Quickstart for your first rehearsal

Who this is for

This guide is for musicians who want their charts organized and ready for rehearsal. You might be:

• A worship leader preparing for Sunday
• A bandmate tired of emailing charts back and forth
• Someone who just wants to keep their songs in one place

By the end you will have a chart written, an arrangement set up, a setlist built, and your band invited.

Step 1: Find voicings

Start by working out which chord voicings you want to use. On the web this step needs no account.

1. Open chord maps.
2. Use the instrument switcher in the top bar to pick your instrument and tuning.
3. Pick a root note (C, G, D, and so on) and a chord type (major, minor, 7th, and so on).
4. Browse the diagrams. Click one to see suggested fingerings and the notes it contains.

The URL updates as you go, so you can bookmark a voicing or paste the link to a bandmate.

Step 2: Create a song

Sign in or create a free account, then open Songs and choose Create a song.

1. The song opens in Edit mode. Fill in Song title, Artist, Key, and Tempo at the top of the Guided editor.
2. Add sections such as Verse 1 and Chorus, then type lyrics with chords in square brackets: [C]Amazing [G]grace.
3. Switch to Source if you prefer to type the whole chart as plain ChordPro text.
4. Use the Preview tab on narrow screens, or the side-by-side preview on wide screens, to see the rendered chart as you type.

Changes save automatically. Switch to View mode to read the chart, transpose it, or start the metronome.

Set up the arrangement

Every song starts with one arrangement. Its Key and Timing (time signature and BPM) show as chips under the title. Click a chip to change it. If you use a capo, choose the fret from the Capo control in View mode. The chosen capo is saved with the arrangement's active tuning.

Add rehearsal notes

• {c:Play softly here} puts a visible comment in the chart.
• Open Show notes from the Actions menu to add general or per-section notes to the arrangement. Notes can be public to everyone with access, or private to you.

Learn more about songs

Step 3: Build a setlist

1. Open Setlists and choose New setlist.
2. Give it a name and choose the type. Pick Event and set an event date if it is for a specific show or service.
3. Open the setlist and use Add Existing Song to add songs in performance order. Drag the grip handles to reorder.
4. For a song with several arrangements, click the pencil on its row to pick which arrangement and vocal tuning to use.
5. Set each song's readiness chip to New, Review, Confirmed, or Problem so the band knows what needs work.

The runtime summary at the top adds up song durations and shows how the set compares to a target length.

Learn more about setlists

Step 4: Rehearse and perform

Press Perform on the setlist to open the first song in Stage mode. Use the arrow keys, the on-screen buttons, or a connected page-turn pedal to move through pages and songs. Press Escape or the close button to leave.

Learn more about Stage mode

Step 5: Share with your band

If you play solo, you are done. Your library is available on any device you sign in from.

For a band:

1. Open Groups and create a group.
2. Open a song or setlist, choose Share from its actions, expand Ownership & permissions, and use Move to group.
3. Back in the group, invite bandmates by email and choose a role: Can edit, Setlists only, or View only.

Once they accept, everyone works from the same charts and setlists.

Learn more about groups

What's next

• ChordPro syntax reference for every directive and shorthand
• PDF export to print charts for gigs
• Import songs to bring in an existing songbook
• AI assistants to connect Claude or ChatGPT to your library

If something is not working as expected, check the troubleshooting guide.