing
Questions
- Is the syllable counter free?
- Yes. It's free with no sign-up and no limit, and it runs in your browser, so your lyrics aren't sent anywhere.
- How accurate is it?
- It uses a pronouncing dictionary of over 120,000 words, so dictionary words are counted as they're pronounced, not guessed from their spelling. Made-up words and names fall back to an estimate.
- Why does a line show two numbers?
- Some words can be sung with a different number of syllables, like “fire” (1 or 2) or “every” (2 or 3). The line shows the lowest and highest count.
- Does it work for poems and haiku?
- Yes. It counts any English text line by line, so it works for poems, haiku and raps as well as songs.
- Can I see counts while I write songs?
- Yes. Lyric Genie, a songwriting app for the web and iPhone, shows the syllable count beside every line as you write.
