SongEditor

Song Editor

Say "Hi" to our Song Editor

The Song Editor is the heart of JustChords. It is where your ideas turn into clear, performance‑ready charts. Whether you are quickly sketching a new song, cleaning up chords you copied from the web, or preparing a polished lead sheet for a full band, the editor gives you a flexible but tidy workspace to do it. This page walks you through the main parts of the Song Editor and shows how they work together. The song editor lets you edit your songs. In the header, you can edit the song title, artist, add or remove tags, and set other song details like the key, duration, tempo, time signature.

Where to find the Song Editor

You typically arrive at the Song Editor in one of these ways:

• By creating a new song from your library (for example via a “+” or “New Song” button).
• By selecting an existing song from your library and choosing “Edit”.
• By importing a song (from text, ChordPro, PDF, or other supported formats) and then opening it in the editor to refine it.

Song Editor Header

Song Title and Artist fields

In Song Editor you provide the initial set of data for your song. Song Title, it will appear in Library under "All Songs" with the provided title, as well as Artist name. You will see your Artists listed in the Sidebar -> Artists section.

Tags

Use Tags field to categorize your song. May it be genre, or whatever you like. Once you set up your Tags you use them here.

Original Key

Beneath the Artist Field, you can set the Original Key of the song. This Key should match what you have inserted / imported into the Song Editor. If you want the key of the Song in Editor to be changed, so that future editing is easier, feel free to utilize the tools menu and select Rewrite song into key and choose your desired target key. Your chords as well as the original key will be updated accordingly. If however you want to retain the existing original key, but want to use a different key while playing, then there is a transpose functionality in Song Overview waiting for you.

Song Measure

With regards to Measure you can select whatever measure your song consists of. This is particular helpful when using metronome.

BPM

Also BPM info (song tempo) can be stored in the Song settings, which help indicate if a song is played faster or slower.

Duration

Last but not least the song duration. This interacts with Autoscroll functionality.

Tab: Song Editor

Writing lyrics and chords

Song is written as text document and uses simple syntax based on chordpro [1] format.

For example, this is the contents of a simple song:

Chorus: In the [C]world full of [G]chords, where [D]melodies un[Em]fold,‎
A [C]digital ha[G]ven for [D]stories untold.‎
With a [C]tap and a [Em]swipe, a [C]music[D]ian’s de[Em]light,‎
Just[C]Chords guiding [D]through the musical [Gsus4]night.[G] ‎
(repeat 2x)

Verse 1: ‎
In the [C]palm of your [G]hand,‎
a song[D]writer’s [Em]dream,‎
…

The lyrics of the song are interspersed with chords written between brackets [ and ]. The chords are placed in front of the syllable they belong to.

Sections of the song are separated by empty line. Sections are typically used to divide verses from the chorus or bridge. Each section can be labeled with a name. You can label your sections by typing a name on the first line of the section (followed with a colon), and then follow it with a new line. After you have labeled sections, you can define song structure.

Comments or musical instructions should be written as text on a line surrounded with parenthesis.

Text Formatting

Symbol	Meaning	Description
*	bold	Use the same character to stop it before line end e.g. Song line with *bold* text
**	italic	Use the same characters to stop it before line end
***	bold & italic	Use the same characters to stop it before line end
_	underline	Use the same characters to stop it before line end
<red>	text color	Use the character "<" to stop the color before the end of the line, e.g., Line contains <red>red text<. Supported color names: blue, brown, cyan, gray, green, magenta, orange, purple, red, white, yellow. You can also use custom hex color codes like <#33F3FF>.
<@yellow>	text highlight color	Use the character "<" to stop the highlight before the end of the line, e.g., Line contains <@yellow>yellow text<. You can also use custom hex color codes like <#@33F3FF>.

More Text formatting options can be found in the Chord bar under Aa:

Quick Chord Bar

The quick chord bar appears above the keyboard, letting you easily insert chords, tabs diagrams, note symbols, rhythm diagrams, sheet music and images into your chart. If you have set the songs Key, the quick chord bar will populate the bar with the chords in that key. As you add additional chord syntax, these new chords will appear on the bar making it easier to insert repeatedly.

Chord Insert

To insert a chord or empty tab into your song sheet:

• Tap on the screen where you want to place the cursor. The cursor is where your entry will be placed.
• With your cursor positioned, simply tap the desired chord, tab or symbol on the quick chord bar.
• The [chord] symbol inserts the correct format for writing chords in chord-pro syntax allowing you to enter any chord you choose.
• The |tab| symbol enters a blank tabular outline with standard tuning shown.

Quick Chord Bar / + Button

On the right hand side of the quick chord bar is a + icon. Tapping the + icon opens a menu offering the option to insert diagrams and images into your song sheet.

Rhythm diagram

In JustChords, you can create rhythm patterns, such as guitar strumming patterns, or make your own rythm patterns for other instruments using our Action and Modifier characters.

Let’s see how Actions and Modifiers can be used to create a strumming pattern for guitarists.

• – (dash) for take no action on time line = a space
• D inserts a down arrow in time line = a down strum
• U inserts an up arrow in time line = an up strum
• X inserts a ⊗ symbol in time line = a muted strum

You are not limited to these actions. You can use any other uppercase character to represent your own action requirements. The selected character will appear on the time signature time line, where ever you choose to place it.

Modifier characters: These are used to “modify” a chosen action, for example, to accent a strum to indicate a hard or loud strum. One or more Modifiers are placed immediately after an Action character, as needed, and when saved, will appear above the related action symbol or letter in the timing diagram. Available modifiers are:

• > accent or make loud
• < soften or mute
• p or pm palm (for mute strum)
• b for base note or root note
• any other lowercase character including #, +

The selected characters and symbols will appear above their related actions on the time signature time where you chose to place them.

Tab: Details

Manage and view details relating to your song.

The Details section consists of two, previously three parts

Section 1: Audio Track

Audio playback in JustChords lets you attach a backing track or reference recording to any song and control it directly from the song detail screen.

• Select Audio track.
• Choose the source for audio playback, one of:
  • Apple Music track
  • YouTube
  • Spotify (on iPhone/iPad)
  • Local file (for example an mp3 stored in Files)
  • None to clear the currently selected track

After this, a small play quick button appears in the song detail.

Once an audio track is attached, playback is always just one tap away.

Use the play quick button in the song detail to start or stop audio playback. The selected track will play while you view the song, so you can practice or perform along with the original recording or a custom backing track.

Section 2: MIDI when the song appears (deprecated)

has moved to Song Structure

Section 3: Metadata

Song metadata such as titles, composer, lyricist, notes etc, allows you to record song details in your song sheet. In addition you can enter:

• a URL to create a link from your Song title to a utube url.
• a Footer that will appear on printed song-sheets.

Section 4: CCLI

Here you can enter music and video copyright details used to serve the 250,000 churches (schools and organisations) who use them in worship.

Tab: Sheet Music

Sheet music allows you to load pdf files and or images. You may add, reposition or delete individual files on your sheet music.

Add sheet music

1. Tap Sheet Music on the menu bar. If you have no sheet music loaded a window appears with an Add File button.
2. Tap ‘Add File’ to open a file browser. Another window opens, allowing you to choose from;

File: Opens a file browser to search for and import pdf files. You can select single or multiple files. You can access this search multiple times. Scanner: Scanner opens your camera app (requires permission), and allows you to capture documents with your camera. Photo library: Opens your Photo gallery and allows you to select and import one or more files.

Reposition or delete sheet music

When the sheet music contains one or more files you have the option to:

• Add pages – tap Add and choose File, Scanner or image.
• Reorder pages (files) by selecting a page then moving it to the left or to the right.
• Delete pages by selecting individual files or choose Delete All.

Preview

The Preview menu allows you to quickly view song sheet in song view mode without closing the Edit screen.

It offers two views:

• Song sheet view: See how you chords and lyrics look with formatting
• Sheet music view: See how your pdf files will look without closing the edit window.

Tools

Rewrite into key

The rewrite into key menu option allows you to transpose the song’s content.

1. Make sure that song has set correct key (the field near note icon).
2. Click Rewrite into key from menu.
3. Select new song key.
4. Song content is rewritten into the new key.

Note: You can transpose a song into any key without affecting the underlying song content. Use Transpose and Capo for temporary changes of song key. See Song Viewer

Tidy ...

Minor Chords → Xm

When a song uses Dmin or D- as its minor key notation, you can convert it to your preferred format.

Trim Whitespaces

Using Trim Whitespaces will eliminate unnecessary white spaces in the song.

Chords: # → ♯, [b] → [B♭]

This feature replaces all occurrences of # or b with the prettier version.

Chords: is → #, es → ♭

This feature replaces all chord occurrences with "is" to ♯ (Example: Cis major -> C♯m) as well as chords with "es" to ♭ (Example: Ges Minor -> G♭)

Convert …

Convert “Chords over lyrics → ChordPro”

“Chords over lyrics” are other common way to write chord charts. It means writing lyrics on one line and writing chords on the line above the lyrics. Chords are then aligned with lyrics using spaces.

1. Paste song content with “Chords over lyrics”
2. Click Convert ‘Chords over Lyrics’ to ChordPro in menu
3. Song is converted to JustChord notation.

Chord pro directives → attributes

Converts Chordpro’s ‘directives’ to JustChord’s attributes format.

OnSong text formatting → JustChords

Use this menu to covert songs written in OnSong’s text format to JustChord’s format.o

{comment:Verse} → Verse:

Use this menu to convert syntax for verse written as {comment:Verse}, to JustChord’s Verse syntax which is written as Verse:

Preferences

The song editor offers users several options:

• You can adjust the size of the text within the text editor to suit your needs.
• You can enable the Text focus mode which takes away the focus from Chords and makes text easier to find for edit
• You can enable Chord suggestions, which will suggest the appropriate keys in the Quick Chord bar
• You can set the number of chords allowed to show on the quick chord menu bar. From JustChords perspective, the maximum technically allowed is 20. Screenshot shows option with dropdown to limit the number.

Search and Replace

• TBD

Dropdown ChordPro, Chord Over Lyrics, ChordBeats

• TBD

Keyboard Shortcuts

CMD + S

Use this shortcuts to save changes to a song.

CMD + 1,2,3,4...

Use shortcut CMD + 1 to insert the 1st suggested Chord from the Quick Chord Bar. Use CMD + 2 for the 2nd and so on.

Related topics

• Getting started with JustChords