A Lead sheets (ChordPro) chart is a chord chart written in ChordPro, a plain-text format where chords sit in square brackets inside the lyrics. The chart opens full screen. Here you read it, transpose it, look up chords, print it and, with edit access, edit its source and properties. Charts belong to a song; a song can have several.
Open a chart
- Open Songs from the side menu and select a song.
- In the Lead sheets (ChordPro) section, select a chart card.
To make a new chart, select Create in that section. The new chart is named New chart, opens in edit mode and holds a starter text that shows the supported patterns. A chart without any source also opens in edit mode.
Who can do what
Every member can open a chart, transpose it for their own view, use the chord finder and print. Creating a chart and editing its name, source and properties needs the Contributor role or higher and Sheet music & ChordPro (Band Silver or higher, Artist Gold). Without the plan feature the section on the song shows a diamond and existing charts stay readable. Deleting a chart needs only the Contributor role or higher.
Top bar
| Element | What it shows or does |
|---|---|
| Close button | Labelled Close. Saves pending changes and returns to the song. |
| Chart name | The chart's name. In edit mode it is a text field (Chart name). Names are trimmed and limited to 120 characters. |
| Save status | Shows Saving…, then Saved. Name and source save automatically. |
| Opens the chart in a new browser window and starts the browser's print function, where you can print or save as PDF. | |
| Bin button | Labelled Delete chart. Deletes the chart. Contributor or higher. |
Chart actions
A floating menu, labelled Chart actions, holds the controls that work on the chart.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Properties | Opens or closes the Properties panel. |
| Transpose down a semitone / Transpose up a semitone | Shifts every chord by one semitone per press, from −12 to +12. |
| Transpose value | Shows the current shift, for example +2. Its tooltip is Transpose at 0 and Reset transpose otherwise; selecting it sets the shift back to 0. |
| Chord finder | Opens or closes the chord finder above the chart. |
| Edit / Preview | Switches between reading the chart and editing its source. Only with edit access. |
With edit access, transposing changes the chart itself: the shift is stored as a {transpose: n} line at the top of the source and stays after you reload. Without edit access, the shift applies only to your current view and is not stored.
Chart view
The chart shows the chords above the words they belong to, with the metadata from the source (title, subtitle, artist, key, capo, tempo and similar) at the top. Sections such as a verse, chorus or bridge show their names beside the section or above it. Comments, tablature, jazz grids, ABC music notation, images and text blocks render as written in the source.
Guitar chord diagrams for the chords in the chart sit in a collapsible block headed Chords (n), where n is the number of chords with a diagram. It starts collapsed. Where the block sits, or whether it is shown at all, is set in Properties under Chord diagrams. Diagrams are included when you print.
Source editor
In edit mode the chart's text shows in a field labelled ChordPro source. On a wide screen the source is on the left and the chart on the right, and the chart updates as you type. On a narrow screen only the source shows; select Preview to see the chart. The source saves automatically. It is plain text only and can be up to 262,144 characters.
Writing a chart
- Put a chord in square brackets in front of the syllable it falls on:
[G]This is a verse with [C]chords. - Put an annotation in brackets that start with a star:
[*Softly]. - Put a directive on its own line in curly braces, for example
{title: New Song}, or a block such as{start_of_chorus: Chorus}followed by{end_of_chorus}. - A line that starts with
#is a note in the source and never shows in the chart.
Directive suggestions
Typing { opens a list titled ChordPro suggestions, filtered by what you type after the brace.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Up and down arrow | Moves through the suggestions. |
| Tab | Inserts the selected directive. Directives that open a block, such as a verse or a tab, also insert the matching end directive. |
| Escape | Closes the list. |
Short forms work as well, for example {t: …} for the title, {sov} and {eov} for a verse, {soc} and {eoc} for a chorus, and {c: …} for a comment. The suggestions cover these groups:
| Group | Directives |
|---|---|
| Metadata | title, subtitle, artist, composer, lyricist, album, year, copyright, key, capo, tempo, time, duration, meta |
| Comments | comment, comment_box, comment_italic, highlight |
| Sections | start_of_verse, start_of_chorus, start_of_bridge with their end_of_… directives, and chorus to recall a chorus |
| Special blocks | start_of_tab (tablature), start_of_grid (jazz grid), start_of_abc (ABC music notation), start_of_textblock (aligned text), each with its end directive; image for an http or https image |
| Layout | columns, column, column_break, new_page, new_physical_page, labels, diagrams |
| Chords | transpose, define (a custom chord shape), chord (one chord diagram at this position) |
Properties
The Properties panel edits the chart's metadata and layout as a form. Each value belongs to the chart, not to the song, and is written into the chart's source as a directive. Without edit access every field is read-only. Close the panel with its close button or with the Properties button again.
| Group | Fields |
|---|---|
| Title & display | Title, Sort title, Subtitle |
| Credits | Artist, Sort artist, Composer, Lyricist, Copyright |
| Song info | Album, Year, Key, Time, Tempo, Duration, Capo |
| Layout | Chord diagrams: Default (bottom), Top, Bottom, Right, Left, Below (inline) or Off. Columns: Default (1), or 1 to 6. Section name: Show left from section or On top of section. |
| Tags | The chart's tags. Type in Add a tag… and press Enter, or select Add tag. Edit a tag in place, or remove it with its remove button. |
A text field updates the source when you leave it. Clearing a field removes its directive. In Layout, choosing the default option removes the override and the chart falls back to the default.
Chord finder
The Chord finder identifies a chord from a fingering on a guitar neck, labelled Guitar fretboard. It is a reference tool: it never changes the chart unless you use Add to chart.
- Select Chord finder. The prompt reads Place fingers on the neck to identify the chord.
- Select a fret on a string to place a finger. Select the same fret again to mute the string. Select the nut area of a string to switch it between open and muted. All strings start muted.
- Read the result: the best match as a large chord name, the notes it spells and its intervals. Other possible names follow Also:.
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Clear | Mutes all strings again. |
| Add to chart | Adds the best match with this exact fingering to the end of the source as a {define: …} line, and switches to edit mode. Only with edit access. |