Jazz & altered chords
Parse jazz alterations in charts, then build personal chord diagrams visually — without learning ChordPro’s diagram syntax. Custom shapes transpose with your songs.
Deep ChordPro, jazz chords, and stage-grade control
Advanced players need more than a pretty preview. Songbook Buddy ships a custom ChordPro parser with jazz voicing support, custom block directives, chord fingering fan-out, and Pro control surfaces for MIDI and footswitches.
Edit on desktop with a full keyboard, rehearse with sample-accurate metronome sync, and perform with theater mode plus hands-free page turns.
Why Songbook Buddy fits Advanced musicians
Custom chord diagrams (Pro)
Design fretboard and piano diagrams visually — no ChordPro diagram syntax. Reuse shapes across your library; they stay stable when you transpose.
MIDI & footswitch (Pro)
Learn, duplicate, and panic MIDI mappings; USB foot pedals (AirTurn, PageFlip, Stream Deck Pedal); network MIDI on macOS.
Features that matter for you
Starter, Basic, Pro, and Pro Cloud from our documented product matrix.
| Feature | Starter | Basic | Pro | Pro Cloud | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChordPro editor with live preview | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Custom block viewing is free; inserting custom blocks via the editor menu is Pro |
| Advanced chord tools (custom shapes, tunings, progressions) | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | Custom Chord Editor, Custom Tunings, Chord Progressions |
| MIDI control (learn, duplicate, panic; network MIDI on macOS) | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | Network MIDI on macOS |
| Footswitch (USB foot pedals) | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Metronome & tempo tap | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Sample-accurate |
| Tags with multi-tag filter | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Themes, fonts & section colors | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | Light/dark mode itself is free; downloadable fonts and section colors are Pro |
| Chord flashcards with difficulty levels | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
How Songbook Buddy compares
Conditional positioning against well-known apps. Choose another product when its focus matches your workflow; choose Songbook Buddy when you need the full ChordPro journey on your platforms.
| Aspect | SBB | OnSong | SBP | MS | BH | fScore | UG | iReal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChordPro editor depth | Custom ChordPro parser, many directives, custom blocks | Strong iPad performance layout | Established ChordPro editing across its platforms | Established library and chart editing across its platforms | Not a ChordPro authoring tool | Annotation on PDFs, not ChordPro source | No full editor for your song library | Not ChordPro-centric |
| MIDI & footswitch control | MIDI & USB foot pedals; network MIDI on macOS | Established MIDI/footswitch on iPad | Foot-pedal support varies by device | Foot-pedal support varies | Limited compared to performance apps | Page-turn pedals; Bluetooth MIDI varies | Mostly play-along | MIDI/export varies by platform |
| Metronome / meter | Sample-accurate click; live sync; time signatures | Strong metronome/performance tools | Metronome varies by version | Metronome varies by version | Not the primary focus | Not the primary focus | Play-along; metronome secondary | Playback rather than metronome-only |
| Print / PDF | Print pipeline, PDF-oriented options | Strong setlist export/layout | Print/export commonly available | Print/export commonly available | Setlist print/export for gigs | PDF-native performance on iPad | Export secondary | PDF/export workflow-dependent |
| Platforms (typical) | Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux (one codebase) | iOS/iPadOS (macOS Catalyst varies) | Android, iOS, Windows | Android, iOS, Windows, macOS | iOS/iPadOS + web companion | iPadOS (iPhone companion varies) | Strong mobile + web; desktop varies | iOS/Android; desktop more limited |
Competing products change continuously. This table describes typical positioning — choose another app when its focus matches your workflow; choose Songbook Buddy when you need the full ChordPro journey on your platforms.
Where Songbook Buddy fits best
- ChordPro-aware editor with live preview, undo/redo, and formatting sidebar — not a static PDF viewer
- Sample-accurate metronome with network-aligned downbeat in Band Live Sessions
- Cross-platform desktop builds are first-class, not a companion app
When another app fits better
- OnSong fits polished iPad-only performance workflows. Songbook Buddy fits deep ChordPro editing and stage control on every platform.
- iReal Pro fits playback-style jazz practice. Songbook Buddy fits owning, editing, and performing your own charts.
Ready to try it?
Download Songbook Buddy Starter free — no account required for the core editor and library.