Poll: Chord sheet preferences

Where do you prefer your chords?

  • Above the lyrics.

    Votes: 39 81.3%
  • In line with the lyrics.

    Votes: 9 18.8%

  • Total voters
    48

UkingViking

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Since the tablature thread got hijacked for a chord sheet debate, I though I would start a dedicated thread for chord sheets. With a poll.

How do you prefer your chord sheets:
With chord above the lyrics or in line with the lyrics?

Addtional info on where you find chords and what software you write your lyrics and chord sheets will be cool.

Personally, I prefer them above the lyrics.
I find the chords in the usual guitar chord pages after Google search.
I always copy paste them into Notepad, always in Courier New to avoid format problems. Usually I print directly from Notepad, but occasionally I copy into OpenOffice to create columns. Still in Courier New, but perhaps I make the title a bigger font. From OpenOffice I make a PDF to print.
 
I like mine inline as chord diagrams so I don't have to remember what tuning I'm in. Also there are so many chords that can have more than one name. This way all I need to remember when playing are the shapes.

GSTQ.jpg

It's a bit more work marking up songs in this way, but way easier to play if the song has lots of different jazzy chords in it.

I made all the chord diagrams in Microsoft Paint, and use Microsoft Word to type up the songsheets, saving them as .PDF so I can load them in to MobileSheets.

p.s. that earlier example was done in Google Docs. This one was in Word with chord diagrams in Paint:

DATDM.jpg
 
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Oh dear Lord just the chord name please ie...... C or F or G etc. and ONLY!!!!! above the lyrics. You get the feeling this might be a pet peeve of mine :p
 
Above, the examples Jim shows is just the reason why, for me the lyrics are much harder to track, plus putting everything above allows for adding extra measures of the same chord.

Since I'm a graphic designer, I use a very advanced app, Canvas Draw that combines the functions of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, PowerPoint, HTML, drafting, CAD, on MacBook Pro 17" with an i7 2.2 GHz Dual Core processor, 16 GB of RAM and 2 TB internal SSD. I never print anything, I design all my sheets for my iPad Pro 12.9" and Apple Pencil imported to forScore with Dropbox that include my arrangements for my bass ukes.

Folsom Prison Blues 72.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
I write things out in chordpro format in a text editor and then convert to PDF with the Chordpro command line app from chordpro.org. I save to my OneDrive and sync to forscore to display on iPad. The Chordpro text format is human readable with in-line chord names, and the PDF has nicely formatted chord names above the lyric.

It can include a chord cheat sheat to the side or above, and I sometimes mark up unusual chords with the pen after.
 
I use ChordPro format too. I prefer Above the lyrics style, but I do not often convert them to above the lyrics style. I use them without conversion. Because we can edit and print very easily with text editors.



ChordSmith is better than ChordPro on Japanese characters.
 
I much prefer them in line with the lyrics. It's much more precise and the chord changes won't change even if the formatting is different/changed. Sometimes that will get messed up when the chords are above the lyrics. Also, I print out my songs sheets and place them in a 3-ring binder. When you place the chords in line with the lyrics they take up only half the space of putting the chords above the lyrics. I like to get a song on 1 sheet whenever possible. I put chord diagrams on the bottom of the page.
 
I much prefer them in line with the lyrics. It's much more precise and the chord changes won't change even if the formatting is different/changed. Sometimes that will get messed up when the chords are above the lyrics. Also, I print out my songs sheets and place them in a 3-ring binder. When you place the chords in line with the lyrics they take up only half the space of putting the chords above the lyrics. I like to get a song on 1 sheet whenever possible. I put chord diagrams on the bottom of the page.

I also like to have my chord sheet on one page if possible.

But rather than putting the chords in line, I tend to cut down on the info. Like only putting the chords in the first verse if they are the same, and not repeating the chorus text, but just write [Chorus] when it is repeated.

I guess that that can be annoying if you dont like it too.
 
Since the tablature thread got hijacked for a chord sheet debate, I though I would start a dedicated thread for chord sheets. With a poll.

How do you prefer your chord sheets:
With chord above the lyrics or in line with the lyrics?
If I am going to write out a song, the best place for the chord is where you are/should play it, & since some write them out in a computer editor, the best place for the chords is definitely inline, (that way they stay where they should be if you post online).

You are reading along the words & have to change chord, so that is the most logical place to put them! :p
 
I make my sheets for our small group, by putting the Chord NAME above the lyrics,where it fits and/or changes. I then add chord diagrams down the side of the sheet. This has worked for the two groups I have been involved with for the past ten years or more,so it suits me,and the other members!
 
I like mine inline as chord diagrams so I don't have to remember what tuning I'm in. Also there are so many chords that can have more than one name. This way all I need to remember when playing are the shapes.

View attachment 116382

It's a bit more work marking up songs in this way, but way easier to play if the song has lots of different jazzy chords in it.

I made all the chord diagrams in Microsoft Paint, and use Microsoft Word to type up the songsheets...

This site lets you save the images of the chords you want and just pop them onto the page wherever you want them.

https://ukulele-chords.com/

My preference for having the chords on the same line as the words is simply to save space.
 
I would use lyrics with chord above the lyrics if it also had chord diagrams.
 
I voted 'Above' but what I really want is:
  • Melody line
  • Lyrics below the melody line
  • Chord names above the melody line
  • Chord diagrams somewhere on the same sheet, usually below the song title

Sample as in the Can't Help Falling in Love
 
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Oh dear Lord just the chord name please ie...... C or F or G etc. and ONLY!!!!! above the lyrics. You get the feeling this might be a pet peeve of mine :p
I agree with Dave. If I don't know how to play the chord, I'll learn it before I start playing the song. I don't need chord charts above the words. Same with having the chord charts at the top of the page. Just wasting space.
 
I voted 'Above' but what I really want is:
  • Melody line
  • Lyrics below the melody line
  • Chord names above the melody line
  • Chord diagrams somewhere on the same sheet, usually below the song title

Sample as in the Can't Help Falling in Love

Yeah, I prefer that too, but it is really more a lead sheet with extra chords diagrams on top, not a basic chord-lyrics sheet. I never saw a lead sheet with the chord named in line with the lyrics.

Nice to have though!
 
I agree with Dave. If I don't know how to play the chord, I'll learn it before I start playing the song. I don't need chord charts above the words. Same with having the chord charts at the top of the page. Just wasting space.

A purist!
While I find chord diagrams above the lyrics distracting, the quick reference on top of the page is pretty neat when you are trying to learn a jazz standard with 12+ different chords, most of them unusual chords you rarely use.

Odd chords I usually only learn when needed for a song. It might be cheating, but so is using tabs in stead of staff notation. I like shortcuts.
 
A purist!
While I find chord diagrams above the lyrics distracting, the quick reference on top of the page is pretty neat when you are trying to learn a jazz standard with 12+ different chords, most of them unusual chords you rarely use.

Odd chords I usually only learn when needed for a song. It might be cheating, but so is using tabs in stead of staff notation. I like shortcuts.

Not a purist. I'm sure that if I was out doing jazz standard with twelve unusual and seldom used chords, it would be handy to have chord charts close so that I could quickly refer to them. Happily, that's not what I do, so my needs are much more simple.
 
Being a relative beginner, I prefer the chords inline so I know when to change them. I like having the lesser-known (to me) chords at the side or top of the page for reference.

I find that when I perform in front of an audience, my brain will sometimes freeze up and I will forget even simple chords like an Em7 in the heat of the moment. Even after practicing the song several times a day for 5 or 6 days. I also like to have the time signature and first note for singing, especially if I am performing with others.

I often format a song to print on two pages so I can increase the font size to make it easier to read. I also like to have the chorus in full every time it is sung so I don't have to visually find it and then come back to the correct verse.

I prefer to have a printed-out song in a binder. That way, I don't have to change pages in the middle of the song. And there are no batteries/power to go dead at the worst possible time.

I don't blank as often as I used to. But there are still times... :confused:
 
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