Band setlist sync: keeping everyone on the same song

Band setlist sync means two things: everyone in the band has the same setlist, and during the gig everyone is on the same song. In Fretlist the first comes with the band itself. The second is Follow Me: one person presses Play, and every bandmate's phone or tablet opens the same song and moves along with them.

This post explains how that works, who can lead, and what it needs.

What band setlist sync needs to do

A band needs two things, and they happen at different times.

Before the gig: the same setlist. In a Fretlist band, the setlist is stored in the band, not on one person's tablet. Everyone opens the same one on their own phone, tablet or laptop, so nobody has to send it around.

During the gig: the same song. A band often changes the plan while playing: a song gets skipped, or the singer calls a different one. Without sync, every bandmate has to find that song by hand.

Follow Me handles the second part.

How Follow Me works in a band

Whoever leads turns on Follow Me once (it stays on for their account). It's in Settings > Features, or in the gear inside Play Mode. Then they open the setlist and press Play.

Every bandmate with the band open in Fretlist lands on the same song. They don't have to turn anything on or press anything. Their phone or tablet opens Play Mode by itself, at the song the band is on.

From there, the leading device steers:

• Next song. Flip to the next song and every chart flips with you.
• A change of plan. Pick another song from the setlist and the whole band jumps there.
• Auto-scroll. Start it and everyone scrolls along; stop it and everyone stops. Each device paces its own sheet so every chart reaches the last line at the same moment, even with bigger text or a smaller screen.
• The end of a song. When the countdown to the next song starts on the leading device, every bandmate sees the same countdown, with the next song's title.

Here it is on two devices:

Intro
G
G7
C
G
Refrain
AGmazing G7Grace, how Csweet the Gsound
That saved a Awretch like Dme!
I Gonce was G7lost, but Cnow am Gfound,
Was Emblind, but Dnow I Gsee.
Verse 1
'Twas Ggrace that G7taught my Cheart to Gfear,
And grace my Afears reDlieved.
How Gprecious G7did that Cgrace aGppear,
The Emhour I Dfirst beGlieved.
Verse 2
ThrougGh many G7dangers, Ctoils and sGnares
We have alrAeady Dcome
'Twas gGrace hath G7brought us Csafe thus fGar
And gEmrace will Dlead us Ghome
Verse 3
The GLord has G7promised Cgood to Gme,
His word my Ahope seDcures;
He Gwill my G7shield and Cportion Gbe
as Emlong as Dlife enGdures.
Verse 4
When Gwe've been G7there ten Cthousand Gyears,
Bright shining Aas the Dsun,
We've Gno less G7days to Csing God's Gpraise
Than Emwhen we'd Dfirst beGgun.
Refrain
AGmazing G7Grace, how Csweet the Gsound
That saved a Awretch like Dme!
I Gonce was G7lost, but Cnow am Gfound,
Was Emblind, but Dnow I Gsee.

Intro
G#
G#7
C#
G#
Refrain
AG#mazing G#7Grace, how C#sweet the G#sound
That saved a A#wretch like D#me!
I G#once was G#7lost, but C#now am G#found,
Was Fmblind, but D#now I G#see.
Verse 1
'Twas G#grace that G#7taught my C#heart to G#fear,
And grace my A#fears reD#lieved.
How G#precious G#7did that C#grace aG#ppear,
The Fmhour I D#first beG#lieved.
Verse 2
ThrougG#h many G#7dangers, C#toils and sG#nares
We have alrA#eady D#come
'Twas gG#race hath G#7brought us C#safe thus fG#ar
And gFmrace will D#lead us G#home
Verse 3
The G#Lord has G#7promised C#good to G#me,
His word my A#hope seD#cures;
He G#will my G#7shield and C#portion G#be
as Fmlong as D#life enG#dures.
Verse 4
When G#we've been G#7there ten C#thousand G#years,
Bright shining A#as the D#sun,
We've G#no less G#7days to C#sing God's G#praise
Than Fmwhen we'd D#first beG#gun.
Refrain
AG#mazing G#7Grace, how C#sweet the G#sound
That saved a A#wretch like D#me!
I G#once was G#7lost, but C#now am G#found,
Was Fmblind, but D#now I G#see.

Two things stay out of the way. A device that is in the song editor is never pulled into Play Mode, so nobody loses what they were typing. And Follow Me only follows the band that is open on a device: a tablet left in your personal library won't follow the band.

Try it on your own devices first. Follow Me works in your personal library too. Turn it on in Settings > Features, press Play on your phone, and watch your tablet or laptop follow (logged in to the same account). Try Fretlist

Everyone still reads their own chart

Following doesn't mean everyone sees the same screen. Each device is a full Play Mode, with its own settings:

• Your own key and capo. If you read a song two semitones lower than the band, you still do while following. I wrote about how that works in a band in different keys.
• Your own text size and chord diagrams. A singer can hide the diagrams while the guitarist keeps them.

You can also look ahead. Flip a page on your own device and it stops following for the moment, so you can check the next song while the band is still on this one. The header says Paused, and a pill at the bottom says Following paused. Tap Rejoin to jump back to the song the band is on, at the spot the leading device is reading. Or do nothing: the next time the leading device changes song, you follow again.

To write something down mid-rehearsal, leave Play Mode on your own device: pull it down on a phone or tablet, or press esc on a laptop. That device stops following until someone presses Play again, and the rest of the band plays on. Your note goes under My notes on the song, which only you see.

The break between sets

On a setlist with more than one set, when the leading device moves past the last song of a set, the whole band lands on a Break screen together. It says what is coming (Set 2 is next) and shows the first song, with your own capo and key.

The band stays on that screen until the person leading taps Start Set 2. Then everyone moves to the first song of the next set.

Who leads

Whoever presses Play with Follow Me turned on leads. There is no one fixed leader. If the bass player has Follow Me on and presses Play on their tablet, the bass player leads, and the device that led before follows.

In a band, the Leader and Member roles can lead. Viewers and Guests follow, which suits a session player who sits in for one gig. The band roles guide has the full list of who can do what.

The Play Mode header always says which you are holding: Leading on the device that leads, Following on the others. On a tablet or laptop it also names the bandmate you're following.

Fretlist for Bands is free until 1 November. Set up your band now, and its 30-day trial starts on 1 November.

Set up your band

What it needs: a connection

Follow Me needs an internet connection, on the leading device and on every follower. The signal goes through Fretlist's servers, so the devices don't talk to each other directly.

It doesn't have to be the venue's WiFi. If one phone has signal, turn on its hotspot and put the other devices on it.

Without a connection, Play Mode still works on every device, with every song and setlist. The devices just don't follow each other. Making Follow Me work without any internet is where I want it to end up, but it isn't there yet.

And if the leading device drops out (a flat battery, a closed app), the others keep the last song on screen. Press Play on another device and the band carries on from there.

The Follow Me guide has every detail, and the Bands page has the rest of what a band gets.

Free until 1 November. Set up your band before then, and signing up locks in Early Access too.