Songcraft keeps your lyrics and chords in one place, along with your recordings, notes, and the people you write with. This guide walks through your first song, from the library to a finished chart. Everything here is on the free plan, which holds up to 5 songs, and Pro removes the limit.
Start a song
- In your library, click New song.
- Type a name, or leave it as Untitled song and name it later.
- Optional: click + Add collaborators to invite a co-writer by email.
- Click Create song.
If you already have songs in another app or in documents, you can bring them in instead. See Import your songs.
Write lyrics and chords
Type your lyrics straight onto the page. To add a chord, type it on the line above the lyric where it belongs, like G or Em7, and Songcraft recognizes it and turns it blue. Hover over any chord (or tap it on a phone) to see a chord chart, and click the chart to hear it.
To start a section, type its name in square brackets on its own line, like [Chorus], or use the + beside the line you're on and choose Section, then Verse, Chorus, Pre-chorus, Bridge, Intro, Outro, or Custom…. The numbers to the left of each line are syllable counts, which help when you're matching lines.
Set the key, tempo, and instrument
The bar under the song's title holds its music settings:
- Click Key to choose the song's key. Once it has a key, you can also Transpose the whole song or set a Capo.
- Click Tempo to set the BPM and time signature. Click starts the metronome.
- Click the instrument (it says Guitar · Standard to begin with) to switch to Ukulele or Piano, or change the tuning.
Your choices are saved with the song, so your co-writers see the same thing.
Find your tools
The tools live down the right side of the song: Chords, Words, Recordings, Progressions, Notes, Comments, and Exercises. Click one to open it beside the song, and click it again to close it. On a phone, the same tools sit along the bottom of the screen.
Across the top, Print prints the song or downloads a PDF, Perform opens it for the stage (Pro), and Share invites co-writers. The song saves as you type, and the Saved label shows when it's up to date.
Tips
Press / or ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) from anywhere to search your songs by title, collaborator, or lyric. You can paste a chord sheet from another app straight into a song, and Songcraft converts it into chords and sections. If you'd like a quick tour of the editor again, click your avatar at the right end of the song's top bar and choose Take the tour.
Next, try writing with a co-writer or finding rhymes as you write.