Song Editor Help

Basic Editing

The editor provides a simple text area where you can directly type or paste your ChordPro content:

Supported Metadata Tags

• {title: Song Title} - The title of your song (required)
• {artist: Artist Name} - The artist/songwriter
• {key: C} - The song's musical key
• {tempo: 120} - The beats per minute
• {time: 4/4} - The time signature
• {capo: 2} - Capo position (fret number)
• {copyright: © 2023} - Copyright information
• {ccli: 12345} - CCLI song number
• {ccli_license: 12345} - CCLI license number
• {header: Additional header info} - Custom header information
• {footer: Additional footer info} - Custom footer information

Chords and Formatting

Chords

Place chords within square brackets directly before the syllable they apply to:

[G]Amazing [C]grace how [G]sweet the [D]sound

Chord Progressions

For displaying chord progressions with bar lines:

| G | C | Am | D |

Page Breaks

Insert a page break using:

{new_page} or {np}

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter

Section Headers

Create sections by typing the section name followed by a colon on its own line:

Verse 1:
[G]Amazing [C]grace how [G]sweet the [D]sound

Chorus:
[G]That saved a [C]wretch like [G]me

Supported section headers:

• Verse 1-5:
• Chorus:
• Chorus 1-2:
• Bridge:
• Pre-Chorus:
• Post-Chorus:
• Intro:
• Outro:
• Interlude:
• Tag:
• Ending:
• Solo:
• Instrumental:
• Break:
• Breakdown:
• Turnaround:

You can still use these plain-text headers alongside the brace directives below.

Section environments ({…})

Mark verse, chorus, bridge, or grid blocks with paired start/end directives. Short forms are shown in parentheses.

• Verse: {start_of_verse} / {sov} … {end_of_verse} / {eov}
• Chorus: {start_of_chorus} / {soc} … {end_of_chorus} / {eoc}
• Bridge: {start_of_bridge} / {sob} … {end_of_bridge} / {eob}
• Grid (chord rows): {start_of_grid} / {sog} … {end_of_grid} / {eog} — lines inside are treated like bar progressions (e.g. | C | G | Am | F |).

Optional labels

Add a title after a colon or space, use label="…", or mix with ChordPro-style attributes. Examples:

{start_of_verse: Verse 1}
{start_of_verse Verse 2}
{start_of_verse label="Opening"}
{soc: Chorus 2}

Titles on the chart & preview

A section title row appears only when you give a label—either a plain header line like Chorus: or an environment with text as above. A bare {soc} / {sov} / {sog} / {sob} (no label) still groups your lines for structure and transpose, but no extra heading is printed.

ChordPro also allows a conditional suffix on directive names (e.g. {start_of_verse-guitar}); the editor treats these like the base directive.

Chorus recall

After you close a chorus with {eoc}, you can drop the same chords and lyrics in again later with:

{chorus}
{chorus: Final}
{chorus: label="Last time"}

If no chorus was defined yet, the line is ignored. Optional labels on {chorus} only affect the title row (when provided).

Comments

Whole-line notes for performers or yourself (not lyrics). Short forms in parentheses.

• {comment: …} ({c: …}) — regular note
• {comment_italic: …} ({ci: …}) — emphasized note
• {comment_box: …} ({cb: …}) — boxed note

{comment: Quiet here}
{c: Vamp 2 bars}
{comment_italic: Optional fill}
{cb: Key change next}

Tips for Success

• Start with Metadata: Begin your song with the title, artist, and key metadata tags.
• Use the Diatonic Chord Buttons: Quickly add common chords in your selected key using the chord buttons or keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+7).
• Save Often: Use Ctrl+S or Cmd+S to quickly save your work.
• Preview Your Work: Click "Preview" to see how your song will look when printed, or saved as a PDF.
• Create Versions: Use the version selector to create and manage different arrangements of your song.
• Use Blank Lines: Separate sections with blank lines for better readability.
• Brace sections: Use {soc}…{eoc} (and similar) when you want sections for transpose and layout without printing a “Chorus:” line; add a label when you do want a visible heading.
• Grids: Put chord-only rows inside {sog}…{eog} so every line is styled like a progression.