This wikiHow teaches you how to make a simple lyric video, and how to upload it to YouTube. Once you've selected a song, you can use Windows Movie Maker (Windows) or iMovie (Mac) to create a video, which is then uploaded to the YouTube site.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Preparing to Create a Video
Step 1. Define a song
Select the song you want to use for the YouTube music video. As a rule, it's a good idea to pick a song that's popular enough to grab attention, but not so popular that there are already plenty of similar videos on YouTube.
Avoid using songs that have just been released because usually the musician wants people to only be able to watch the latest song on the official page
Step 2. Download the song if you don't have it already
Purchase the song and download it to your computer, or download the MP3 version from YouTube.
- If you're using a Mac, play the song once to get it to your iTunes library.
- Be aware that YouTube will flag music that is not purchased as copyright infringement.
Step 3. Find the song lyrics
The easiest way to find accurate and verified song lyrics is through the Genius website at https://genius.com/; enter the name of the song into the search bar at the top left corner of the screen, and review the results again.
- You can also simply type the name of the song followed by the word "lyrics" (for example, three little birds lyrics) in an internet search engine.
- Lyrics that are correct, accurate, and grammatically correct usually have more views on YouTube than lyrics that are inaccurate and misspelled.
Method 2 of 4: Making Videos with Windows Movie Maker
Step 1. Open Windows Movie Maker
This app has an icon similar to a film strip.
Windows Movie Maker is no longer a default Windows program, but you can download it from third-party sites. Read this article to find out how
Step 2. Click Titles
This option is in the " Add " section of the toolbar at the top of the page.
Step 3. Enter the movie title
Click the text box in the middle of the preview window, press Ctrl+A to select a filler title, type in the title of your lyric video (i.e. the singer's name and song title), then click an empty space on the page.
You can also select the transition for the title by selecting the slide in the main window, clicking Animations (animation) at the top of the page, and select an option from the " Transitions " section.
Step 4. Click the Home label
It's in the upper-left corner of the Windows Movie Maker window.
Step 5. Move the title marker (placeholder) to the right side of the title clip
Click and drag the black vertical bar in the main window all the way to the far right.
Step 6. Click Add music
It's the box below the blue musical note at the top left of the page. Click this button to bring up the drop down menu.
Step 7. Click Add music at the current point…
This option is a drop-down menu, which when clicked will open a new window.
Step 8. Select a song and click Open
Find the song you want to include, select it, and click the button Open (open) in the lower right corner of the window. Your song will be uploaded to Windows Movie Maker.
Step 9. Click Title again
Another title slide will be added to the movie timeline in the main window.
Step 10. Slide the second title slide to the far right side of the timeline
This is the title slide that was just added, and not the one with the movie title.
Step 11. Enter the first part of the lyrics
Click the second title slide to select it, replace the text " My Movie " with the desired lyrics, and click an empty box on the page.
You can adjust the size of the lyric text box by clicking and dragging the circles on the corners or sides of the text box
Step 12. Set the duration of the lyrics slide
Double-click on the slide containing the lyrics in the Movie Maker main window, then click the " Duration " text box at the top of the page and type in the time in seconds to set the time the slide will appear.
- For example, if the lyrics are sung in the first 10 seconds of a song, type 10.0 into the "Duration" text box.
- You can preview the movie by clicking the " Play " button below the preview window on the left side of the page. This step helps you match the lyrics to the track.
Step 13. Add more title slides with lyrics
You'll repeat these steps until you've created the lyrics for the entire song:
- Click Home
- Click Title
- Enter the lyrics.
- Adjust the slide duration.
Step 14. Go back to Home label and click Save movies.
A drop down menu will appear.
Step 15. Click Recommended for this project
This option is a drop-down menu. If so, the "Save" window will open.
Step 16. Enter a file name and click Save
Type a name for the movie file. This name is for personal use only. Later you can provide a completely different title on YouTube. You can also choose a storage location. (for example Desktop) on the left side of the window before continuing.
The exporting process usually takes a few minutes
Step 17. Click Close when prompted
This indicates that the film has been completed. Now, you can proceed to the stage of uploading videos on YouTube.
Method 3 of 4: Making Videos with iMovie
Step 1. Open iMovie
This app has a video camera-like icon with a purple star.
Step 2. Click the plus + symbol
It's above the word "Create New" near the top-left corner of the window.
Step 3. Click Movie on the menu
Step 4. Select the video background
You can use the Search box in the top right corner if you want to search for something more specific.
Step 5. Click Create
It's in the lower right corner of the window. A pop-up window will appear.
Step 6. Enter a file name
Do so in the text box above the pop-up window. If you want to change the storage location, select another folder from the “Where” menu.
Step 7. Click Save
It's in the lower-right corner of the pop-up window. Thus, your video project will be saved.
Step 8. Click the Audio label
This is the second label at the top of the window.
Step 9. Search for a song
Type the name of the song into the text box at the top of iTunes. The song you are looking for will appear in the middle of the left side of the page.
Step 10. Move the song to the video timeline
Click and drag the song title to the timeline segment at the bottom of the window, then drop it there.
Step 11. Create a title slide
Click Titles (title) at the top of the window, click and drag the title from the main window to the timeline, and replace the text in the title slide with the title you want (eg "Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around Comes Around").
Step 12. Add another title slide
Click and drag the title slide to the timeline. This will be your first lyric slide.
Step 13. Enter the first set of lyrics
Select the second title slide, then replace the text in it with the lyrics of the first part of the song.
Step 14. Extend the slide to fit the song
Click and drag the vertical bar to the right of the lyric title slide in the timeline to the right until it matches the last lyric.
For example, if the related lyrics are sung during the first 10 seconds of a song, slide the lyrics slide up to the 10 second point
Step 15. Add more lyrics to an additional slide
Repeat the previous step until all the song lyrics have entered the timeline.
Step 16. Click the share icon
This icon is a square with an arrow pointing up in the upper-right corner of the window. Click to open a menu with icons.
Step 17. Click the File icon
This icon is a film strip. Click it to bring up a pop-up window.
Step 18. Save the file
Click Next… in the pop-up window, select a location on the computer, and click Save. This option will save the video as a file on your computer. If the video has finished saving, you can proceed to the stage of uploading the video to YouTube.
Method 4 of 4: Uploading Videos
Step 1. Open YouTube
Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in a browser. This step will open the YouTube page when you are logged in.
If you are not logged in, click SIGN IN in the top right corner, then enter your Google email address and password.
Step 2. Click the "Upload" icon (upload)
This icon is an upward-pointing arrow at the top-right side of the page. Once done, the upload page will open.
Step 3. Click Select files to upload
It's in the middle of the page. Click to open a window.
Step 4. Select videos
Click the lyric video to select it.
If the window opens a file location other than where your video is, open your video location first
Step 5. Click Open
It's in the lower right corner of the window. The video will then be uploaded to YouTube.
Step 6. Enter the video title
In the " My Movie " text box near the top of the page, replace the " My Movie " text with your desired video name.
Step 7. Add descriptions and labels, if needed
You can add a description to the lyric video in the " Description " box (this is a great place to list singer credits for the song), and you can add a label in the " Tags " text box.
Step 8. Wait for the video to finish processing
Once the progress bar at the top of the page disappears, you can continue.
The process of uploading videos can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours so make sure your computer is charged during this time
Step 9. Click Publish
It's the blue button on the top right side of the page. Thus, the video will be published to your channel. Now you can watch and share videos from YouTube as freely as you want.
Tips
- Don't include too many lyrics per page. Usually you can enter 2-4 lines of lyrics per slide, although some parts of the song may be too fast or complicated to split into multiple slides.
- We recommend choosing a simple video title (for example, [Singer Name] - [Song Name] Lyrics).
Warning
- Avoid using free music. In addition to being often considered piracy, using illegal music repeatedly will result in your account being suspended (suspended).
- Be sure to include the identity of the original singer of the song so that it doesn't violate copyright.
