Set List Software

[Chienmortbb]

I have been using GuitarTapp for some years, and it has served me well, but there have been no updates since 2018. Some features do not seem to work any more, so I was wondering what others use?

[casapete]

We use forScore with no problems in my acoustic duo.

[Newfoundfreedom]

I'm intrigued. Why does anyone need set list software? What does it do? 

 

I've always just written the set list down on a bit of paper and stuck it somewhere I can see it. 

[Chienmortbb]

4 minutes ago, casapete said:

We use forScore with no problems in my acoustic duo.

Thanks I will check it. 

[BigRedX]

My Helix is my set list.

 

For one band I have the presets for each song in the order we are going to play them, and simply select the next Preset to know what the next song is since each Preset is named for the song it is for.

 

For my other band we have the songs in the correct order on the computer that provides the drums and second synth player. I have a footswitch that runs a macro to close the current song and load the next one in the list. This in turn sends the appropriate MIDI program change message to the Helix which displays the name of the song.

[Woodinblack]

I use songbook pro, I have used other things in the past (setlist maker etc), but ended on that as a simple and easy to use thing.

[Lozz196]

43 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm intrigued. Why does anyone need set list software? What does it do? 

 

I've always just written the set list down on a bit of paper and stuck it somewhere I can see it. 

Same - only change has been the need to make the letters bigger over the last few years to compensate for middle aged eyesight.

[neepheid]

49 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm intrigued. Why does anyone need set list software? What does it do? 

 

I've always just written the set list down on a bit of paper and stuck it somewhere I can see it. 

 

Yes, as well as passive/aggressive notes to myself like "MATT - TUNE BACK TO E FFS" after leaving it in Eb a few times and making the next song sound well fruity until I realised what I had done!

[PigBass]

41 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm intrigued. Why does anyone need set list software? What does it do? 

 

I've always just written the set list down on a bit of paper and stuck it somewhere I can see it. 

 

In my last band I also wrote the set list on a piece of paper and pinned it up ...... 🙂 

 

However I have just joined three new bands, each has about 15 -20 songs in their set list, I am not that familiar with most of them. Essentially 40 new songs to learn and I'm a slow learner so I don't have enough time to devote to it. For rehearsals I have a folder with printed sheets for these songs containing maybe chords or simply the structure with stops and starts etc. That works for me, but I guess if you're in a situation where you have 100 or so songs to play or you're depping and you need anything from a quick reminder of the structure to a full score/tab/chord chart it gets cumbersome using paper. These apps put it all on a tablet so you open the song and you have the relevant prompts on screen. Some have features so you can enter the song duration or BPM and the material scrolls at the right speed as you play. 

 

In the right situation they are really useful.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

OnSong does everything I need it to, even in the free version.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm intrigued. Why does anyone need set list software? What does it do? 

 

I've always just written the set list down on a bit of paper and stuck it somewhere I can see it. 

Sharing set lists electronically has been a thing for a while. Save the trees (except when building me a new bass of course 🤣).

[Newfoundfreedom]

11 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Sharing set lists electronically has been a thing for a while. Save the trees (except when building me a new bass of course 🤣).

 

Yeah but surely that's pretty much null and void if you're using electrical devices which need charging? 

 

 

[BigRedX]

Also if your playing your own songs, I've found that audience members who've enjoyed your band also like to have a set list after you have finished playing.

[neepheid]

Additionally, a few times with the covers band we've been asked "what do you play?" - far easier just to hand them a sheet of paper than list verbally, and there's no way I'm handing a punter any electronic device of mine!

[Franticsmurf]

52 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Same - only change has been the need to make the letters bigger over the last few years to compensate for middle aged eyesight.

Me too - from biro to Sharpie to jumbo marker. Sourcing a 1" paintbrush for next year. 😃

 

My personal experience of tech is that it's one more thing to go wrong. That said, a few years ago I was relying on crib notes on the setlist at an outdoor gig, and the three sheets of paper I was using blew away with a gist of wind. An iPad wouldn't have done that!

[Woodinblack]

42 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

My personal experience of tech is that it's one more thing to go wrong. 

 

Never had one go wrong. Have lost paper. Wouldn't use paper now.

 

I am sure the OP is very interested on everyones paper and biro choices here, but they were actually asking about what software people use I thought?

 

I actually have a couple of groups song collections on songbook and then sublists of which group has those songs (there were some crossovers) and then setlists for current and previous gigs. It is also handy to see what setlists we were using at specific gigs (I record them anyway).

[mikel]

1 hour ago, PigBass said:

 

In my last band I also wrote the set list on a piece of paper and pinned it up ...... 🙂 

 

However I have just joined three new bands, each has about 15 -20 songs in their set list, I am not that familiar with most of them. Essentially 40 new songs to learn and I'm a slow learner so I don't have enough time to devote to it. For rehearsals I have a folder with printed sheets for these songs containing maybe chords or simply the structure with stops and starts etc. That works for me, but I guess if you're in a situation where you have 100 or so songs to play or you're depping and you need anything from a quick reminder of the structure to a full score/tab/chord chart it gets cumbersome using paper. These apps put it all on a tablet so you open the song and you have the relevant prompts on screen. Some have features so you can enter the song duration or BPM and the material scrolls at the right speed as you play. 

 

In the right situation they are really useful.

So they play the songs in the same order every gig? 

[mikel]

2 hours ago, PigBass said:

 

In my last band I also wrote the set list on a piece of paper and pinned it up ...... 🙂 

 

However I have just joined three new bands, each has about 15 -20 songs in their set list, I am not that familiar with most of them. Essentially 40 new songs to learn and I'm a slow learner so I don't have enough time to devote to it. For rehearsals I have a folder with printed sheets for these songs containing maybe chords or simply the structure with stops and starts etc. That works for me, but I guess if you're in a situation where you have 100 or so songs to play or you're depping and you need anything from a quick reminder of the structure to a full score/tab/chord chart it gets cumbersome using paper. These apps put it all on a tablet so you open the song and you have the relevant prompts on screen. Some have features so you can enter the song duration or BPM and the material scrolls at the right speed as you play. 

 

In the right situation they are really useful.

I think the confusion is "Set list". To me thats simply the order in which you are playing your songs, not how to play a song you havnt learned to your satisfaction. 

[Machines]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Also if your playing your own songs, I've found that audience members who've enjoyed your band also like to have a set list after you have finished playing.

 

Yeah we had this last week, asked us to sign it too ! It was most unexpected and I had to quickly invent a 'signature' that isn't the same one I use for official documents 🤣.

 

In terms of setlist software, we use Excel for planning setlists in terms of timings and avoiding repeating keys etc, but on the day the print off is always there as well as annotated guitar changes, audience engagement slots etc.

 

 

[casapete]

3 hours ago, casapete said:

We use forScore with no problems in my acoustic duo.

I should have said that we use it for set lists and also parts/words for hundreds of songs.

 

With my main band I find that a paper set list is best for me - these days written using

a black Sharpie and with the keys on each song, as some days I can’t remember them

to save my life. 

[Chienmortbb]

8 minutes ago, casapete said:

as some days I can’t remember them

to save my life. 

Me too.

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, PigBass said:

However I have just joined three new bands, each has about 15 -20 songs in their set list

 

Wow - dream of 15-20 songs in a setlist!

 

 

[Chienmortbb]

22 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Wow - dream of 15-20 songs in a setlist!

 

 

Yes what with two/three sets plus spares for each set and a number of spares “just in case”, I reckon we are at over 100 and some we rarely play. 

[PigBass]

19 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Wow - dream of 15-20 songs in a setlist!

 

 

Yes I was just trying to offer an example of how these "Set List" apps are useful but it was badly worded on my part 🙂 These are three new "start from scratch" bands and we have agreed an initial 15 - 20 songs in each band to get us started;  naturally the song lists will grow quite quickly. We're all retired and playing for fun at the moment, gigs later maybe but not now. It works for us anyway.

[Woodinblack]

16 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Yes what with two/three sets plus spares for each set and a number of spares “just in case”, I reckon we are at over 100 and some we rarely play. 

 

We probably have about that, if you consider the seasonal and special ones,. but I mean even in a gig, we have a baseline of 30 songs on the setlist for one gig.