Giggin' SongBook Format

[cisco7]

Hi acoustic fellas,

just wondering, i believe the "live songbook" should not contain a lot of information. It should be well formatted and immediately readable.
I play guitar and sing.
How do you format your sheet music ? What kind of information do you put on the "live" sheets? I prefer the old style binder.. no digital stuff. Just looking for useful tips.

Cheers and thanks!!

[lmacmil]

Originally Posted by cisco7

How do you format your sheet music ? What kind of information do you put on the "live" sheets? I prefer the old style binder..

My playing partner and I (both old farts who can't remember anything) both use 3-ring binders. My charts have lyrics and chords in 14 or 16 point arial font. If the vocal interaction is not straightforward, I may use some red print to highlight stuff. All songs fit on 1 or 2 pages and I put them in plastic sleeves for durability.

I'll admit the charts are a crutch but no one is paying to see me. I don't claim to be a professional and I don't read from them, just an occasional glance. For those who can memorize 40 or 50 or more songs, you have my undying admiration.

[cisco7]

Originally Posted by lmacmil

My playing partner and I (both old farts who can't remember anything) both use 3-ring binders. My charts have lyrics and chords in 14 or 16 point arial font. If the vocal interaction is not straightforward, I may use some red print to highlight stuff. All songs fit on 1 or 2 pages and I put them in plastic sleeves for durability.

I'll admit the charts are a crutch but no one is paying to see me. I don't claim to be a professional and I don't read from them, just an occasional glance. For those who can memorize 40 or 50 or more songs, you have my undying admiration.

Thanks lmacmil, keep on rockin'

[Captain Jim]

I used to put lyrics with chords above the words on paper while working out a new song. Never used that when playing out. A couple years ago, I put OnSong on an iPad Mini... SO much easier to organize, load new music, and utilize. Small and unobtrusive enough that I have played out with it.

I have around 80 songs that I can do without a "prompt," and a bunch more if I can get the first line and the chords - the tablet makes that a snap. I can change the set list on the fly, look up a song by title or artist, and have the words scroll according to a time I have set. I know you said, "no digital stuff," just thought I'd offer a faster, easier, more efficient option. No "flipping through pages" to find what you want.

When I was using paper, I spent a lot of time arranging/printing lyrics and chords. With OnSong, I can be utilizing the information in a few seconds, with no printing, plastic sheets, etc.

Jim

See the iPad?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by cisco7

Hi acoustic fellas,

just wondering, i believe the "live songbook" should not contain a lot of information. It should be well formatted and immediately readable.
I play guitar and sing.
How do you format your sheet music ? What kind of information do you put on the "live" sheets? I prefer the old style binder.. no digital stuff. Just looking for useful tips.

Cheers and thanks!!

Hi cisco…

• Sans Serif font (Helvetica Condensed Bold) - clean and readable at a distance
• Fills a normal page
• I limit/condense charts to a single page
• If it's for rehearsal at church I include song ID, info and CCLI Rehearsal license numbers

On my iPad, I format them in color[list][*]Verse Blue[*]Chorus Red[*]Bridge Purple

This example was a 2 page chorus sheet for our Worship Team reduced to one and fit to an 8 ½"X 11" format. This is the way it appears on my iPad screen…

[bbarkow]

Originally Posted by lmacmil

My playing partner and I (both old farts who can't remember anything) both use 3-ring binders. My charts have lyrics and chords in 14 or 16 point arial font. If the vocal interaction is not straightforward, I may use some red print to highlight stuff. All songs fit on 1 or 2 pages and I put them in plastic sleeves for durability.

I'll admit the charts are a crutch but no one is paying to see me. I don't claim to be a professional and I don't read from them, just an occasional glance. For those who can memorize 40 or 50 or more songs, you have my undying admiration.

I use pretty much that same system for practice. Keeps everything organized, and easy to change things around.

[Laughingboy68]

I used to have two gigantic three ring binders. It got to the point where they were too big and difficult to manage - especially as I hardly looked at them.

I am a complete convert to using an iPad. Mine has over 400 charts that can be easily organized for minute to minute set lists, requests or to "play to the room". I kept the binders for awhile as a backup, but it became so out-of-date that I finally chucked it last week.

I use lyrics in a 12-13 point font that I can zoom if I need it. I strive to fit everything on one sheet, I usually place chords in the margin rather than above the lyric. I find this easier if you are using the chart as occasional reference (ye olde safety net). I'll also add in capo position, tuning, intro or break melodies (tab or notation) and general notes (boom-chuck, 6/8 feel, waltz time are a few examples). The program I use also can include a metronome, which I sometimes use if it's a song that I tend to rush, or if I'm creating a loop.

My iPad is an old one (version 1) that I inherited from my wife, when she moved to a newer model. You could get one cheap on craigslist or Kijiji. The apps are dirt cheap and make life so much easier. I use unrealBook and am completely satisfied with it.

Mike

[Earl49]

I use a binder too (at least until they come out with an 8½ x 11 iPad) and use the lead sheet format - chords and lyrics - like Larry showed above. However, I have embedded the chords into the lyric line enclosed in [brackets] because it lets me get more lines on a page for longer songs. Then I space as needed for readability. The font is the largest that can fit onto a single page, usually 18 or 20 point Helvetic or Arial. I indent choruses and double indent bridges when possible, and use a highlighter to make key lines stand out. Since I compile everything in Word first, it is easy to PDF these for sharing others and for iPads. You can find examples here: www.boiseukulelegroup.com/music.html

Finally, at the last major binder update I got rid of the plastic pages and reprinted everything two-sided. It cut the weight and thickness of the binder at least in half. I try to play from memory as much as possible, but sometimes you need a little help, especially as the song list gets longer.

[cisco7]

Thanks all!!! A lot of useful info here...

[815C]

While I don't sing, I used to use a 3 ring binder for chord charts. Then I switched to writing out the chords so large with a Sharpie that I could lay the charts on the floor and not use a music stand. Then I moved to ForScore on an iPad.

For my gigs with a big band where I'm reading some pretty involved charts that are often 4 pages per song, I built this Frankenstein 3 ring binder buy cutting up a binder and using paint stirring sticks and gaffer's tape to attach the sides to another binder so that it's big enough to hold 11x17 paper (yeah I could of just bought a binder this big, but they are pricey). This way, I have no page turns during any tunes. Maybe you could use something like this if you need the lyrics to some of the Bob Dylan songs that go on and on and on and on.....

[The Bard Rocks]

Imacmil, you sound like me. Arial 14 point for most everything, 18 point titles and 12 point for composer name and date. Sheet music with chords above the notation and the words below. Choruses are indented and in italics, printed just once. At the bottom (11-12 point) are notes to a few songs, interesting stuff used in patter. And it all goes in plastic sheaves which in turn are in various 3 ring binders. It is fairly easy then to rearrange the order if needed, but not nearly as easily as if they were viewed digitally.

My computer has over 900 songs done this way. For most of them, all I need to do is glance once in a while, but I no longer even try to memorize unless it is for something very special. I thought long and hard about an iPad when they first came out and have not given up on that. My binders are heavy, heavy, heavy, and I can't take all of them with me or quickly access each song that I think of.

However, with 14 point, I can read the words and music when my stand is located a bit below guitar level, so it does not come (much) between my audience and me. Given the small size of the iPad, I feel that would not be possible and it's pretty much that which has kept me from buying one (that plus concern that there is no app which will allow the format that I use to be continued - heck do I even need an app?). Someone please tell me if I am all wrong about these things and I'll go out and get one right away.

[caissiel]

I have all my songs looking the same with chords on the same line as lyrics. Font size varies to fit song on one page.
I print in booklet size 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 and use small books 5 total in use.
PDF files on my small Android that hangs on the mike stand works fine also. But I find the mike gets into the way. I prefer podium set low and flat. I have been using this setup for years.
I can still read my songs in booklet form with bold arial fonts without my glasses and I am over 65.
But really working on my 10 songs without aids.

[Long tooth]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I use a binder too ...

Finally, at the last major binder update I got rid of the plastic pages and reprinted everything two-sided. It cut the weight and thickness of the binder at least in half. I try to play from memory as much as possible, but sometimes you need a little help, especially as the song list gets longer.

3 ring binder for me also. Fake sheet format with lyrics and chords over the lyric line to mark chord changes. I like a table Nashville numbers over the chords at the top of the page as well. No plastic sheet holders either. Take up too much room. I 3 hole punch on the L and R side of page so I can make the pages open like a book or have them in order print side up in the binder. I also use the lettered tab dividers. For songs starting with "The" I alphabetize on the first letter in the second word of the title or the T tab get too thick and I can't find anything.

I am only a church player and no one pays to hear me.

Our music leader uses a iPad but he's about 20 years younger and probably a lot smarter/tech savvy than I am. But he futzes with it all the time...swipe, swipe, swipe through 'pages' looking for his music. I pull out my fake sheet and I am ready to go. Easy Peasy...

[drive-south]

I use 3 ring binders and a sheet music stand but I'm considering switching to a tablet. I have a Samsung S3 8" tablet.

What's the best way to transfer sheet music to the tablet?Scan the sheet then send it via mail? Use the camera in the tablet?

My tab dims after a few seconds. How do you get the screen to stay illuminated? Do I disable the power saving feature?

[nedray]

I recently started building my library on my iPad. I'm using OnSong and working through that learning curve. I'm also trying out Ultimate Guitar, which has a good format for lyrics and chords, and also includes a hover feature on the chords that shows fingerings for the ones you don't know. I'm sort of liking that, but it doesn't download the chart--you only save it as a a favorite on the U-G site. That's OK until the wi-fi goes out, so based on others' experiences, I think OnSong is still the best bet. I've seen a pedal unit that enables and regulates scrolling.