The songs in the Songbook are written in plain text, making them simple to create and edit. Each song can be formatted and enriched with additional information. The song text format primarily follows ChordPro, a widely-used standard for song notation.

The internet offers millions of songs that you can easily access with the Songbook. If you already have song files, you can quickly import them as well.

The Songbook provides various tools for editing existing songs and creating new ones. You can learn about the different ways to edit your songs on this page.

Edit on device

Use the ‘⁝‘ menu Edit -> Edit song text to edit your song in smartChord’s editor on your device.

Please note that the song text which is visible in the editor may differ from what you see in the Songbook, as there are various options and modes that can alter the visible representation of the songs in the Songbook.

The editor provides:

• Search & replace
• Copy & paste
• Undo & redo
• A Word-Finder
• A floating action button, which offers context specific actions
• A gesture detector to easily change the font size with the pinch gesture
• A print dialog to print your text
• Toolbar for quick insertion of the chords and sections of the song and frequently used characters like bracket pairs [] and {}. The toolbar can be disabled in the settings

Songbook-specific menu

The floating action button offers the following songbook-specific actions.

Start block

Provides menu options to add a start directive for a block like a verse or chorus

End block

Provides menu options to add a end directive for a block like a bridge or interlude

Add block

Provides menu options to add a start and end directive for a block like a TAB or pre_chorus

Repeat block

Provides menu options to insert a directive that repeats a previously defined block like a chorus or pre_chorus

Add control

Provides menu options to insert control directives for scroll break and scroll time definitions or MIDI commands

Add information

Provides menu options to insert directives with information or links like:

• Album
• Capo
• Comment
• Link to a drum pattern
• Link to a chord progression
• Song duration
• Link to an exercise
• Internet link
• Key of the song
• Link to a picking pattern
• Link to a YouTube video

Add sign

Provides menu options to insert signs like a bar line sign (‘|‘) or a rest sign (‘▄’) which are not (easily) available on a smartphone keyboard

Combine lines

The songbook editor allows you to combine short chord, lyrics, and TAB lines into longer lines. This can be helpful for several reasons:

Improved Readability

• Fewer Line Breaks: Longer lines reduce unnecessary line breaks, making the song easier to read and follow, especially when performing.
• Less Scrolling: When using digital devices, fewer lines mean less scrolling, allowing you to see more of the song on a single screen.

Enhanced Flow

• Better Song Flow: Longer lines can create a more natural flow in the song, mimicking the way the song is sung or played, which can be particularly useful for complex arrangements.
• Smoother Transitions: Combining short lines into longer ones can help avoid awkward pauses or breaks when transitioning between sections.

Consistent Formatting

• Uniform Appearance: Longer lines can help maintain a consistent format throughout the songbook, making it look more professional and organized.
• Alignment of Chords and Lyrics: By combining lines, you can ensure that chords, lyrics, and TABs align properly, reducing the risk of misinterpretation during a performance.

Space Efficiency

• Optimized Page Layout: In printed songbooks, combining lines can help maximize the use of space, reducing the number of pages needed and making the book more compact.
• Less Clutter: By reducing the number of short, fragmented lines, the page looks cleaner and less cluttered, making it easier to focus on the music.

Simplified Editing

• Consistent Format Across Songs: If you’re maintaining a songbook with multiple songs, longer lines can help ensure that all songs are formatted consistently, making future edits easier.
• Easier to Edit: When working with longer lines, it’s easier to make global changes, such as transposing chords or adjusting TABs, without having to worry about breaking the song into multiple lines.

Convert

The songbook editor lets you transform chord and lyric lines into either ChordPro or Multiline format. Both ChordPro and Multiline formats are popular ways to display chords and lyrics in songbooks. s.mart Songbook can handle both. Even in the same song. Independent from the used format and dependent from the songbook mode, the songbook can present each song either as ChordPro or Multiline.

Some prefer the ChordPro format because of clarity and easier editing, as chords are embedded directly within the lyrics using brackets, making it clear where each chord should be played. It’s also less cluttered as only one line is needed for both chords and lyrics, which can make the sheet less cluttered and easier to read.

Some prefer the Multiline format as chords are displayed on a separate line above the lyrics, making it visually clear which chords correspond to each word or phrase. This format is commonly used in printed songbooks and sheet music, making it familiar to many musicians. For beginners, the separation of chords and lyrics can be easier to follow, especially when learning a song.

Word-Finder

Show or hide the Word-Finder

Edit via context menu

There is also the possibility to mark blocks or add scroll breaks directly in the songbook. Or a dedicated information screen to edit song information like title, subtitle, artist, arranger, … This video shows all possible ways to edit your songs directly on your device: 

Edit song information

Essential information like album or arranger can be comfortably edited in the Edit information screen which can be reached in the ‘⁝‘ menu Edit -> Edit song information‘. Use the ‘+‘ button to add new information and click on the information, to edit it. Remove the text to delete the information. The information can also be edited in the song text editor. Either inserted by the floating menu or entered as chordPro directives:

• album
• arranger
• artist
• composer
• copyright
• duration
• key
• lyricist
• name
• subtitle
• tempo
• time
• title
• year

Online song editor

The online song editor allows you to edit your songs comfortably in the browser of your computer

• Activate the ‘Edit song text online’ mode in the songbook
• Enter http://www.smartchord.de/song/edit in the browser of your computer
• ▶ Our video shows the editing process:

The online song editor supports

• ChordPro and smartChord specific directives
• Syntax highlighting
• Search & replace
• Undo & redo
• Word-wrap support
• Full-screen mode

Edit in your cloud

Synchronize your songs with your cloud e.g. GoogleDrive. During synchronization, the songs are stored as text files with the extension ‘.sccrd’. You can access these song files via GoogleDrive from your PC and edit these plain text files with the text editor of your choice. With the next synchronization, the changes are imported into the songbook.