How to prepare a live setlist with tempos and chord sheets

1. Start with a playable song order

Choose three songs you already know and decide their order. Write down each song's starting tempo and time signature. Use the tempo you actually rehearse at rather than guessing from a recording; you can adjust it after playing the set together.

In SyncPulse, create the songs in your library, then add them to a setlist. A setlist is an ordered collection of songs, so you can prepare different running orders from the same library. Give songs recognisable names that you can read quickly on a phone or tablet.

1. Create three songs with their opening tempo and time signature.
2. Add them to a new setlist in performance order.
3. Check the first song and the two transitions before adding more songs.

2. Add sections only where they help

If a whole song stays at one tempo, keep the setup simple. Add sections when the song needs a tempo change, a different meter or a cue that matters to you. Name the sections for what you need to see while playing, such as Verse, Chorus or Outro.

Set a bar length for a section only when you know when it should end. If the length varies in rehearsal or on stage, keep it open and move on manually. Rehearse both kinds of transition: a timed section moving automatically and a section that waits for you.

1. Mark the sections that change tempo or need a clear cue.
2. Check each finite section's bar count against the arrangement.
3. Leave flexible sections open rather than inventing a fixed length.

3. Put the right chord sheet next to the song

Attach or paste the chord sheet you will actually use in rehearsal. SyncPulse supports text, ChordPro, images and PDFs. Text and ChordPro sheets can be transposed; images and PDFs retain the notes printed in the original file. Check the chart in the key your band is playing before relying on it.

Open the sheet on the device you will use on stage. A chart that looks clear on a laptop may be too small on a phone. Check the first verse, repeated sections and the ending. For a separate Android chart app, SyncPulse's visual overlay can show the pulse over that app after you grant Android's overlay permission.

1. Attach a chart to each song and check its key.
2. Read the chart on your performance phone or tablet.
3. Confirm that playback controls and the chart remain usable together.

4. Rehearse the spaces between songs

Play the end of the first song and the start of the next as one exercise. Decide whether you need a pause, a manual start or a timed transition. Add a count-in where it helps the entrance and listen to it with the band. Check the final stop as carefully as the first entrance.

If you use band sync, test it during rehearsal on the devices and connection you plan to use. SyncPulse can share the pulse through Ableton Link over Wi-Fi or through Bluetooth LE. Agree who leads and check that the other players join as followers. Do not leave the first connection test until soundcheck.

1. Run the complete three-song set without reopening the editor.
2. Test each pause, count-in, manual transition and final stop.
3. Export the songs and setlist as CSV so you can transfer their structure and text chord sheets. Keep PDF/image charts and backing tracks separately: the export is not a complete backup. Keep a readable running order for the gig too.

A final check before the gig

Charge the devices, open the charts you need and test your click output at a comfortable level. Check the screen placement and any overlay permissions before the set. Keep the song order easy to reach so a last-minute change does not become a search through your library.

After rehearsal, change the points that caused hesitation: an unclear section name, an unreadable chart or a transition that needs more time. A smaller set you have actually played through is more useful than a large set you have only configured. SyncPulse currently runs on Android; iOS and Windows are planned without announced release dates.