Run a gig with Live mode

Live mode shows a setlist's charts full screen, one song at a time, on the device in front of you. It is built for a tablet on a stand or a laptop on a keyboard, and it keeps the screen awake for the whole gig.

Live mode is included with the Gig and Stage plans. On a Starter space the Go live button is greyed out with a note about upgrading.

Before the gig

1. Build the setlist and put the songs in order on the Plan tab. Live mode follows this order.
2. Make sure each song has a chart. A chord chart written in the app works straight away. You can also upload a PDF to the song's Keys & files tab, for example a scan of your own handwritten chart.
3. If you play a song in a different key at this gig, set Key offset (semitones) on the song's block in the Plan. Charts written in the app follow this offset in Live mode. Uploaded PDFs do not change.

Every band member opens Live mode on their own device and turns their own pages. Nothing is broadcast from one device to another, so nobody has to be the designated page turner.

Start Live mode

1. Open the setlist and click Go live in the header, to the right of the tabs.
2. Live mode opens in a new browser tab. Press F or click the fullscreen button in the bottom bar to hide the browser.

The bottom bar shows the current song's name, its key and tempo, the page you are on, and your position in the set, for example 3 / 12.

On a landscape screen wide enough for it, Live mode shows two pages side by side.

Turn pages and change songs

Moving forward goes through the pages of the current chart first, then on to the next song. Going back into the previous song lands on its last page.

• Touch: tap the right half of the chart to go forward and the left half to go back, or swipe.
• Keyboard: the right arrow or Space goes forward, the left arrow goes back, and the number keys 1 to 9 jump straight to that song.
• Foot pedal or page turner: any Bluetooth page turner that sends arrow keys or Space works. Set it to arrow keys if it offers a choice.
• Zoom: pinch on a touchscreen, or pinch on a trackpad, up to five times. Drag to move around. Zoom resets when you change page.

Choose which chart a song shows

A song can have several files, and every chord chart written in the app also comes with three ready-made PDFs: a chord chart, a numbers chart and a lyrics-only chart.

1. Click Change files in the bottom bar.
2. Find the song in the list and pick a file from its Select file dropdown.

The choice is saved to the setlist, so it is still there next time and on your other devices. Files that are still processing cannot be picked yet.

Draw on the charts

You can mark up any chart with your own notes: circle a cue, cross out a verse, write the count-in.

1. Click the pencil button in the bottom bar. Page turning is paused while you draw.
2. Pick Pen, Highlighter or Eraser, a colour and a stroke width. The eraser removes whole strokes it touches.
3. On a tablet with a stylus, turn on Pen only so your palm and fingers do not leave marks.
4. Click the tick, or press Esc, when you are done.

Strokes save on their own a moment after you draw them. Cmd+Z or Ctrl+Z undoes the last stroke. Your drawings are yours alone: bandmates see their own notes on the same chart, not yours. They come back the next time you open Live mode for that setlist.

After the gig

There is nothing to stop or save. Leave fullscreen and press Esc to return to the setlist, or just close the tab. Your drawings and file choices are kept. The next time you go live, the setlist starts again from the first song.

Troubleshooting

• No chart available: the song has no file selected. Use Change files to pick one, or add a chart to the song.
• Processing file...: a file you just uploaded is still being prepared. Give it a moment and it will appear.
• Couldn't load chart: a connection problem. Click Try again.
• No songs in this setlist: add songs on the Plan tab first.