Q1: What's the difference between "oh", "oh-oh", "woah", etc?
XP: "Oh" should be just one syllable if that's how it's sung, likewise "Oh-oh" - you can also think of it as "do-re-mi", and shouldn't be transcribed as just "do". In the course of an entire song, you may be able to pick the "w" sound at the start of the "woah". I would listen to those same sections for the "oh" and "woah" if there's a "w" coming in, otherwise, it would be "oh". I'm going to use this song as an example because it took me a while to find out its name after I found myself humming this part for days "I still dial 822-993-167", this opening lyrics should be: "Oh-oh-oh-oh, there was Heaven in your eyes". Another example I would like to add is "ohh"; I've used this when it's being vocalized, instead of just "oh".
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Q2: Sometimes I'm not certain what sounds can be transcribed, e.g. "uh" (I could send an example later but from memory it comes up a bit in some of the Six60 songs I've been trying to fix up recently), also should "um" be transcribed when an artist is speaking in a live performance on streaming because thus far I haven't but a while back someone edited the lyrics of one of those that I'd worked on which included adding that in.
XP: You can transcribe as the artist says it; "uh", "um", etc. but if it's sort of like no specific sound to guide you from the start, I think that's like them vocalizing or humming a tune so you leave it out. If it's like after a section e.g [Chorus], [Bridge], then a section could be added e.g [Vocalising Chorus], [Vocalising Bridge].
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Q3: "mhm" vs "mm" vs "hmm", maybe I'm missing something but I don't recall this one being mentioned in the scribing guides (vs. things like woah and I'ma which I recall, maybe I just haven't checked in a while).
XP: I can't remember seeing "mhm" but for "mm" vs "hmm"; I've mostly used "mm" but while listening to some songs there's a difference in the intonation so I switch to "hmm". I would give this example for clarity: "hmm-mm" high pitch to low pitch, and "mm-mm" low pitch to still the same low pitch.
Q4: When do lyrics go in brackets besides ad-libs, vs. no brackets, for example if it's really faint at the end of the track (I wrote this some time ago so I don't recall the particular example I had in mind)
XP: Yes, if it's really faint, e,g at the end of the chorus, the last line(s) could be repeated.
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Q5: On the topic of brackets, should it be one set per line or one for several lines if we have several in brackets? I think mostly I do the former but there certainly exist past work that's done the latter
XP: I do one set per line and when there are several lines I switch to italics, like for fading/very faint vocals most common in [Outro]. I think of it like it's a second artist even though it may be from the same artist, differentiating it from how the entire song was sung.
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Q6: I've looked through the guides quite a bit on tags like [Instrumental], [Guitar Solo], [Instrumental Intro], etc, but still feel a bit confused about when to use these; if it's in the middle of a song and ~1min+ should it be [Instrumental Break]?
XP: Per [Instrumental Break], yes, if it's less than a minute and in the middle. I would add [Instrumental Break] from like 15 seconds and if it's distinct when it's less than 15 seconds. Also, if you know the exact instrument being played you can specify instead e.g [Guitar Solo], [Piano Solo], etc.
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Q7: The [Refrain] tag is a little confusing to me as in when to use it, previously I always saw refrain as I guess what people call [Post-Chorus], but when the lines are repeated; the guide specifically mentions it as something that comes at the end of a verse though, so I think I stopped using it as much but I still see it being used after a chorus all the time.
XP: I think of it as a [Refrain] if it's like a very catchy part ("hook") in the chorus. I think this part of an answer I found catches it:
A refrain is mostly like a verse but instead of leading into a full blown chorus it has one line that contains the hook which is repeated lyrically and melodically. Smoking Gun by Robert Cray is the example that came to mind first.
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Q8: Whether to transcribe if it's not v audible and not part of official lyrics anywhere another example I can think of is drivers license at the end of the bridge she shouts something but I've never been able to hear what it actually is.
XP: If it's not very audible, leave it out. I remember adding some part to a lyrics that was really really faint within the background music that sort of veers into you being imaginative of what the lyrics is and it got removed lol
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