Syllables & language

Every lyric line in InnerHook carries two small grey numbers: its line number on the left and its syllable count on the right. The counts update as you type, so you can hear the meter with your eyes: line 3 of the second verse should land close to line 3 of the first.

#Where to find it

The counts are always on in the song editor; there is nothing to switch on. The language they are counted in is in the song brief: open Settings in the side panel and look for Lyrics language under Basics.

#How to read the counts

• One number per line. It's the syllables of that line only. There are no section totals; the Tools view in the side panel shows the current section's character count if you need a size.
• Line numbers restart in each section, so "line 3" means the third line of that verse or chorus.
• Empty lines show nothing. An empty section shows a short hint instead.
• Numbers count as one syllable each, and so does any word without a vowel (hmm). Punctuation alone counts nothing.
• Hyphenated words such as well-known are counted as one word in English.

The counts are a quick estimate by rule, not a dictionary lookup. In English a word now and then comes out one off: leaves or makes can count as two. Use the numbers to compare lines, and trust your ear when a line looks right but counts odd.

#Choose the language

InnerHook counts in one language for the whole song, so a line that mixes words from both doesn't flip back and forth.

1. Open Settings in the side panel (or type / and pick Song brief).
2. Under Lyrics language, pick Auto, English or Finnish.

Auto guesses the language from all the song's lines and shows its guess in the chip, for example Auto (Finnish). If the song belongs to an artist profile with a language set, Auto uses the profile's language instead, and the help text under the chips says so. The language is part of the song, so co-writers see the same counts.

#English and Finnish rules

• English counts the groups of vowels in each word, at least one per word, and drops a silent final e (June is one syllable, shoelace two).
• Finnish follows the Finnish syllable rules: long vowels and diphthongs are one syllable (kesäyö is ke-sä-yö, three), and pairs like ie, uo and yö only join in a word's first syllable.

#In Write mode

Write mode hides the line numbers and keeps the syllable counts very dim in the margin. The Syllables control in Write mode's corner hides or shows them; InnerHook remembers your choice on this device.

#Limits