PURPOSE: To automatically display lyric data which are generated in accordance with the musical notes of a KARAOKE (orchestral accompaniment without lyrics) on a video device.

CONSTITUTION: A control device 3 of a KARAOKE system consists of a display control means 11 which uses melody section data 1a and lyric data 2 to calculate and control lyric data, a display switching means 12 and a color control means 13. The means 11 decides the range of lyric data displayed on the frame of the screen of the video device. The means 12 decides the timing of switching the lyrics from lyrics currently shown on the screen to the lyrics to be shown on the next screen. The means 13 decides the timing of the successive changes of the color of the characters displayed on one screen.