How do I open the Karaoke View?

Use the View menu to select the Karaoke view (the default shortcut is Ctrl+5).  In the Track View, select the track that contains the lyrics.  Commercially produced Karaoke files typically have the lyrics on the 2nd track labeled "words.".  Once you select this track, MIDI Maestro will automatically remember to use it when you switch songs.  You should now see the Karaoke View.

New toolbar icons, which are used to alter the highlight style, appear only when the Karaoke View is open:

What are my highlight style options?

Switch between these styles by using the toolbar icons.

		The Bouncing Ball.  Follow that bouncing ball!  When not bouncing on a syllable or word, the ball will bounce to the beat.
		Word/syllable highlight.  Specify the text and background highlight colors on the Setup/Options/Karaoke page.
		Line highlight.  Instead of a syllable or word at a time, the entire line is highlighted.
		Object view.  In this mode, you can easily see how syllables and words are coded into MIDI events.  Formatting characters also appear, such as the / symbol for a new line, and the \ symbol for a new paragraph.

Can I put the Karaoke View onto a 2nd monitor?

Yes.  To do this, right-click in the Karaoke View and select "Spawn top-level window" then "most recent size" from the popup-menu.  A window will open on the desktop containing the Karaoke View.  Move the window to your second monitor.  Click the windows "maximize" icon (to the left of the red X icon).  The window will fill the screen "full-size." 

To restore the window's original size and position before maximizing it, just click in the window.

Can I view the lyrics page by page instead?

Yes.  There is a way to "embed" page breaks, but the simpler way is to let MIDI Maestro do it for you.  Enable the option on the Setup/Options/Karaoke page.

Can I change the font that's used in the Karaoke view?

Yes.  Open the Setup/Options/Karaoke page.

Can I place a different background image onto each page?

Yes.  In order to do this, you will have to embed your own manual page breaks.  You can edit an existing lyric and add a page break to it (the word or syllable will become the first on the new page). Right-click on an existing lyric to edit it, or right-click in the view and select "Insert lyric" to add a new one.  Change the "break" to "new page."  Specify a new image in the "background page" box.

Hint: if you're going through the trouble of changing the background image on each page, you can get really creative here.  If you're accustomed to playing from a "fake book," for example, you can scan those pages and use them as background images, and just forgo adding actual lyrics to the view.

Can I export or print lyrics?

You can do both.  To print lyrics, use the File/Print command, or the printer icon in the toolbar.  There's also a Print Preview command.  If you have automatic or manual pagination enabled, this will be identical on the printed pages.

To export lyrics, right-click in the Karaoke View and select the "copy lyrics to clipboard" command.  In any word processing program, use the Paste command.

How do I add or edit lyrics?

Right-click on an existing lyric object (syllable or word) to edit it.  Right-click anywhere else in the Karaoke View and select "Insert lyric" to add a new word or syllable:

Select a song position (the default is the current position), a break type, and then enter your text.  To edit more than one consecutive lyric object, just use the "Prev" and "Next" buttons.  Additional lyric objects may be inserted by using the "Insert" button.

How does MIDI Maestro handle "breaks"?

There are two competing "standards" for lyric notation, and MIDI Maestro attempts to allow you to work with both.  The first is one that is wide use by commercial Karaoke file producers, a sort of "de-facto" standard.  The second is a newer MMA (MIDI Manufacturer's Association) recommended practice.  They differ according to how words are to be broken into syllables, and how other breaks are represented:

The "new page" break is actually a MIDI Maestro extension to the Karaoke standard.  A "|" character is used at the beginning of a syllable.

With the exception of the "new page" break, MIDI Maestro attempts to enforce the MMA standard with its "break" options.  That is, if you select "new word," MIDI Maestro will append a space to the END of the text.  If you select "new line" or "new paragraph" (and leave the text box blank), the appropriate ASCII character is used.

Another small exception: If you add text in combination to a "new line" or "new paragraph" break, MIDI Maestro will use the Karaoke standard instead (the / and \ characters), because the MMA standard does not allow text in combination with these breaks.

Another MIDI Maestro extension to the standards is the font and background change options.  MIDI Maestro allows you to change the font attributes at the beginning of a new line or paragraph.  MIDI Maestro also allows you to change the background image at the beginning of a new page.

If you're editing or entering lyrics in the Karaoke standard, you should select the break option "-" (meaning no new word), and then manually add spaces to the BEGINNING of syllables that begin new words.

How may I import lyrics?

You have two options when importing lyrics.  If you're in a hurry, you can enter a line at a time by using the Insert Lyric command in the Lyric View.  Just reposition the song each time.  This is adequate when using the line highlight method, or no highlighting at all.

However, if you have the time to do it the right way by adding text one syllable at a time, then use the Staff View.  Right-click on any existing syllable to begin editing, or select the pencil and the "A" (text) icons in the toolbar, and position the cursor until you see "la..." next to the arrow pointer and click:

Enter a syllable or a word at a time.  If you're going to follow the MMA standard, end words with a space (do not use a space at all unless it's the last syllable in a word).  If you're going to follow the Karaoke standard instead, use a space at the BEGINNING of any new word.  You may also use the / (new line), \ (new paragraph), or | (new page)  character at the beginning of new words in place of the space with the Karaoke standard.

Use TAB to move to the next existing lyric or next grid line (as determined by the grid tool in the toolbar).  Use Shift+TAB to move backwards.

Once you get proficient with navigating the song with Tabs, you will find this a very quick method for the task of 'data entry."

First, I play in a rock band and was looking for a nice Midi
sequencer that can be use to play live jam/gig and also have FULL
control over the midi. Having a Start button, with TAP for tempo, and
also playing the introduction until I decide to start the song was a
most. Other sequencer I found did'nt give you the control like
MidiMaestro does.--Steve Hollingsworth