Chords an' Lyrics

Chords and lyrics represent th' content o' yer song and can be expressed either as bracketed chords or as chords over lyrics. Place this content in sections t' divide yer song into its logical parts.

Bracketed Chords

With bracketed chords, ye place th' chords on th' same line as th' lyrics, but surround th' chord with square brackets. Here be an example o' this format:

Verse 1:
Amazing [D]Grace, how [G]sweet th' [D]sound,
That saved a wretch like [A7]me.
I on[D]ce was lost, but [G]now am [D]found,
Was blind, but [A7]now I [D]see.

Bracketed chords be th' preferred method o' expressin' chords in th' OnSong File Format and in th' ChordPro File Format.

Chords Over Lyrics

Th' other way t' express chords in lyrics be t' place th' chords on a line above th' lyrics and use space characters t' align th' chords with lyrics. This be supported since most music found in other formats use this technique. Here be an example o' chords over lyrics:

Verse 1:
        D           G        D
Amazing Grace, how sweet th' sound,
                         A7
That saved a wretch like me.
  D                  G      D
I once was lost, but now am found,
               A7    D
Was blind, but now I see.

It be important t' note that if non-chord words be found on a line o' chords, that OnSong will reject that line and not detect th' chords. Please move any musical instructions or notes t' th' followin' line t' avoid this. One exception t' this rule be if ye surround instructions in parenthesis. This will allow th' chord line t' be detected. Ye can also start th' line with a period or a back tick character t' force th' line t' be detected as chords like this:

.I Am Chords
`I Am Also

OnSong recognizes chords usin' th' followin' set o' rules:

1. It must start with a capital A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H (used in some languages)
2. It can be followed with an optional flat or sharp symbol: #, b, ♯ or ♭
3. It can have one o' th' followin' modifiers: add, sus, m, min, man, aug or dim
4. It can then be followed with an optional numeric position like: 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, or 13
5. It can optionally flat or sharp those numeric positions with: #, b, ♯ or ♭
6. It can provide a slash t' indicate a bass note as in "A minor over C" which can also have an optional sharp or flat.

Comments

If ye want t' create comments in yer song that will not appear on th' screen, prefix th' line with a "#" symbol.

# This line will not appear in th' song viewer, only in th' song editor.