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Solo Musician - Android lyric/chord apps...what you using?


themetallikid
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So, with my Helix on its way to L6 and hopefully getting a clean bill of health and on its way back soon (please dont make me play this Boss unit much longer guys)....

 

I've decided to start working on my acoustic solo shows once again.  

 

I know there are some decent apps out there, but with little discretionary income, i've always been content to using a binder full of over stuffed lyrics/chords for more songs than I'll ever really need to know.  

 

What apps are you using for Android that are decent and relatively easy to use, and dont require an internet connection to use live (obviously to setup, download they do).  

 

Thanks in advance...looking forward to enjoying acoustic stuff again....

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a lot of these look really great.....and completely functional for what I want.  

 

How are they for loading chord/lyrics?  THe one lets me import right from Ultimate-guitar....though I dont care for that interface, but it is useable. 

 

the other 'non-free' ones look great...but dont mention much for how you get your songs imported....or if I have to create them from scratch. 

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All of the apps, for the most part, work the same way. Some have more bells and whistles than others.

 

To import chord/lyric sheets all you do is copy and paste what you want into the app.

 

You can copy chord/lyric sheets from anywhere you can find them and paste them into the app.

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Ok, excuse my ignorance, I just dont wanna purchase 3 apps and waste time messing around with it.  

 

 

So when you say copy paste, this is done from web browser > chord/lyric app?   The Open Song App, lets me browse directly to Ultimate-guitar.com, and choose a 'chord' version of the song, click a link and it imports it right into its own app.  Its a neat feature, its just not a very pretty app to work with or look at. 

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Yes, when I say copy and paste I mean from web browser or even chord/lyric sheets that you may already have saved on your computer.

 

The Open Song App is free. That would be a good one to try first. Any songs that you save or create in that app can be moved to another app later if you decide to try a different app.

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On 7/13/2018 at 6:11 AM, litesnsirens said:

setlist maker is the best I've used so far.  There are android and ios versions.  I'm not sure if you would make use of all the features so maybe it's over kill for you but it's a great app.

I use Bandhelper, which is basically Setlist Maker with an online component.  It's the same developer that does both and I think the app itself is pretty much identical. 

 

I LOVE the online component so I don't have to do any editing on the device itself, and it automatically syncs with any device I have the app installed on.  Can't imagine how I ever gigged without it :) 

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Agreed on Setlist Maker/Bandhelper. I perform solo, and am my own sound guy. So, I use setlistmaker to put all of my equipment (midi mixer, midi external effects) into a know state (even tempo-based fx) whenever I select a song. Icing on the cake is for it to display on an iPad any lyrics or tuning/capo/chord info I might need reminders for. Its also nice to have an app that the creator keeps updating, and provides direct support if needed.

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34 minutes ago, chuskey said:

I use Bandhelper, which is basically Setlist Maker with an online component.  It's the same developer that does both and I think the app itself is pretty much identical. 

 

I LOVE the online component so I don't have to do any editing on the device itself, and it automatically syncs with any device I have the app installed on.  Can't imagine how I ever gigged without it :) 

 

11 minutes ago, soundog said:

Agreed on Setlist Maker/Bandhelper. I perform solo, and am my own sound guy. So, I use setlistmaker to put all of my equipment (midi mixer, midi external effects) into a know state (even tempo-based fx) whenever I select a song. Icing on the cake is for it to display on an iPad any lyrics or tuning/capo/chord info I might need reminders for. Its also nice to have an app that the creator keeps updating, and provides direct support if needed.

 

Can you guys expand a bit on how these work?

 

I've tried every app I can find, that will work on my Mac, and am still not happy.

 

Can you save lyric sheets to your computer, even though Bandhelper is a subscription based service?

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11 minutes ago, pbatts said:

 

 

Can you guys expand a bit on how these work?

 

I've tried every app I can find, that will work on my Mac, and am still not happy.

 

Can you save lyric sheets to your computer, even though Bandhelper is a subscription based service?

Each song has an area where you can type in your lyrics, or you can attach lyrics in the form of Word or PDF files.  For me either way the lyrics originate on my computer in the form of a Word doc and I either copy/paste them into the lyrics field or attach them as a Word/PDF file.  So I always have a copy of the lyrics on my computer.  You can also download any files you have attached to songs through the web interface of BandHelper.  

 

I'm assuming if you let your subscription run out you'll lose any data you have saved, but since everything I have started out on my computer and is saved there I don't have to worry about that.  

 

Does that make sense and/or answer your question?  

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30 minutes ago, chuskey said:

Each song has an area where you can type in your lyrics, or you can attach lyrics in the form of Word or PDF files.  For me either way the lyrics originate on my computer in the form of a Word doc and I either copy/paste them into the lyrics field or attach them as a Word/PDF file.  So I always have a copy of the lyrics on my computer.  You can also download any files you have attached to songs through the web interface of BandHelper.  

 

I'm assuming if you let your subscription run out you'll lose any data you have saved, but since everything I have started out on my computer and is saved there I don't have to worry about that.  

 

Does that make sense and/or answer your question?  

 

Yes, that makes perfect sense.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

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16 hours ago, chuskey said:

I use Bandhelper, which is basically Setlist Maker with an online component.  It's the same developer that does both and I think the app itself is pretty much identical. 

 

I LOVE the online component so I don't have to do any editing on the device itself, and it automatically syncs with any device I have the app installed on.  Can't imagine how I ever gigged without it :) 

Does it do midi tempo sync per song with Helix?

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2 hours ago, jbuhajla said:

Does it do midi tempo sync per song with Helix?

 

Sending MIDI from BandHelper

BandHelper can send MIDI bank and program changes, song select messages and virtually any other MIDI data when you change songs, and MIDI beat clock messages when you activate a tempo button. (It can also receive start/stop, song select, program change, controller and note messages to trigger various actions, as described on the Remote Control page.)

 

Lots of good info on the Bandhelper website. http://www.bandhelper.com/tutorials/intro_videos.html

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19 hours ago, chuskey said:

Each song has an area where you can type in your lyrics, or you can attach lyrics in the form of Word or PDF files.  For me either way the lyrics originate on my computer in the form of a Word doc and I either copy/paste them into the lyrics field or attach them as a Word/PDF file.  So I always have a copy of the lyrics on my computer.  You can also download any files you have attached to songs through the web interface of BandHelper.  

 

I'm assuming if you let your subscription run out you'll lose any data you have saved, but since everything I have started out on my computer and is saved there I don't have to worry about that.  

 

Does that make sense and/or answer your question?  

 

In order to use all the features, for example on a gig, does my iPad and my band member's iPads have to be connected to the internet? Or do you just sync everything ahead of time?

 

I can't find a clear answer on the Bandhelper website.

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1 minute ago, pbatts said:

 

In order to use all the features, for example on a gig, does my iPad and my band member's iPads have to be connected to the internet? Or do you just sync everything ahead of time?

 

I can't find a clear answer on the Bandhelper website.

You sync everything beforehand.  It doesn't pull anything off the server in real time when you play so you don't need to be connected to the internet once you sync.  

 

The syncing process is super fast as well, just a second or two.  

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Just now, chuskey said:

You sync everything beforehand.  It doesn't pull anything off the server in real time when you play so you don't need to be connected to the internet once you sync.  

 

The syncing process is super fast as well, just a second or two.  

 

Cool. Thanks. It really does look like a great solution. And the price is right too.

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To be clear I also use bandhelper, I transitioned from setlist maker a few years ago.  I just thought setlist maker might be the better option for solo artists since it's a buy it once type of deal.  Bandhelper is great for full bands because it syncs better (IMO) than SLM and has features to allow each user to have personal fields for lyrics etc.  I guess in my recommendation for SLM I didn't take into account the editing on the computer which bandhelper has and which I really do love.  ALl that said Bandhelper is the ultimate.

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I'm a solo performer, and SetListMaker is enough for me .... though Bandhelper would be great for a group where members need to share lyrics, etc. FYI, I edit my lyrics on a Mac, then use Dropbox to get them into SLM. No problems.  The MIDI control for Helix and other devices is icing on the cake and slick as a whistle.

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4 hours ago, litesnsirens said:

To be clear I also use bandhelper, I transitioned from setlist maker a few years ago.  I just thought setlist maker might be the better option for solo artists since it's a buy it once type of deal.  Bandhelper is great for full bands because it syncs better (IMO) than SLM and has features to allow each user to have personal fields for lyrics etc.  I guess in my recommendation for SLM I didn't take into account the editing on the computer which bandhelper has and which I really do love.  ALl that said Bandhelper is the ultimate.

 

It is interesting that you mention editing. This is a big one for me. I have searched high and low for a good desktop/laptop Mac editor. This is particularly important for someone that wants to take advantage of the chordpro format functionality.

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