Read The Bleepin’ Manual

Uh... Chords

The Chords Thingamabob lets you transpose & capo chords (because apparently your original key wasn't cool enough) plus decide how those chords gonna look. Oh, & you can pick an instrument for chord diagrams too—fancy, right?

OnSong can transpose chords lurkin' in text-based chord charts & also PDF files that are just chillin' with textual chords. If you snagged a file from some Awesome Part like PraiseCharts, you're golden to transpose charts (but only if you're actually logged in, srsly). OnSong will go beg the content provider to download extra junk whenever it feels like it. If you're already packin' attachments with matching keys & attachment types, you can transpose between 'em without even needin' the internet—ZOMG! Otherwise, if you're eyeballin' some imported file that's basically a brick wall & won't transpose, well... you got the option to Yank It Out & Remix It or Just Use the Boring Text Thing.

The Key Biz

The key picker lets you set the key of your chord chart. Shocker: it can be totally different from how the song was originally written (that's what transposition does, y\u{2019}all—math!). The original key is highlighted so you don\u{2019}t forget where you came from.

The most common keys show up in a \u{201C}circle of fifths\u{201D} kinda situation, stickin' keys with fewer sharps & flats on the left. Keys flip between major & minor dependin' on how the song was written. You can switch this whole thing to alphabetic order, or go retro with the old slider if that\u{2019}s your vibe—use the Transpose Control option to make it happen.

Peeps who want like, ALL the keys (including theoretical ones that probably don\u{2019}t exist) can turn on Theoretical Keys & go nuts.

Capo City

The capo slider lets OnSong be all clever & adapt the chords based on where your capo is sittin\u{2019}. This keeps the key from the transpose slider intact but rewires the chords so they actually work with your capo. You can capo from 0 to 11 & flip the power button on the right to turn it on or off.

By default, bumpin' up the capo slider will modulate the chords DOWN. Yeah, we know it\u{2019}s backwards, but it keeps the song\u{2019}s declared key from gettin\u{2019} all weird. Like, if your song key is C#, & you slap a capo on fret one, set the capo slider to 1. This displays the chords down one half step in the key of C. (Trust us, it makes sense eventually.)

Wanna change how capo messes with your chord chart? Go to Settings » Display Settings » Song Formatting » Capo.

You can also just tap the left & right sides of the slider to nudge the capo up & down one fret. Lazy, but we respect it.

Transposing Instrument

So you\u{2019}re playin\u{2019} some weird instrument that doesn\u{2019}t play at concert pitch (why tho?). No worries—you can adjust the chords throughout the song to match your instrument\u{2019}s vibe. Pick from:

Off for concert pitch & basically any normal stringed or percussion thing like piano.
B-flat for B-flat instruments like trumpet, clarinet, bass clarinet, & soprano & tenor saxophones (the cool kids\u{2019} section).
E-flat for E-flat tuned stuff like soprano clarinet, or alto & baritone saxophones (same vibe).
F for F tuned instruments like French & English horns (so fancy).
G for alto flute (okay, sure).

Position

The position picker lets you pick if chords should hang out above the lyrics or squish in with the lyrics on the same line. Your choices:

Above puts the chord on its own line above the lyrics like it\u{2019}s fancy.
Inline jams the chord right in the lyrics line like they\u{2019}re all friends.

Style

The style chooser lets you pick how your chords gonna dress up on the screen. Buffet of options:

Alpha displays chords as alphabetic letters (A-G) with sharp or flat preference. The default, & boring, but reliable.
Nashville displays chords as numbers (1-7) based on where they live in the key. For the theory nerds.
Roman displays chords as Roman numerals (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii) based on their spot in the key. For the EXTRA theory nerds.
Solfege displays chords as Latin numbers (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti) based on the key. You can make the \u{201C}do\u{201D} fixed or movable by tappin\u{2019} the wrench icon. (Yes, this is real.)

Split Chord

This decides what part of the chord shows up when it\u{2019}s got a split bass component hangin\u{2019} around. Whatcha got:

Both displays the full chord & the bass note separated by a slash like they\u{2019}re in a relationship.
Bass Only displays just the bass note. If there\u{2019}s no split bass note, it shows the root of the chord instead.
Chord Only displays just the chord part & ditches the bass note & the slash. (We\u{2019}re dunzo with that bass drama.)

Typography

This section lets you get all typographically fancy with how your chord renders. Each of these can toggle on & off independently:

Superscript turns superscriptin\u{2019} of the chord variation on & off. This is everything after the note but NOT the slash bass note. Default is off because apparently we\u{2019}re minimalists.
Enharmonic Symbols swaps text-based sharps & flats for actual musical symbols. Default is off (for people who can\u{2019}t handle pretty things).
Replacement Symbols replaces certain chord variations with symbolic notation. Minor becomes a minus, augmented becomes a plus, major sevenths become triangles. It\u{2019}s like emoji for chord nerds.
Lowercase Minor Chords ditches the \u{201C}m\u{201D} in minor chords & represents them with lowercase note values instead. Spicy.
Lowercase Split Bass lowercases the note in the split bass part after the slash. (Details, details.)

Decoration

OnSong uses square brackets to mark chords in a chord chart, but they usually don\u{2019}t show up in the final output (rude). These options are mutually exclusive—pick one or none to remove all the pizzazz:

None is the default & means no decoration. This happens when nothin\u{2019} is selected. Boring but honest.
Square Brackets wraps all chords with square brackets. [Like this]. (Revolutionary.)
Parentheses wraps the chords in parentheses. (Like this.) (Subtle.)
Angle Brackets wraps the chords in angle brackets or less than & greater than symbols. . (Pointy.)
Curly Braces wraps the chords in curly braces. {Like this}. (Fancy pants.)

The Method to the Madness

Changes you make here DON\u{2019}T touch the original song content in the song editor. Every setting except key & capo gets applied to format the chords when you pick the system scope.

When you select a song from the All Songs list, the changes go to the master library. If you pick a song in a book or set that has Separate Set/Song Styles turned on, the changes only hit that one song in that set. So you can transpose a song to a different key just for that book without messin\u{2019} with the master copy. (Genius, right?)

Wanna change the default behavior & interface options for this whole screen? Tap the wrench icon in the upper left to fiddle with Style Preference Chords options. You\u{2019}re welcome.

OnSong 2026 — Last Refreshed February 20, 2026