OnSong On the Ipad: Anyone using this software?

blue_knight_usa

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
1,139
Reaction score
3
Location
East Bay, CA.
Hi All,

Any OnSong users out there? This is fantastic software. I've been using it for about a month and really like it. If you have not used this and have an Ipad, check it out.

This has completely replaced my paper music in my binders and I'm slowly getting all the songs I like to play in to the OnSong. If you play with others who have an Ipad with OnSong you can share music live so whatever you pull up shows up on their iPad.

It lets you change keys automatically if you import using .txt files. and you can even press the chord and it shows you the fingering...but only on the common chords (a lot of them).

I can't figure out how to create a custom chord and if you know how
I would love to hear from you.
 
I don't have it. I have a binder I made up that works fine for me. I'm guessing you need to import songs into it from sights on the Internet?
 
I have OnSong, and I like it a lot. As far as custom chord diagrams, you might contact the folks at OnSong directly. They seem pretty friendly and helpful. They should be able to tell you how to do it, or incorporate that feature in the next upgrade. If you import pdf files with the chord fingerings already on them, then you can get around that problem (but you won't be able to do the transposing trick).

–Lori
 
EE recommended it - I got it. I love it!

John
 
Ahhh...didn't read the last part of your post. I haven't tried it because I don't use chord diagrams on my display but I think that you use the syntax from Chord Pro to define custom chord diagrams in OnSong. So, if you google something like "chord pro format" it should give you a good place to start.

One thing I've found that I love about OnSong is that it doesn't limit you to the chordpro chord definitions in the [] brackets. So, if you want to, you can actually use a whole chord "line" to set up timing indication. I.e. " [| Am / / / | C / / / | Am / F / |]" and then another line of words under that (note that you need to start the chord line with a blank space to make this work. That comes in really handy for the bass, though I've found I really prefer to use my own PDFs and NextPage for my bass gig.

For my uke music I like to display the chords inline but my lousy near vision and slow focusing means I need more than just color and or bold to make the chords stand out when displaying chords inline. So, I've found that writing my input files as [(Am)]This is [(C)]a song [(Am)]I [(F)]like" works well for me because it displays "(Am)This is (C)a song (Am)I (F)like". Although, for this I wish there was just a setting that would allow for chosing to display the brackets when chords are displayed inline because if somebody uses one of my files but elects to display the chords above the lyrics instead of inline they still get the parens which aren't really necessary in that case.

One thing to keep in mind when you're doing files for OnSong on the iPad, whether you intend to use auto-scroll or a foot pedal for scrolling is to repeat choruses, etc. as needed if they will have scrolled out of view. I discovered this the hard way....

John
 
Last edited:
I just purchased it today. I'm looking forward to having all my music in one place, easily portable.
--G
 
I just bought it. It seems like it's okay tho I don't think it will replace my binder of my songs. My song binder which is songs downloaded from the internet which is 1 or 2 pages long and i dont have to turn a page when doing a song. The binder is a little bigger then the ipad but either way you still have to have the ipad or binder in front of you when playing so as I said i dont see it replacing it. The first thing I noticed was I tried to download a Beatles song and nothing showed up but the name of the song. It must be protected. It seems like a lot of trouble to put my own song in because I would have to type all the words which is time consuming not to say adding the chords. I'm not fond of placing the chord names between the letters either I've been to used to seeing the chords above the words as in books. It is a little confusing with all the unneeded options and I'll have to go back and watch the tutorial videos several times to get a lot of it figured out. Overall it's nice and I don't regret buying it just a lot more trouble then printing off a song and placing it in my binder.
This is just my opinion of it. Others will disagree and that's fine. Most will love it. I'm just going to be part of the minority that just thinks its okay.
 
Thanks for the heads up. Going to check it out right now. While I'm here anyone using Everyday Looper? if not check it out, it's truely brilliant.
 
OnSong is not an Android app. I love GuitarTapp. searches for music, and does the transpose thing. has ukulele mode with a lot of crazy chords. I love the setlist feature also.
 
...and i dont have to turn a page when doing a song. It seems like a lot of trouble to put my own song in because I would have to type all the words which is time consuming not to say adding the chords. I'm not fond of placing the chord names between the letters either I've been to used to seeing the chords above the words as in books.

Just FYI OnSong will auto-scroll if you want it to so turning pages isn't so much of an issue (you can also get bluetooth footswitches for scrolling or paging though they're a bit pricey).

Also FYI - I would never edit a song on the iPad itself (well, maybe, if I had a bluetooth keyboard). It's much easier to edit on your PC though and then use iTunes to transfer the files to the iPad.

Having paper has its advantages, and I probably wouldn't have switched to the iPad if we hadn't switched to a dark-stage format at church - my poor old eyes need maximum contrast and paper under stand lights doesn't cut it so the iPad has been a huge help (though for the bass I use PDFs and NextPage instead of OnSong because I need a lot of timing information). It can be done in OnSong but I already have PDFs for most of the songs so it's pretty simple to reformat them slightly for iPad and then republish as PDF.

Also FYI - with OnSong you have the option to display the chords above the lyrics or inline with the lyrics using the same text file as input. One thing that is a bit confusing with OnSong though is that the font selections and stuff under the settings menu only affects songs when they are imported. After they're imported you use the control that looks like a mixing board to set the font sizes and whatnot for the individual songs. It's nice to be able to set them by song but it is a little confusing because it looks like the font settings in the tools section have no affect.



John
 
Last edited:
I have been using OnSong on my iPad for quite awhile.
The auto scroll works well, but I try to keep all my songs to one sheet.
The set-list feature is great as wll as importing and/or synching with dropbox.
I edit/convert all my sheets to pdf format on my pc and then move them to the iPad.
The portability of the iPad and being able to have all my books and sheets with me is amazing.
I use iBooks for most of my ukulele/guitar books and OnSong for my sheets. I probably have a library of several thousand songs.
 
I've been using SongBook which I love and sounds very similar to OnSong. Has anyone compared the two? Even at the modest price of these apps, I don't need to clutter my Ipad (and my mind) with both. Thanks.

Another thing I find appealing with either SongBook or OnSong is that I hope to try to learn guitar down the line somewhere and SongBook really helped me venture into songs with new chords since you can display the chord on the page while you're playing. Learning guitar would be great to have the new chords displayed and all my songs at my fingertips.
 
I just got an email notice from onsong about a new version or upgrade not sure exactly what it is. Anyone else get this and do you know exactly what it is or if it can be added to the version we already have?
 
I just got an email notice from onsong about a new version or upgrade not sure exactly what it is. Anyone else get this and do you know exactly what it is or if it can be added to the version we already have?

What is your current version? I'm using 1.94 and I think the last version a week or so ago was 1.95. The small incremental versions don't seem to make much difference, (and I haven't received an e-mail about upgrades) but if you're running 1.7-something I think there are some significant improvements. I also expect there is going to be another major rev bump with the next IOS release though I'm only guessing - still I've heard through the grapevine that the next IOS (5?) is going to require revisions of quite a few apps.

Anyway, their customer support seems pretty responsive (I had a question about non-printing comments and using foot pedals and they were right on top of it - answered my question on a weekend, even). You could probably email them and get a much more meaningful response than you are likely to get here. :)

EDIT: Okay, five minutes later I stand corrected - I just got the same email about upgrading to 1.951. :)

John
 
Last edited:
Good mini projector for OnSong?

I've been using OnSong (now 1.97) for a month or two now and really am impressed with it. In addition to the many personal benefits already mentioned in this thread, we have found it a great way for our local uke club to all "be on the same page" when getting together for our group strums. (Mutiple versions of paper songsheets has created many problems.) We try to go single page when we can, but redo our longer songs to repeat chorus refrains etc. for the auto scroll where needed. So far we have only used in via display on a large, flat panel tv and have had our best success by going wirelessly through the AppleTV box to the flat panel TV. There are situations where it would be fun to show a large display on a wall or sheet, etc. and not be dependent on a WiFi connection. Has anyone used OnSong with any of the small, portable AV projectors? (LCD, LED, Pico, or whatever?) How did it work?
 
I use ForScore, which is very versatile, and has mark up. I'm still using a 3 ring binder, have not delved deep into FroScore, but I did get a Bluetooth foot pedal, which was a little awkward, until I turned it vertical and added a foot rest so all I have to do is rock my foot to change the page with my toe and heel.
 
Bluetooth foot pedal/foot rest

. . . but I did get a Bluetooth foot pedal, which was a little awkward, until I turned it vertical and added a foot rest so all I have to do is rock my foot to change the page with my toe and heel.

Any chance that you could upload a pic of your foot rest/pedal setup?

I'm using a bluetooth foot pedal with OnSong, but do find it a bit awkward - mainly because I'm not used to using foot pedals. Your device sounds like it might make it easier.
 
Good mini projector for OnSong?

I've been using OnSong (now 1.97) for a month or two now and really am impressed with it. In addition to the many personal benefits already mentioned in this thread, we have found it a great way for our local uke club to all "be on the same page" when getting together for our group strums. (Mutiple versions of paper songsheets has created many problems.) We try to go single page when we can, but redo our longer songs to repeat chorus refrains etc. for the auto scroll where needed. So far we have only used in via display on a large, flat panel tv and have had our best success by going wirelessly through the AppleTV box to the flat panel TV. There are situations where it would be fun to show a large display on a wall or sheet, etc. and not be dependent on a WiFi connection. Has anyone used OnSong with any of the small, portable AV projectors? (LCD, LED, Pico, or whatever?) How did it work?

I have used a projector (pico) with my iPad/OnSong and it works well.
The bad side is how everyone in the group must sit in order for it to work.
With everyone facing the same direction (theatre style) the group effect of playing is diminished.
My personal opinion is a circle works best for playing and hearing what is going on.
For the best visual results the room needs to be darkened as well, which can make seeing your fret board a challenge.
Better players may handle playing in the dark ok, but less skilled players maybe uncomfortable.
 
Top Bottom