Setlists

Overview

A setlist is an ordered collection of songs — your plan for a rehearsal, service, or gig. Instead of fumbling through your library to find each song, you line them up in advance and flow through them in order.

Each song in a setlist can have:

• A specific arrangement selected (so everyone plays in the same key)
• A label for quick visual scanning (like "new" or "review")

Build a set

Creating a setlist is straightforward:

1. Go to your library and create a new setlist
2. Give it a name — be specific if it's for a particular event
3. Add songs in the order you'll play them
4. For each song, pick the arrangement you want to use

Arrangement selection

If a song has multiple arrangements, the setlist remembers which one to use. This means:

• The guitar player sees the capo position for the key you're doing
• The bass player sees the right tempo
• Everyone's literally on the same page

Pro tip: If you change arrangements mid-rehearsal, update the setlist so it sticks for next time.

Reordering

Drag songs to reorder them. Think about:

• Flow: Do these two songs transition well?
• Energy: Where do you want peaks and valleys?
• Keys: Avoid jarring key changes back-to-back

Labels

Labels help you quickly identify songs that need attention. Use them to mark:

• New songs the band hasn't learned yet
• Review songs that need work
• Confirmed songs that are ready to go
• Anything else your team needs to track

Creating labels

1. Open a setlist
2. Click to add or edit a label on any song
3. Pick a color and name

Labels are per-setlist, so you can use different labels for different contexts.

Filtering by label

In larger setlists, filter by label to focus on what needs work:

• Show only "new" songs to rehearse the unfamiliar material
• Hide "confirmed" songs when you're short on time

Event setlists

For one-time events, add a date to your setlist name:

• "Sunday Service 2024-01-14"
• "Wedding Reception - Smith/Jones"
• "Tour Opener - Chicago"

This keeps your historical setlists organized and makes it easy to find what you played when.

General vs event setlists

You might have:

• General setlists that you reuse (your "Sunday morning" setlist that evolves week to week)
• Event setlists that are frozen after the event (your "Christmas Eve 2024" setlist)

For recurring setlists, just add and remove songs as needed. For one-time events, the dated setlist becomes a record of what you played.

Rehearsal flow

During rehearsal, open the setlist and use it as your home base.

Navigating between songs

1. Open the setlist
2. Click any song to jump to its chart
3. Use back navigation to return to the setlist

The setlist keeps your place, so you're not hunting through your entire library between songs.

Making quick edits

Spot a wrong chord? Need to adjust a tempo? Edit the song directly from the setlist view. Changes save automatically and sync to everyone in your group.

Updating as you rehearse

As you work through songs:

• Mark which ones need more practice with labels
• Adjust arrangement choices if someone needs a different key
• Add notes to songs about transitions or cues

Sharing with your band

Setlists can live in your personal library or in a group.

Personal setlists

Use these for:

• Your own practice sessions
• Planning before sharing with the band
• Solo gigs

Group setlists

Move a setlist into a group to share it with bandmates. Everyone with access to the group can:

• View the setlist and all songs
• Open songs directly from the setlist
• See the same arrangement choices

This eliminates the "which version are we doing?" confusion that derails rehearsals.

Learn more about groups

PDF export

Need paper copies? Export your entire setlist as a PDF:

1. Open the setlist
2. Use the PDF export action
3. Get a single file with all songs in order, properly formatted

Great for:

• Gig folders
• Backup when technology fails
• Sharing with musicians who aren't on Akordo

Learn more about PDF export

Tips for better setlists

• Test your flow: Run through the transitions before rehearsal
• Be realistic: Don't pack in more songs than you have time to practice
• Leave space: Build in buffer time for troubleshooting
• Archive old setlists: Keep your workspace clean by archiving past events
• Use descriptive names: "Worship Set 2024-01-14" > "Setlist 7"

Next steps

• Songs — the charts that go in your setlists
• Groups — share setlists with your band
• PDF export — print your setlist for gigs