Got it. So you just need to follow along with the screen. So it would be reading, singing, playing and staying in the pocket.
1 Like
Canāt speak for Jason but when I used Setlist Helper during the early OMs it was more a reminder and you kinda went on auto pilot - not actually reading chords and lyrics while performing but it was there as a reference in case you had some brain fade. Its almost a quick look and the songs is in your head and off you go.
Jasonās situation with 35 songs on the playlist could be different. Just MHO.
Even now when I use the latest app (Songbook) for practice/rehearsal, the songs are pretty much in grained so its just a back stop.
2 Likes
As Toby says it auto scrolls.
So I have all my songs in a setlist, see the next song, hit āplayā and itāll auto scroll ( at the speed I set ). Remember I know these songs backwards so for performance itās just a backup. Playing (and singing) is pretty automatic and if anything itās the odd lyric I forgetā¦ so Iām just scanning when I need toā¦ most of my eye contact is with the audience.
In the studio I use it a lot more for remembering or working on new songs where I do follow it moreā¦ it becomes second nature after a while.
I can even manually scroll with my finger for most songs ( if itās going a little slow ) without breaking the rhythm.
3 Likes
For me, the answer depends on what Iām doing.
I have a collection of āsongbook styleā sheets that are just chords and lyrics. No tab, no standard notation, etc. Maybe a time signature or some notes about a capo or bpm. These are just text files that I print out and put in a binder. Itās mainly a spur for my memory, and mostly singer/songwriter kind of stuff that Iād be likely to play and sing with just an acoustic guitar. (Thinking about it, I rarely use any form of written music if Iām playing electric guitar, unless itās jazz and weāre using lead sheets.)
I use ālead sheetsā for some things. These are āReal Book styleā sheets with the melody/head written in standard notation and the chords/harmony notated above the staff. Lyrics might be notated below. Obviously pretty common for jazz stuff, and also common if itās a song Iāve composed myself. I like to write my own compositions down in standard notation so I have a written record of the melody, in particular. I create lead sheets with the lilypond software.
Lastly, sometimes Iāll use scores in standard notation. This is most common for songs Iāve composed and that have multiple instruments, or for songs where I took music for another instrument and made my own arrangement, or for classical music.
3 Likes
Interesting to see others approach, I find a few suggestion quite useful for the future if I ever going to step into the outside world with my guitar.
As to my current approach - everything that is strum da dum I just use websites to open up chord sheet and lyrics. I print out lyrics only when I sing along and practice or perform during OM nights as a little help to prevent me from forgetting lyrics. I donāt keep songbook for that purpose, just donāt feel the need.
As to more complex stuff wellā¦ i donāt have that many under my sleeve (yet) but whenever I transcribe something I do it on A4 sheet of paper with grid printed off, then either keep those pieces together or rewrite it into my notebook. Simples 
no rhythm, no counting - just notes or chords.
2 Likes
Black Betty, Scar Tissue, Snow?
Some really interesting insights here about what others do and gives me some food for thought as to what Iām going to do. Some things to experiment with. Been a very interesting thread.
I like the offline feeling of a physical songbook right now - given so much of my life is with devices, itās nice to be disconnected.
One thing that seems clear is I donāt think I read anybody is printing out whole tabs. Aside from a few riffs, it seems tabs mostly stay digital.
I think Iāll end up tweaking what I do a bit with some of the info here.
1 Like
No need in this digital age. Somewhere round here I have a stack of tabs I printed off places like UG back in the late 90s (tāinternet was still a baby and there was not much out there), must be about half a ream of paper. Back then there was no other option than to print (old dot matrix) or write. Tablets didnāt exist only at the pharmacy, Androids were scifi characters and mobile phone did 2 crazy things - made phone calls and text (just).
2 Likes
Hi JK,
I printed out Justinās blues studies with tabs (10 pieces), and also use them as a mnemonic deviceā¦or isnāt that what you mean by this?
Greetings,ā¦
1 Like
Actually no to all of those, Snow is just few riffs that repeat all the time and Scar Tissue wasnāt so bad to memorize. Black betty - this one I learnt from youtube channel where guy played and tabs were shown so no need to write it down.
So far it was: More than words, Sympathy, Una Mattina and I have one more which I learn now and will keep it hush hush for now as I am still learning 
I also have Gotten by Slash but got exhausted by it when I started as it was a bit too difficult so it just waits for me now
Whatās the common link? Poor tabs online which needed me to either write down something that was unavailable in tabs format from ear or just literally writing it down from tabs shown on the screen.
1 Like
My first mobile phone was bolted to the floor my truck and you had to contact a telephone operator to place a call. This was before the brick phone and the freedom of packing a 3lb phone around with you. You either memorizes songs or got your girlfriend/wife to write them out by hand and put the in a 3in thick ring binder.
3 Likes
There is a special topic here somewhere in the comunity,(?)ā¦and most of these people used to carved their lyrics and chords in stone I believe,ā¦those good old daysā¦ 
3 Likes
When I used to learn songs for me it was current music and as there was no internet and sheet music was expensive I learned them by ear, Iāve never been able to sing so I didnāt learn lyrics but learned the notes in the singing so I could recognise where the chord changes were. My repertoire was generally speaking current songs plus a few old ones picked by whoever I was playing with at the time. As this moved with time so did my repertoire, songs got filed (in my head) and new ones became more important, fortunately I could pick up an older one quite quickly.
Nowadays I learn a song by the easiest method I can find but get it into memory the same way as before, age takes its toll so I canāt remember many now but say if I wanted to play something old that I had played in the past it wouldnāt take much time to get it back.
I donāt really play cover songs these days and very rarely play the same thing twice, I mostly play āambienceā music (if you could call it that ), often with a sci-fi theme using FX to give the mood I like. I donāt take notes because I play how I feel, it varies a lot hour to hour, day to day; I just like to enjoy what Iām doing. Some time in the future I shall record something fairly short so that youāll get the feel for what Iām doing, maybe on Bass, which is a new project Iām embarking on soon!
2 Likes
Because Iām such a book nerd, if they are people/groups that I know I will always want to play their songs, then Iāll see if I can find the original book that comes out when the album does to learn from and keep on the shelf.
Iāve also subscribed to Justinās tabs. Along side that on UGT, you can save the songs as PDFās, so Iāll download what Iām interested in and then I have a āto learnā folder in my guitar folder to work on the songs, then once Iāve finished with them they are moved to a subsequent folder within the guitar folder.
1 Like
Thanks for pointing me in a direction of Soundbook-pro.
I have been trying to create chord sheets for songs we are doing at the guitar club, where we are repeating verses changing things around to best suit the audience. Not always working from Justinās tabs or UG which has meant a lot of scanning, converting, cutting and pasting.
Downloaded trial version on my iPad and had a bit of a playground, no problem with sheets from UG which you can edit on a PC. I had a hard copy only of one song, which had some graphics as well and wanted to see if that worked. After scanning and converting to word from the pdf, then saved as txt file I was able to load it and edit it. Wouldnāt take the pdf because of the graphics.
Will definitely get it and at 4.99 GBP for a lifetime licence, got to be worth it. To paraphrase Justinās words about the cost of one of his apps, āless than the cost of a cheap bottle of wineā
Thanks Toby 
1 Like
Michael
Cheap as chips and as you see multiple inputs not just UG but a good place to start.
And the best element is the ability to edit. Correct chords and lyrics or add tab lines by hand. PDF imports are great with GuitarPro but some will need converting to text and then import the TXT. Simples. You will have to experiment with the autoscroll and adjust as you go. But once you get each song in its sweet spot youāre set for life.
Suspect chips are more expensive these days !
2 Likes
Toby @TheMadman_tobyjenner
Cheap as chips, well just, paid about 4GBP for them with a pizza delivery last week. Unfortunately the days of getting a reasonable bottle of wine for 5 GBP are long long gone.
I think I am going to find the app very useful.
Michael 
3 Likes
Yeah Iāve printed out reasonably small tabs tooā¦ some tab sheets are 10 pages or so though.
1 Like
Okay - another one thatās similar!
I find some days Iām riffing and find parts I want to make songs from. They stick in my head until they donāt.
How do you guys keep note of in progress songs that you are writing yourself? The same way?
Writing it out in guitar pro seems a bit rigid and hard.
Iāve been lurking here, so to contribute a little, I have a few pages of blank tab paper printed out (https://www.justinguitar.com/modules/print-blank-tab-manuscript), stashed in my office and gig bag to cover this kind of scenario.
1 Like