Projection

Projection overview

Projection lets you send song lyrics from JustChords to external screens while you play, using AirPlay or cabled displays, with rich options for color, background and font.

JustChords can project lyrics to TVs, projectors or other AirPlay devices while you control songs on your iPhone or iPad. You can customize lyric projection with solid colors, gradients, or image/video backgrounds and choose text color and font for better readability.

Connecting to an external screen

AirPlay / Apple TV

To use LyricsView or StageView you first need to connect your device to an external screen.

Connect your iPhone or iPad to the same Wi‑Fi network as your Apple TV or AirPlay 2‑compatible TV/device.
Open Control Centre:
- On iPhone X or later / iPadOS 16 or later: swipe down from the upper‑right corner.
- On older devices: swipe up from the bottom edge.
Tap Screen Mirroring and select your TV or AirPlay device.
To stop mirroring, open Control Centre again, tap Screen Mirroring and then Stop Mirroring (or press the Menu button on the Apple TV remote).

Once mirroring is active and JustChords projection is enabled, the app can switch between simple screen mirroring and dedicated lyrics projection.

Projection types

JustChords supports three projection modes to match different live setups.

Mirror screen: Uses system screen mirroring to show your device screen 1:1 on the external display. Useful for teaching, demos, or whenever you want the audience to see exactly what is on your device.

LyricsView: Designed for an audience such as a church congregation or people at a music gig; it displays lyrics only in a clean, centered layout.; Supports custom backgrounds (color, gradient, image or video) and allows you to adjust font style, size and positioning.

StageView: Designed for musicians on stage, showing chords and lyrics together on one screen.; Can also display the current song arrangement (for example in the footer) and the next song to help the band follow the set.

Lyrics projection settings

Once a screen is connected and a song is selected, you can fine‑tune how lyrics are projected.

External screen status

The External screen indicator shows whether an external display is currently connected. With a connected screen you can:

Use plain mirroring of the device.
Switch to dedicated Lyrics Projection (LyricsView or StageView).

Background options

Background controls how the projected lyrics will look visually.

Color – choose from a set of background colors; darker backgrounds with light text usually improve readability.
Gradient – enable the gradient toggle to blend between two colors instead of using a flat color.
Image / video – select an image or video file to use as a live background. You can even assign different media to different song sections for more dynamic visuals.

Text options

The Text section defines what is projected and how the text looks.

Projector mode: Section – projects one section at a time (Verse, Chorus, Bridge, etc.). You advance sections by tapping a widget or using a connected pedal.; Song – projects all lyrics at once. Useful for unstructured songs, but very long texts may require smaller font sizes.

Appearance: Color – select a text color that “pops” against your chosen background.; Shadow – add or remove a shadow under the text to improve contrast on busy images or videos.; Maximum font size – slider to define how large the text may grow.; Line spacing – slider to control the space between lines for optimal readability.; Reset – restores all text settings to their defaults.

Preview

The preview widget lets you see on your device what the external audience screen looks like.

Show preview widget – toggles a small preview window on your device.
Widget size – slider to make the preview widget larger or smaller.

This is helpful when the external screen is behind you or out of direct view.

The Footer section controls additional information at the bottom of the projected screen.

You can choose which song details (e.g. title, key, tempo, arrangement info) are shown in the footer.
Footer content is taken from fields configured in the Song Editor.

Quick buttons

Quick buttons can be shown in the Song Viewer to control projection without opening settings.

The Lyrics Projection button (projector icon) lets you switch projection on or off with a tap.
This button is only visible when an external screen is connected.

LyricsView

LyricsView focuses on creating a readable, visually engaging audience display.

Background options: Use solid color or gradient backgrounds to maximize contrast.; Add image or video backgrounds from your media library; different songs or sections can use different media if desired.

Text options: Choose text color so lyrics stand out against the background and select from fonts installed on the device.; Configure text alignment and position, for example centered lyrics over a moving video background.

LyricsView is typically used for congregations, audiences and livestream overlays where clean lyrics are the priority.

StageView details

StageView is optimized for musicians’ needs rather than audience visuals.

Shows chords and lyrics together so players can read harmony and words on a single screen.
The footer area can show arrangement information (current section, upcoming section, song details).
StageView can indicate the next song in the setlist to keep the band in sync during live performance.

StageView is ideal for foldback monitors, side screens or any display primarily aimed at the band.

Multi-screen setups with USB‑C and AirPlay

On iPad with USB‑C, JustChords supports using two external screens at once.

Connect one display via USB‑C to HDMI (or an HDMI splitter) and another display using AirPlay.
This allows StageView on one screen (for example a foldback or confidence monitor for musicians) and LyricsView on another (for example a projector for the congregation) at the same time.
Inside JustChords, each connected screen can be configured as either StageView or LyricsView, so you can assign roles per output (e.g. USB‑C = StageView, AirPlay = LyricsView).

This flexibility lets you serve both musicians and audience with tailored views from a single JustChords device.