Chords 'n' Lyrics

Chords an' lyrics be th' very heart o' yer song, matey, an' can be expressed either as bracketed chords or as chords o'er lyrics. Place this plunder in sections t' divide yer song into its logical parts, savvy?

Chord Format

Typically chords used in th' OnSong^® file format be alphabetic with particular variation or voicin' an' an optional split bass note. Fer instance, ye could spy somethin' like Asus4/C#. Ye can also use number systems t' denote chords in OnSong^® 2026 an' higher, Arrr! In that case, ye could use somethin' like 1sus4/3.

Bracketed Chords

With bracketed chords, ye place th' chords on th' same line as th' lyrics, but surround th' chord with square brackets, ye scallywag. 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 an' in th' ChordPro File Format, Blimey!

Chords O'er Lyrics

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

Verse 1:
        D           G        D
Amazing Grace, how sweet the 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 an' not detect th' chords. Please move any musical instructions or notes t' th' followin' line t' avoid this, Ahoy! 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 o'er 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, savvy?

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