A band workspace is one shared library. Everyone sees the same songs and setlists, but each member reads them their own way: their own capo, their own instrument, their own transpose.
The Band panel
Open any song in a band and you get a Band panel: the right sidebar on desktop, the Band pill in the song header on phone and tablet.
One line per bandmate, calling out only what differs from the song as saved: an instrument badge (Guitar (½ down) when the tuning is not standard), a Capo II chip only when a capo is on, and the chord shapes only when they differ from the band key. It updates live, and someone who has set nothing up just shows their name and instrument.
Instruments come from Settings → Instruments, so nobody is assumed to play guitar. A drummer or vocalist gets the song without chord diagrams or capo.
A purple dot means their setup sounds in a different key than the band key, and the tooltip spells it out: "Sounds in D (band key C#)". Tuning counts, so capo II with C shapes on a guitar tuned a half step down sounds in C# and gets no dot against a C# band key. Set your Tuning under Settings so the panel reads you right.
Setting who plays what
Every member has their own order of instruments in the band. The first one is their Main here, shown in teal, and every song shows its chord diagrams unless they picked something else for that song. Someone who plays bass here and ukulele in another band gets the right shapes in both.
Drag your own instrument chips in the Band card on the dashboard (or under Settings → Band → Members) to change the order, or tap one to make it your Main. The leader can do the same for anyone in the band. Only the member can add, remove or change their instruments, in Settings → Instruments.
Your own line carries the teal edge. Every line has a ... menu (on hover on desktop, always visible in the sheet) holding two things: that person's own instruments, ticked on the one they are on for this song, and Remove from song / Add to song. A line that is off goes dim and reads Not on this song. In is always the default.
Who edits what
Roles gate the band's content (see band roles), but personal layers work differently:
- Your own setup and notes are always yours. Every role, guests included.
- Anyone who can edit the band's songs can set anyone's part. Leaders and members use the ... menu on any line. Handy for setting up the bass player's chart before rehearsal. Last change wins.
- Viewers and guests set their own instrument from their own line, never someone else's.
- Capo and transpose stay personal. Nobody sets a bandmate's capo or transpose, whatever their role. A setlist's key is the exception: it is shared, see below.
Your own instrument works offline. Anything on someone else's line needs a connection.
Band key, set key, your key
A song has three keys:
- Band key: the song's stored key, the reference everyone shares.
- Set key: the key a setlist plays it in, for "we play it in A in this set." Shared with the whole band.
- Your key: your own transpose, visible only to you.
Which one you see depends on where you opened the song:
- From a setlist, you see the set key, unless you chose your own key.
- From your library (the sidebar), you see your own key.
The + and - on a song are always yours: they change the key you read, never the band's, also when you opened the song from a setlist. The band's key for a set is changed on the setlist itself (below).
Your own key wins. Once you choose your own key for a song, you keep reading it in that key, in every setlist, even when the band moves it. That includes the song's original key: a keyboard player can step the band's A back to G, keep the chords they know, and set the difference on the instrument. The song view and Play Mode show that difference as a badge, like Transpose -2: your chart sits 2 semitones below the band. On the setlist, that song's key badge shows your key with a purple dot. Reset puts you back on the band's key.
When you are on your own key, the reset button says where it goes back to: Back to the band's key (A). Your first transpose on a band song reminds you once that the band still sees the original key.
To set the band's key for a set, click a song row's key badge on the setlist, viewing or editing, and it morphs into a - key + stepper. Click the center key to reset, Esc to close. Changing a set key is for leaders and members, and it needs a connection. Viewers and guests see the set key but cannot change it.
The set key is shared, and prints and exports carry it. The same song can sit in two setlists in two keys: the setlist printout and the band panel use the key of the setlist you came from, and so do the setlist rows, the song view and Play Setlist unless you have your own key.
Who changes what
| You want to | Where | Who | |---|---|---| | Play a song in another key for one set, for the whole band | The song's key badge on the setlist (view or edit) | Leaders and members | | Read a song in your own key, in every setlist | + and - on the song, from a setlist or your library | Everyone, guests included | | Change the song's key for good | The song editor (Transpose or Only change the key) | Leaders and members | | Play with a capo without changing the key | The capo on the song | Everyone, just for you |
Common questions
The band plays a song in A, but my chart shows G. Why? You chose your own key for this song, and your own key wins over the set key. The Transpose -2 badge says how far your chart sits from the band. Press reset on the song to follow the band's key again.
I'm the keyboard player. Can I keep the original chords when the band moves a song up? Yes. Open the song from the setlist and step the key back to the original with -. Your chart keeps the chords you know, the badge shows the difference (for example Transpose -2), and you set that difference on your keyboard's own transpose. When the band moves the song again, your chart stays put and only the badge changes.
I pressed + on a song in our setlist and nobody else's chart changed. That is right: + and - on a song only change your own key. To change the key for the whole band, use the song's key badge on the setlist itself.
Can a band leader read a song in their own key too? Yes. The leader changes the band's key on the setlist rows, and their own key on the song, like everyone else.
What does the purple dot on a setlist key mean? That the key shown is not the song's stored key: either the set plays it in another key, or you are on your own key. Hover it to see which.
I'm not in a band. What do + and - do on a song opened from a setlist? They change that setlist's key for the song, because there is no band to differ from. In your library they change your own key.
Where else purple shows up
Purple always means one thing: a value differs from the reference it is measured against. On a setlist row it is the key you read against the song's stored key, or your own key against the set's; a capo alone never triggers it, because a capo does not change the sounding key.
My notes
Every song in a band has a My notes block below the chord sheet, private to you whatever your bandmates' roles. They show read-only in Play Mode, where the My notes switch hides them. Setlists don't show notes.
Switching workspaces
Your name at the bottom of the sidebar opens your menu, with the workspace switcher inside it. Each device remembers its own choice, so switching on your phone leaves your laptop where it was. New songs, imports and folders go into the workspace that device is in.
Copy or move between workspaces
Bringing your whole personal library in is one step: on a new band's dashboard, Import your personal library copies or moves everything, folders included.
Song by song, the ... menu has Copy to workspace (an independent copy, everyone but guests) and Move to workspace (leader-only, since it moves the song out for everyone). Moving always asks first, naming who loses what and warning when the song will drop out of setlists here. Moving a setlist takes its songs. Both need a connection.
Copy a setlist into a workspace that already has songs with the same titles and a Review matching titles step lets you link to the existing versions or copy yours as new. No accidental duplicates.
What a band costs
Nothing until 1 November. Bands are free during Early Access: no card, nothing to choose.
From 1 November, the Bands plan is €7 a month or €58 a year for the whole band. Your members pay nothing. Signed up before 1 November? Subscribe by 1 December and you pay half price for life: €3.50 a month or €29 a year. You will not lose anything either way.
A band holds 15 people including you; Band roles has the detail.
If a band is on hold
A band on hold is read-only: nobody can add or change songs, and everyone sees a banner saying so. You can still read everything, play every setlist, and edit your own setup and notes.
It happens one way: the leader stepped away and left it on hold. Nothing disappears, and they can still hand it over or delete it.
If the leader leaves
A band always has exactly one leader, so a leader can't just walk out. Settings → Band → Leave band offers two paths:
- Hand over and leave: pick a new leader, they take over, you leave.
- Put on hold and step away: the band goes read-only and you keep the leader role, so you can hand it over or delete it later.
Everyone else leaves directly with Leave band. Leaving or being removed takes your own setup and notes for that band's songs with you; the band's songs and setlists stay untouched.
FAQ
Can we track who sings lead or who sits a song out? Not yet. Per-song role tracking for larger bands is on the radar. If your band needs it, tell us at hello@fretlist.com.