The Boring Stuff Behind the Scenes

Metatags? Yeah, they're basically lil' info cards about your song, hung out in the metadata section. Which is the nerdy part at the tippy-top of your file before the first blank line—or until OnSong gets bored & stops lookin' for 'em. They're name/value pairs (fancy!): the name on the left, the value on the right, separated by a colon. One per line, y'all. Wanna geek out? Peep the ChordPro File Format for the real 411 on how to write this stuff in ChordPro.

OnSong's lil' trick: if you don't tag it properly, it'll just yeet the first line as your song title & assume the second line is the artist/byline. Groundbreaking. Here's what a normal, non-broken metadata section looks like (title & artist on lines 1–2, then key & tempo tags 'cause why not):

Amazing Grace
Daniel Thomas
Key: D
Tempo: 76

Lyrics and chords start here...

The Tag Buffet

OnSong supports these metatags (buckle up):

• Title: The song's actual name. Can also be line 1. Totes optional.
• Artist: Who created this masterpiece (or took credit for it). Can also be line 2. Multiple artists? Semicolon 'em: Kim Walker-Smith; Chris Quilala
• Author: The person who charted this whole thing. Shows up at the bottom of the chord chart & in lyrics projection. Your 15 seconds of fame.
• Key: What key it's in—letter + optional "m" for minor. - e.g. Bb or Em
• TransposedKey: The key you actually wanna play it in. Different from the written key? Sure, why not. - e.g. Bb or Em
• In: A fancy alias for transposed key. Porque no los dos?
• Capo: Fret number (usually 1–11, but go negative if you're feelin' spicy). - numeric
• Tempo: Beats per minute, a.k.a. how fast you're gonna panic. - numeric
• Time: Time signature (e.g. 3/4). - numeric beat over bar
• Duration: How long the song drags on (for autoscroll purposes). - seconds or mm:ss
• Book: The name(s) of the book(s) to shove this song into (comma-separated). Doesn't exist? OnSong'll make it. Neat!
• Number: Song number—numeric. Great for hymns, years, or whatever makes you feel organized.
• Flow: The section arrangement. - list of section labels. Check out Flow for the full tea on arranging.
• MIDI: MIDI commands to send when you open this song. See MIDI Syntax for the nerdy stuff.
• MIDI-Index: MIDI commands that'll trigger the Song Viewer to open this song. See MIDI Syntax for details.
• Keywords: or Topic: Search tags. See Topics to browse like a pro.
• Copyright: or Footer: or f: The legal fine print. Shows up at the bottom of the chord chart & lyrics projection.
• CCLI: CCLI number (if you're fancy like that). Also appears at the bottom.
• Restrictions: Locks down certain actions in your song. See Restrictions for the deets.
• Pitch: Notes to play with the Pitch Pipe feature. Space-separated, optional octaves. - e.g. A3 C#4 E5
• Subdivision: or Beat: Subdivisions galore. Pick: whole, half, quarter, eighth, shuffle, or sixteenth. Or just use numbers: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.
• Transpose: Half steps to modulate mid-song (ups & downs). Integer, positive or negative. Works with your transposition slider shenanigans.
• Tuning: Instrument tuning (guitar only, srsly). Options: Standard, Celtic, Drop D, Drop DD, Drop C, Drop B, Drop A, Open C, Open D, Open G, or Open E.
• Scene: Scene to play when the song loads. Just drop the scene name after the colon.

Mid-Song Plot Twists

Some tags work inside your song to mess with transposition on the fly:

• Capo: Throw a capo on mid-song to modulate down (or up if you're chaotic). Usually 1–11, but go negative to undo it. Adjust direction in Capo Settings. - numeric
• Key: Set the key explicitly. Wanna transpose bracketed chords? Wrap the value in brackets. - e.g. Bb or Em
• Transpose: Jump the song N half steps mid-performance. Positive or negative integer. Use 2 or +2 for up a whole step, -3 for down three half steps. - numeric

Section-Specific Tags

Some tags live inside sections:

• MIDI: MIDI commands when the section gets selected. See MIDI Syntax.
• Scene: Scene to play when the section gets selected. Drop the scene name after the colon.

Psst: Metatags don't care about CAPS or lowercase