Menu Commands Reference

File Menu

New

Open

Save

Save As

Print

Exit

The above commands are all standard in Windows programs. In ChordSong these commands work the same way as they do in other Windows programs like Notepad, WordPad, and Paint.

Page Setup

Lets you set the scaling (size) of your printed song. This setting is saved in each ChordSong song file, so your different song files can have different print scales.

Export MIDI File

Saves your chord progression as a standard MIDI (.mid) file. You can then play this MIDI file on computers which don't have ChordSong installed, or edit the file using a MIDI sequencer program.

Export Image File

Saves a picture of your song as a GIF file, so you can display it on computers which don't have ChordSong.

Edit Menu

Undo

Redo

These are standard Windows commands. ChordSong's Undo is "multi-level"; you can click Undo repeatedly to back up as far as you like.

Cut

Copy

Paste

These standard Windows commands let you Cut the selected section of your song to the ChordSong clipboard, or Copy it to the clipboard, or Paste the clipboard's contents into your song. Note that you can Cut, Copy, and Paste only within the ChordSong window, not between ChordSong and other programs.

The ChordSong clipboard holds whole measures only, not partial measures. So if you select a section which starts or ends in the middle of a measure, and then you Cut or Copy, the partial measure at the beginning or end of your selection will not be copied to the clipboard.

Delete Chord/Beats

This Delete command can do a few different things, depending on the current state of your song window:

If you have selected a section of your song (made the section appear in reversed colors), then Delete will delete the section. Note that Delete will delete only the whole measures (not partial measures) in your selection.

Otherwise, if the blinking cursor is on a chord symbol, then Delete will delete that chord symbol (but not the beat it was on). (If you want to delete the beat as well, just Delete twice.) Exception: You can't delete the chord on beat 1 of a measure. Beat 1 must always have a chord symbol.

If the cursor is on a beat without a chord symbol, then Delete will delete the beat.

If the cursor is at the end of a line (or on a blank line), then Delete will delete the "line break" and join the current line and the following line together.

View Menu

Tool Box

Opens the Tools window. You will usually want this window open so you can select different tools for working on your song.

Zoom

Turns Zoom (enlarged view) on or off. Turn Zoom on to help place instrument notes accurately.

Insert Menu

Beat

The Insert > Beat command inserts an extra beat into the measure the cursor is in.

Line Break

The Line Break command (or Enter key) inserts a line break at the cursor position. You can insert a line break only between measures, not in the middle of a measure. So if the cursor is in the middle of a measure when you click Line Break, the line break will be inserted as if the cursor was at the beginning of that measure.

Page Break

The Page Break command inserts a page break before the current line.

Chord Menu

Top Chords

Chord Grid

Diatonic Chords

Bass Note

Custom Chord

These commands open secondary windows which let you add or change chords in your song. See The Top Chords Window, The Chord Grid, Diatonic Chords, Changing the Bass Note, and Custom Chord Symbols.

Change Key

Opens the Change Key window, which lets you transpose parts (or all) of your song. See Changing Key.

Note Menu

Show Melody Staff

Show Piano Staff

Show Bass Staff

Show Drum Staff

Click these items to show or hide a particular instrument staff. Note that hiding a staff does not erase that instrument's notes or stop you from hearing them; it just stops you from seeing them on the screen.

Show Beat Staff

This command shows or hides the "beat hash marks" staff. ChordSong normally hides the Beat Staff when you show the Melody Staff, but you can show the Beat Staff again using this command. If you hide the Beat Staff, then ChordSong will automatically show the Melody Staff, because one of these two staves must always be showing.

Quantize

This menu item has subitems which let you choose which fractions of a beat you can place notes on. See Beat Fractions (Quantizing).

Staff Type

This menu item lets you use ChordSong's old Lines & Spaces staff, or convert an existing Lines & Spaces song to use the new Chromatic staff. See The Lines & Spaces Staff.

Staff Type > Auto Sharps/Flats

Click this item to turn the Auto Sharps/Flats feature on or off. (This features applies to the Lines & Spaces Staff only.) See The Lines & Spaces Staff.

Change Key

This command does the same thing as the Change Key command on the Chord menu (above).

Text Menu

Text Line

Lyrics

Lyrics Font

These commands open secondary windows which let you add or change text in your song. See Adding Lines of Text and Adding Lyrics.

Repeat Menu

Begin Repeat

End Repeat

Begin 1st Ending

Click these items to add or remove "repeat" symbols or 1st/2nd endings to the measure that the cursor is on.

When you add a 1st Ending followed by an End Repeat, ChordSong automatically displays a 2nd Ending symbol on the measure after the End Repeat.

These symbols are for "display only"; they don't affect the way ChordSong Plays your song.