11-16-2024, 03:27 AM
Hi all, great to meet you. I hope this is the right place for newbie questions.
Party cover band guitarist here. I'm a refugee from another cross-platform setlist helper app which is buggy and seemingly unmaintained. I spent a couple of hours last night reassociating Dropbox files with songs in the app when I should have been practicing and time is precious. I work in tech and all software has bugs but it's kind of beyond the pale so I'm looking at other options. Before I write my own (always a last resort), I've heard good things about MobileSheets and it doesn't have an obnoxious subscription model... Of course there's a lot of friction moving hundreds of songs between apps so I'd like to ask some questions before I dive in.
My charts aren't notation (well I am a guitarist
); rather a mish-mash of chord reminders, explanations, and the odd bit of tab here and there. Cobbled together from my transcriptions and things that I find online to save time if I'm in a rush at the expense of ear training. I've never explored ChordPro and I've always just created each chart in Google Docs where I can use consistent formatting. The other app only synced with Dropbox so I'd then have to export a PDF and copy to Dropbox.
I guess a picture tells a thousand words, so feel free to take a look at my charts here. Everything from 2024 is in some level of use, and everything is subject to continuous improvement depending on factors such as if I need to add stuff to play the song better, if I have time to simplify a chart where I copied some tab, if I have time to correct stuff that needs it (but I know when I see it it's wrong and how to play it correctly) etc etc.
Aside: Should I explore ChordPro? I don't generally need lyrics in my charts and I don't write the whole chart verbatim, rather I keep it as minimal as I can. I play by ear and know most song structures so I just write "repeat verse with funky bits" or whatever, any hints I need for things I might forget. I like the rich text of Google Docs and the fact that if I'm stretched for time, I can copy and paste an image of tab or a chord diagram or whatever into the document. Would ChordPro make transposing easier? Currently if I do the same song in two bands in different keys I duplicate the file and edit it.
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to ask was about the band functionality. Currently:
I've read the docs but can't take it all in just from reading. What I'd like to understand is if one of us creates a set list for a gig and shares it, can each of us upload our own charts to be viewed during the gig?
For example:
Song 1: The Boys Are Back In Town
Somehow I upload my crib sheet, bassist uploads his crib sheet, keyboard player uploads his proper notation, then during the gig each of us sees the relevant upload?
If we can, how would it work if I play that song in another band? Do I need to enter two separate songs in the database:
Same question if the two bands play the songs in different keys; that's what I'd do now.
If we can't, does the band synchronization feature rely on everyone reading the same chart for a given song?
I'm sure I have other questions but lets's start there.
Party cover band guitarist here. I'm a refugee from another cross-platform setlist helper app which is buggy and seemingly unmaintained. I spent a couple of hours last night reassociating Dropbox files with songs in the app when I should have been practicing and time is precious. I work in tech and all software has bugs but it's kind of beyond the pale so I'm looking at other options. Before I write my own (always a last resort), I've heard good things about MobileSheets and it doesn't have an obnoxious subscription model... Of course there's a lot of friction moving hundreds of songs between apps so I'd like to ask some questions before I dive in.
My charts aren't notation (well I am a guitarist
); rather a mish-mash of chord reminders, explanations, and the odd bit of tab here and there. Cobbled together from my transcriptions and things that I find online to save time if I'm in a rush at the expense of ear training. I've never explored ChordPro and I've always just created each chart in Google Docs where I can use consistent formatting. The other app only synced with Dropbox so I'd then have to export a PDF and copy to Dropbox.I guess a picture tells a thousand words, so feel free to take a look at my charts here. Everything from 2024 is in some level of use, and everything is subject to continuous improvement depending on factors such as if I need to add stuff to play the song better, if I have time to simplify a chart where I copied some tab, if I have time to correct stuff that needs it (but I know when I see it it's wrong and how to play it correctly) etc etc.
Aside: Should I explore ChordPro? I don't generally need lyrics in my charts and I don't write the whole chart verbatim, rather I keep it as minimal as I can. I play by ear and know most song structures so I just write "repeat verse with funky bits" or whatever, any hints I need for things I might forget. I like the rich text of Google Docs and the fact that if I'm stretched for time, I can copy and paste an image of tab or a chord diagram or whatever into the document. Would ChordPro make transposing easier? Currently if I do the same song in two bands in different keys I duplicate the file and edit it.
Anyway, the main thing I wanted to ask was about the band functionality. Currently:
- I have the above setup. I'm actually an Android / open source person at heart but using an iPad Pro for music as I assumed (sigh) the music apps would be better and it's nice and large so I can bolt it to my mic stand and read comfortably when I need to. With hindsight, both my current app and MobileSheets seem to be quite Android-centric with iOS as an afterthought (at least on the current app). Donner page turner pedal.
- Keyboard player uses an iPad Air, not sure what app. He sight reads notation and knows the songs etc.
- Bassist more like me in that he plays by ear and has been in the band 25 years so it's only recently that he's brought out (paper) charts for some of the newer songs.
- Drummer reads the paper set list, not currently using a click but happy to embrace technology.
- Ditto singer but bit more technophobic.
I've read the docs but can't take it all in just from reading. What I'd like to understand is if one of us creates a set list for a gig and shares it, can each of us upload our own charts to be viewed during the gig?
For example:
Song 1: The Boys Are Back In Town
Somehow I upload my crib sheet, bassist uploads his crib sheet, keyboard player uploads his proper notation, then during the gig each of us sees the relevant upload?
If we can, how would it work if I play that song in another band? Do I need to enter two separate songs in the database:
- The Boys Are Back In Town (Band 1)
- The Boys Are Back In Town (Band 2)
Same question if the two bands play the songs in different keys; that's what I'd do now.
If we can't, does the band synchronization feature rely on everyone reading the same chart for a given song?
I'm sure I have other questions but lets's start there.