Get started with SongChute: your songbook in ten minutes

Every band has a songbook problem. Charts live in a dozen places: a binder, a Google Drive folder, screenshots, a group chat, a site you can never find again. SongChute puts it all in one place that you control, then helps you learn the songs and play them at the gig.

This series walks through everything, one step at a time. Start here.

SongChute runs in your web browser, so there's no app to download or install. It works on any computer, tablet or phone: Mac, Windows, iPad, Android or Chromebook. Sign in on any device and your songbook is there.

1. Create your free account

Go to songchute.com and choose Get started free. Enter your name, email and a password, then click the link in the email we send you. That's it. You land on your Songs page, ready to go.

Every account comes with its own band, already set up. You can rename it later and invite your bandmates (we cover that in Part 7).

2. Drop in your first song

Open Songs in the menu on the left and choose New song.

1. Type the title and the artist.
2. Paste your chord chart into the Chart box. Chords above the words, the way you'd find them on most chord sites, works perfectly.
3. Click Save at the top right.

That's your first song. You don't need to tidy anything up first.

3. See what SongChute did with it

Open the song and you'll notice a few things happened on their own:

• Sections like Verse, Chorus and Bridge are recognized and laid out clearly, with the chorus highlighted so you can find it at a glance.
• The key is worked out from the chords if you didn't enter one.
• A capo mentioned in the chart ("Capo 2") is picked up and shown.
• Tab pasted into the chart is moved to its own Tab view, so it doesn't break up the words.
• The whole song fits your screen, in one, two or three columns, so you can read it without scrolling.

4. Add the details that help you learn

On the right side of every song is the Song details panel. Here you can add:

• YouTube links: the original, up to five tutorials and up to five backing tracks.
• Release year, writers and a few notes on the story behind the song.
• Spotify and Apple Music links.

None of it is required. Add what helps you.

What's next

You have a songbook with one song in it. In Part 2 we look at pasting charts from anywhere, and the small formatting tips that make every chart come out clean.

Tip: Your songs are private. Only you, and the bandmates you choose to share with, can see them.