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. Pick your instrument and tuning. On the web, use the instrument switcher in the top bar.
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. Select one to see suggested fingerings and the notes it contains.

On the web, the URL updates as you go, so you can bookmark a voicing or paste the link to a bandmate. On iPhone and iPad, chord maps are in Practice › Chords & scales: the instrument chip beside the root and chord menus picks the instrument and tuning, and your choices are remembered for next time.

Step 2: Create a song

Create a free account or sign in with your email. Confirm the link we send you; no password is needed. Your account saves your songs and setlists so you can return to them on another device. Then open Songs and choose Create a song.

On iPhone and iPad you are already signed in: open Songs, tap + to add a song, then open it and choose Edit chart from the chart's More menu to write it.

1. On the web, the song opens in Edit mode. Fill in Song title and Artist at the top of the Guided editor. Set Key, time signature, and Tempo from the toolbar.
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. Select a chip to change it. If you use a capo, choose the fret from the Capo control in View mode; on iPhone and iPad, the Key chip at the top of the chart holds both the key and the capo. Your capo choice is a personal preference. Save vocal keys for different singers, then pick the one you need for each setlist.

Add rehearsal notes

• {c:Play softly here} puts a visible comment in the chart.
• Open Show notes from the Actions menu (on iPhone and iPad, Notes in the chart's More 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 (on iPhone and iPad, Add songs). Drag the grip handles to reorder (on iPhone and iPad, use Reorder).
4. For a song with several arrangements, select 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. iPhone and iPad call these New, Needs work, Ready, and Problem.

The runtime summary at the top adds up song durations and shows how the set compares to a target length. Open Review setlist from the actions menu for planning notes, and Lineup… to add the people playing it. Being in an event's lineup makes it eligible for Your next set on their web home.

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.

On iPhone and iPad, open the setlist and tap a song to start the set there. The Stage tab shows your next scheduled set when you are on its team. Swipe or use a paired page-turn pedal to move through pages and songs.

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.

On iPhone and iPad, create the group from More › New group and invite people with the group's Invite member button, where the roles are named Editor, Setlist editor, and Viewer. Choose the group as the Owner when you add a song. Moving an existing song or setlist into a group is done on the web.

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

Learn more about groups

What's next

• Akordo on iPhone and iPad to practice anywhere and play the set from your iPad (public beta)
• 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.