Songs

Overview

Songs are your charts and everything attached to them. They live in your library, so the same current version is available on every device and to everyone you share with.

Each song has:

• Metadata: title, artist, and optional genre
• One or more arrangements, each with its own key, tempo, tunings, notes, links, and audio
• Version history for both the song and each arrangement
• Sharing with a group or with individual people

Open Songs in the navigation to see your library. The scope switcher in the top bar filters between Everything, Personal, and each group you belong to.

Viewing and editing

A song opens in View mode. Switch to Edit with the View / Edit toggle in the header.

View mode

View mode is for reading and rehearsing. The toolbar gives you:

• Key chip to transpose on the fly
• Timing chip showing time signature and BPM, with the metronome button
• ABC / # toggle to switch between chord letters and Nashville numbers
• Capo selector from 0 to 12
• Tuning selector for saved vocal tunings
• Auto-scroll controls
• Perform to open Stage mode

Edit mode

Edit mode has two editors. Switch with the Guided / Source toggle.

• Guided breaks the chart into sections. Fill in Song title, Artist, Key, and Tempo at the top, then add sections such as Verse 1 and Chorus and type lyrics with chords in square brackets under each one.
• Source shows the whole chart as ChordPro text for people who prefer to type it directly.

On narrow screens an Editor / Preview tab pair switches between the editor and the rendered chart. On wide screens both show side by side. Changes save automatically.

The Actions menu offers Show notes, Show ChordPro help (a syntax cheat sheet beside the editor), Manage for tunings, History, Add to setlist, Export PDF, and Share.

Writing charts with ChordPro

ChordPro keeps chords attached to the syllables they belong to, so nothing drifts when the font or screen size changes.

{t:Amazing Grace}
{key:G}

VERSE 1
[G]Amazing [G7]grace how [C]sweet the [G]sound
That [G]saved a [Em]wretch like [Am]me [D7]

The basics:

• [C], [Am], [F]: chords go in square brackets before the syllable where they change
• VERSE 1, CHORUS, BRIDGE on their own line: section headers
• {key:G}: the song key
• {c:Play softly}: a comment that shows in the chart

For every directive and shorthand, see the ChordPro syntax reference.

Arrangements

An arrangement is one way of playing the song. A song starts with one arrangement, and you can add more.

Why more than one?

• A different key for a different singer
• A capo position for guitar next to the original key for piano
• A slower tempo for rehearsal
• A stripped-down acoustic chart next to the full-band chart

What each arrangement holds

• Name, such as "Original" or "Acoustic"
• Key, time signature, and tempo (BPM)
• Its own chart. Creating an arrangement copies the current chart into it, and from then on the two charts are independent. Fix a typo in one and the other keeps the old text.
• Vocal tunings, described below
• Notes, recording links, audio, and markup, all described below

Switching and creating arrangements

The arrangement name sits in the song header after the title. Click it to open the switcher. Each arrangement shows its key, time signature, and BPM. From the switcher you can rename the current arrangement or create a new one.

Setlists remember which arrangement to use for each song, so the whole band opens the same one.

Transposing

On the fly

Click the Key chip in View mode and pick the key you want to play in. The chart transposes immediately. When no key is set, the chip is labelled Transpose and offers semitone offsets instead.

Capo

Choose a fret from the Capo selector. The chart shows the shapes to play with the capo on, and the selector labels each option with the key those shapes are in, for example "Capo 2 (C)" for a song in D. The sounding key stays the arrangement's key. Capo is saved with the arrangement's active tuning.

Numbers

The ABC / # toggle switches chords to Nashville numbers relative to the key. Numbers need a key, so the toggle is disabled until the song has one. Capo is ignored in numbers mode. Set your default in Account settings.

Vocal tunings

A vocal tuning is a saved transpose and capo combination with a name. Pick Main to use the arrangement's own key, choose a saved tuning, or set Custom values and then Save preset to name them, for example "Sarah" or "Tenor". Manage opens the full list.

Key changes inside a song

For a song that modulates, put TRANSPOSE KEY +2 on its own line. Everything after it shifts up two semitones. Use a negative number to go down. Shifts accumulate, so a song can change key more than once.

Notes

Open Show notes from the Actions menu. Notes belong to the arrangement and come in two kinds:

• General notes for the whole arrangement
• Section notes attached to a specific section such as the bridge

Each note can be Public, visible to everyone with access to the song, or Private to you. Notes can carry tags for who they are aimed at, such as a vocalist or instrument. The Build Tab button opens a tablature builder that inserts formatted tab into a note.

Recording links and audio

Links and uploaded audio belong to an arrangement. Open the arrangement you want to practice: on web, expand the details panel under the song header in Edit mode; on iPhone or iPad, open the arrangement editor. A setlist uses the audio of its selected arrangement.

Recording links

Use Recording links for a YouTube video or another recording on the web. Any web address works; YouTube links get a title automatically. Each arrangement can hold up to 20 links.

Akordo stores the address. It does not upload the video or turn it into a pitchable audio file. Links do not use your uploaded-audio storage allowance.

Audio

1. In Audio, choose Attach audio file.
2. Choose an m4a, aac, mp3, wav, or caf file. Check the displayed file-size and track limits before uploading.
3. Confirm that you have the rights to share the recording. Choosing a file does not grant those rights.
4. Choose a Backing track for everyone on the arrangement. Uploaded audio can be played and pitched to the performing key.

Uploaded tracks are shared with everyone who can access the arrangement. Audio changes take effect immediately: uploads and deletions do not wait for the arrangement form’s Done or Save action.

The Audio section shows storage usage and warns when storage is almost full. Both your storage and the owning group’s storage can apply to a group upload. Storage, maximum file size, and track limits depend on the applicable plan; see Account settings.

To swap a track, choose Replace. Akordo checks the new file before removing the old one, then removes the old file before uploading the replacement. If the upload fails after removal, the old file is gone; attach it again or choose another backing track. Delete removes the uploaded file for everyone on the arrangement.

On web, a practice player appears in the bottom toolbar in View and Edit modes. On iPhone and iPad, use the arrangement’s audio playback controls to practice.

When storage is full

Delete an uploaded track you no longer need, or ask someone with editing access to help. Deleting another member’s upload may free group storage without freeing your personal allowance. Removing a recording link does not free uploaded-audio storage.

Removing an offline download only frees space on that device. It does not delete the shared upload or free its storage allowance. If the storage check fails, try again; your existing tracks remain visible. See Troubleshooting.

Markup

Charts have a Markup layer for your own performance marks. You can place text notes and draw freehand ink on the paged chart in Stage mode and in the PDF preview. Markup is saved for your account on that arrangement, so it follows you between devices but is not visible to other people who open the song. Marks made in the PDF preview belong to the printed page layout and are included in your PDF when annotated export is on. Marks made in Stage mode belong to the screen-shaped pages and are not printed. Marks you made on an iPad with Apple Pencil appear on the web as well. If two devices edit the same page, Akordo asks whether to Keep mine or Reload the other device's version.

Version history

Every save records a version for the song and, separately, for the arrangement you edited. Open History from the Actions menu.

Each entry shows the version number, when it was saved, why, and which fields changed. Select an arrangement version to see a line-by-line comparison of the chart against the current version.

Choose Restore on any entry to bring it back. Restoring records a new version, so you can restore forward again if you change your mind.

Practice tools

Metronome

The metronome button sits in the Timing chip in View mode. It plays the arrangement's BPM and time signature. Set a BPM first, because the button stays disabled until the arrangement has a valid tempo between 20 and 300.

Auto-scroll

In View mode, start auto-scroll from the toolbar and adjust the speed with the slower and faster buttons. The speed you choose is remembered for that song. Auto-scroll is also available in Stage mode.

Stage mode

Press Perform to open the song full screen with large text, paged or scrolling layout, and keyboard or foot-pedal control. See Stage mode.

Repertoire insights

The Repertoire Insights panel on a song shows its history in completed sets, including total plays, the key it was most often performed in, and the arrangement most often used. You can also record your private confidence rating from 1 to 5, fill in custom fields your group has defined, and attach links to licensed resources. Custom fields are searchable from Smart Views on the Repertoire page.

Sharing

With a group

Move a song into a group so everyone in the group can open it. Open Share from the Actions menu, expand Ownership & permissions, and choose Move to group. Group roles decide who can edit. See Groups.

With individuals

The same Share panel lets you invite one person by email with a role of Can edit or View only, whether or not you use groups. The owner can allow re-sharing so collaborators can invite others at or below their own access, or transfer ownership of the song to another person.

Deleting and restoring

Deleting a song moves it to Deleted in the library actions menu, where you can restore it or restore everything. Deleted songs are kept for 30 days and then removed permanently. Deleted arrangements can be restored from the arrangement switcher in the same way.

Limits

Charts can be up to 10,000 characters. The number of songs, arrangements per song, and tunings per arrangement depend on your plan and are shown in Account settings.

Next steps

• ChordPro syntax reference for every directive
• Setlists to organize songs for rehearsal and gigs
• Import songs to bring in an existing songbook
• PDF export to print charts