Finding `Lucy in disguise': The misheard lyric matching problem

We investigated methods for music information retrieval systems where the search term is a portion of a misheard lyric. Lyric data presents its own unique challenges that are different to related problems such as name search. We compared three techniques, each configured for local rather than global matching: edit distance, Editex, and SAPSL - a technique derived from Syllable Aliognment Pattern Searching. Each technique was selected based on effectiveness at approximate pattern matching inrelated fields. Local edit distance and Editex performed comparably as evaluated with mean average precision and mean reciprocal rank. SAPS-L's effectiveness varie between measures.