Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

• What are the acceptable formats for the song lyrics and chords?
• What do you mean "Paste the song in the Old Key here"?
• What happens if I don't specify the Old Key?
• Can I specify the Old Key in the song text?
• How do the various Output Format Options work?
• How do I save the transposed song to a text file?
• What do I do when I get the "chords touching" or "chords overlap" warning in the transposed output?
• What are some other problems I might run into?
• Will the new chords be displayed in sharp or flat notation?
• How do I transpose a song that is in a minor key?
• What does a capo do?
• How do I use a capo with a transposition to maintain the original key?
• How do I find song lyrics and chords on the Web?
• Is an off-line executable version of this software available?
• Are there any authorized Mirror Sites for these Logue Internet Services pages?
• Who do I send questions or comments to?

What are the acceptable formats for the song lyrics and chords?

Transpose accepts both of the common text representations for lyrics and chords found at sites such as The Gospel Music Archive and COWPIE.

In the first format, the chords are placed on the line above the lyrics. For example:

Sidewalks of New York

3/4  Key of C

C         G7  C
Eastside, Westside,
F    G7        C
All around the town,
C7     F                 C
   The kids sang "Ring-a-Rosie",
A7    D7                G7
Londonbridge is falling down.
C        G7      C       C7
Boys and girls together,
F              C       C7
Me and Mamie O'Rourke,
F                    C
Tripped the light fantastic
A7     D7        G7     C
On the Sidewalks of New York.

When this format is used, Transpose automatically recognizes chord lines, and changes them to the new key. Note that the chords must align with the corresponding lyrics, so always use a font with fixed spacing, such as "Courier" or "Lucida Console", when editing songs. Also, a simple text editor, e.g., Notepad, usually works better than a word processor, e.g., Word. Don't use the tab key when editing songs, because various programs assign a different number of spaces for each tab character.

Transpose also accepts the other popular format, Chord Pro, which was developed by Martin Leclerc and Mario Dorion. In this format, the chords are in square brackets on the same line as the lyrics. For example:

{title:Sidewalks of New York}
[C]Eastside, [G7]West-[C]side,
[F]All a-[G7]round the [C]town,
[C7] --- The [F]kids sang "Ring-a-[C]Rosie",
[A7]London-[D7]bridge is falling [G7]down.
[C]Boys and [G7]girls to[C]gether, [C7] 
[F]Me and Mamie O'[C]Rourke, [C7]
[F]Tripped the light fan[C]tastic
[A7]On the [D7]Sidewalks [G7]of New [C]York.

A variation of the Chord Pro format places the chords in parentheses, and this is also accepted by Transpose. The original song must consistently use either square brackets or parentheses to designate chords throughout the song.

What do you mean "Paste the song in the Old Key here"?

Although you could manually type all the chords and lyrics into the Song Window, the original song will usually be in a text file or perhaps on a World Wide Web page. When this is the case, you can copy all of the text to the Song Window with a few simple steps. For example, if the original song is in a Web display (such as "Sidewalks of New York", above):

• Highlight the desired text by left clicking on the upper left corner, then drag the mouse to the lower right corner of the song. Finally, release the left mouse button.
• Click on "Copy" in the "Edit" menu.
• Go to the Transpose page.
• Left click anywhere in the big text window (you should then see the blinking cursor).
• Click on "Paste" in the "Edit" menu.

When it is available, always go to the "printable plain text version" or "Printer Friendly Copy" before copying the song. These are often cleaner than other representations, which may include leading spaces or other unwanted characters.

Don't be concerned about the Song Window being too small for your song. If the amount of data exceeds the window size, the scroll bars become active.

What happens if I don't specify the Old Key?

If you don't specify the old key, Transpose attempts to determine it automatically. Generally, it does this by scanning the chords, and deriving the old key based on probability. However, if it finds a "Key of " line before any chords, it will unconditionally use that as the old key.

The result of the key derivation process may be ambiguous. If so, Transpose will ask you to specify the old key. In some cases, such as when the key changes in the song, Transpose may be completely fooled. When that happens, you need to click on the browser "Back" button, and enter the old key. (Look in the page title at the top of the screen to see what key was derived.)

Can I specify the Old Key in the song text?

Yes, if you specify the key in a line near the top of the file before any chords, it will be used to define the old key. Furthermore, this line itself will be converted, so it will be correct in the transposed song.

A very specific format is required: "Key of " followed by the key. Note that this text is case sensitive, and there must be one and only one space between "of" and the key. There should be nothing else on the line except the optional time notation (and the square brackets, for Chord Pro). For example:

3/4  Key of C

[3/4  Key of C]

How do the various Output Format Options work?

If no display option is selected, the output format defaults to a basic text output.

The first display option (Lyrics/Chords/Pictures) includes guitar chord fingering patterns above each chord name, and various fingering patterns for the chords may be displayed simply by clicking on the chord patterns. An example of the Lyrics/Chords/Pictures display pattern may be viewed.

The three "Chord Help" options offer a variation of the Lyrics/Chords/Pictures format. Rather than displaying the fingering pattern above each chord, patterns for some or all of the chords used in the song are displayed at the bottom. The help options are defined as follow:

Maximum - Display all chords used.

Medium   - Display all chords used except major and seventh.

Minimum - Display all chords used except major, seventh, and minor.

Note that the Medium and Minimum selections may display no chords at all, depending on the complexity of the chords in the song.

When "Chord Help" is selected, just click on each pattern to see the available variations for that chord. (If nothing happens when you click on a chord pattern, there may be only one pattern for that chord in the data base.)

Other output options display just the chord names and lyrics, or just the lyrics. The chord patterns available to Transpose include all of the chords in the Guitar Chord Finder data base.

Note that "Text - ChordPro" is a valid display selection only when the original is in Chord Pro format.

How do I save the transposed song to a text file?

When any of the three "Text" display options are chosen, the page may be saved in a text file, as follows: