Guitar tab software for live gigs

MikeC

Sorry if this is already a thread. Joined a covers band a few month ago and we've started gigging, so they are throwing new cover songs at me at a rapid rate, and changing the keys as and when the vocalist struggles (which is often). I have the memory of a sieve when it comes to remembering songs / chords, so always have them written out on little cards on the floor (until some pissed bloke spills beer on them).

Anyway, can anyone suggest some software that shows the lyrics and chords and guitar tab (can't read music) that you can pull up on ideally a single i-pad page (cos I cant flick pages mid strum / solo), and you can change the order of songs, change the key etc? Keyboardist uses 'sheet music direct' and likes it. 

Cheers!

maltingsaudio

I use OnSong which is pretty good for chords above lyrics, couldn’t site read tab on a gig so not an issue for me

fretmeister

Forescore will do pdfs of whatever you like.

You can also use a bluetooth footswitch to flip pages.

Roland

Our previous singer used OnSong. It transposed nicely for him, BUT it fell over if he lost his internet connection. Also many of the transcriptions didn’t match the recorded song, many used cowboy chords rather than the correct shapes, and some were just plain wrong.

What works for me is to transcribe the song as part of my learning process. I use a word processor for lyrics and chords, and software for score and TAB. Then I write the bare bones of the transcription into SetListMaker: Intro/Verse/Chorus structure and chord sequences. If I need a few notes as a reminder of how a riff or solo starts then I write them as letters eg b c# e f# g.

My ipad is linked by Bluetooth to an Airturn pedal. (Yeah, Bluetooth isn’t reliable, but I can flick the iPad with my finger if I need to). For me the Airturn change song, but it can also be set up to scroll, or you can use SetListMaker to automatically scroll at your playing speed.

TheBigDipper

OnSong on an iPad for me, plus (sometimes) an Airturn BT pedal to page up/down. You enter the songs or import them from other sources. You can transpose easily without retyping if the singer needs a key change. If your keyboard player buys from sheet music direct and prints it as a PDF you can copy that in and display it. Songs can be stored in books (a song can be in more than one book) and you can create ordered set lists as well. It's pretty good. 

mrkb

Onsong is initially £31 on iOS, is there also an in app purchase cost?

fastonebaz

Songsterr for me

maltingsaudio

mrkb said:

Onsong is initially £31 on iOS, is there also an in app purchase cost?

Not had one yet!

Trude

Another vote for OnSong. If you use a Bluetooth page-turner pedal you can have the text nice and big without running out of space. It’s also far less noticeable for the audience if you never need to reach down and fiddle with it.

WeZ84

My band uses BandHelper - it has some similarities with OnSong. If you sync the app before each gig there's no issue if you lose internet connection during the gig. We put the lyrics and chords for each song on the app then you can transpose them when required. There's a free 30 trial then there is an annual subscription of something like £20.

https://www.bandhelper.com/

We chose it as it was the only one we could find at the time that supported both Android and iOS tablets.

TheBigDipper

mrkb said:

Onsong is initially £31 on iOS, is there also an in app purchase cost?

I'm running OnSong Pro and I don't remember what I paid several years ago. I did buy an add-on in the early days to allow me to edit the files on my iPad from a web browser on my computer - because it was faster and the screen was bigger.

They've got two products now.  I think the other one (just called OnSong) is a subscription-based model and I've no idea what the differences and benefits are. TBH, I don't think the developers want to make it easy for us to work it out, either! 

Danny1969

I'm not sure I could play live to tab unless it was a very, very simple tab. There's the problem of see'ing it in a band lighting scenario as well. 

One trick that has stood me in good stead over 30 odd years in covers bands and dep'ing is just using Nashville charts for chords as it's not key specific so you can change key on the the fly. You can underline a number for a half bar stop, put 2 numbers together to indicate half a bar of each. It's a very simple thing but with a quick listen of the song before the gig it can be enough to keep you playing the right intervals. 

With a lot of songs though with specific guitar riffs though there's no easy way to read it and play it back with the correct feel. In situations like that I normally drive my wife mad by playing the unfamiliar stuff I don't know constantly in the house so it sinks into the old grey matter  

TheBigDipper

Danny1969 said:

I'm not sure I could play live to tab unless it was a very, very simple tab. There's the problem of see'ing it in a band lighting scenario as well. 

One trick that has stood me in good stead over 30 odd years in covers bands and dep'ing is just using Nashville charts for chords as it's not key specific so you can change key on the the fly. You can underline a number for a half bar stop, put 2 numbers together to indicate half a bar of each. It's a very simple thing but with a quick listen of the song before the gig it can be enough to keep you playing the right intervals. 

With a lot of songs though with specific guitar riffs though there's no easy way to read it and play it back with the correct feel. In situations like that I normally drive my wife mad by playing the unfamiliar stuff I don't know constantly in the house so it sinks into the old grey matter  

+1 to all of this. Playing from a tab is busking it, to me. I do it all the time, but it's not as convincing to the listener (or me, TBH) as learning a part and playing it from memory - whilst focusing on expressing the emotional element of the performance. I find it impossible to read a tab (or stave) and stay in the zone at the same time. Reading Nashvillle charts is a skill I've not tried to acquire, but I can see the benefits in the intended situations. 

PolarityMan

Danny1969 said:

I'm not sure I could play live to tab unless it was a very, very simple tab. There's the problem of see'ing it in a band lighting scenario as well. 

One trick that has stood me in good stead over 30 odd years in covers bands and dep'ing is just using Nashville charts for chords as it's not key specific so you can change key on the the fly. You can underline a number for a half bar stop, put 2 numbers together to indicate half a bar of each. It's a very simple thing but with a quick listen of the song before the gig it can be enough to keep you playing the right intervals. 

With a lot of songs though with specific guitar riffs though there's no easy way to read it and play it back with the correct feel. In situations like that I normally drive my wife mad by playing the unfamiliar stuff I don't know constantly in the house so it sinks into the old grey matter  

Whats the nashville transcription for a pinch harmonic? 

Snags

You can pinch harmonic whole chords?

MikeC

Thanks everyone, some interesting bits of software to investigate! 

Roland

Also ... think of it as a memory aid rather than a complete record.

TheBigDipper

Roland said:

Also ... think of it as a memory aid rather than a complete record.

+1 And also...  I've found that if I want to memorise something, I have to stop trying to play it whilst looking at the tab as I go. If I never make the jump to playing without the tab (and accepting I'll make memory mistakes) then I never develop the memory I need to play without it (IYSWIM). 

Snags

TheBigDipper said:

Roland said:

Also ... think of it as a memory aid rather than a complete record.

+1 And also...  I've found that if I want to memorise something, I have to stop trying to play it whilst looking at the tab as I go. If I never make the jump to playing without the tab (and accepting I'll make memory mistakes) then I never develop the memory I need to play without it (IYSWIM). 

^^This.

And to some extent, the sooner I stop referring to tab/chord sheets, the quicker it sticks. Even if I have to do it section by section, or put extra effort in on a particular part because that bit doesn't stick as easily. And even when it's stuck, doing it live without a safety net is the final thing that really hammers it in. If I have a safey net, I use it even when I don't need to, and then it all goes to poop