Set List Mockup

Set List is designed for creating set lists for gigs. You can even share the list with band mates, updating the list mid-gig and sending the update to all their phones and they don't even need the app!

Besides creating set lists for specific gigs, you might also have a standard set for weddings or summer park performances, etc. Beyond set lists, you can use it to print out lists of songs for clients to choose from, grouped by genre, tempo, recording artist, etc., then create the playlist for the event. You could also use it prepare a plan to maximize studio time, or create simple musical programs, CD inserts, etc. The ability to export a list means you can easily bring it into another program to dress it up however you'd like.

And finally, Set List actually goes well beyond just set lists. With the ability to include a photo of the sheet music, chord chart, or tabs, etc., Set List can be your one-stop song book for performances — just bring your iPad and leave your bulky binder at home!

Features

  • Create set lists from a collection of songs
  • Add details to the songs to help performers, especially Jazz, such as the key, starting note, and photo of the sheet music
  • Search the collections of songs using keywords in any of the fields, even lyrics
  • Share set lists with others, whether they have the app or not
  • See what songs are coming up on the Apple Watch

Quick Start

  1. Create a new set list
    1. When you launch the app, you’re presented with the Set Lists screen
    2. Tap the + in the upper-right corner to create a new set list
    3. In the New Set List screen, give the set list a title or leave it blank and it'll be given the current date as a title
  2. Create new songs
    1. Tap Add Songs
    2. Tap the + in the upper-right corner to create a new song
    3. At minimum, enter the song title
    4. (Optional) Enter any other information for the song
    5. Tap Done
    6. Follow steps 2–5 to add more songs
  3. Add songs to the set list
    1. Tap the sliding selector of each song you want added to the set list
    2. Tap the < in the upper-left corner
    3. (Optional) Reorder the songs in the list by pressing the three bars to the right of a title and dragging the title up or down to move it to a new location
    4. (Optional) Tap Add Break which creates a Break at the bottom of the list, then move the break by pressing the grabber (three bars to the right of a row) and dragging the break up to the desired location
    5. Tap Done to return to the Set Lists screen
  4. Tap the newly created list to view it

Complete Manual

Settings menu

Tap the three lines in the upper-left corner to access the settings menu.

  • Edit Set Lists — Re-order or delete set lists
  • Add Song — Add a new song without going through the Set Lists screen
  • Delete Songs — Delete songs
  • Edit Display Settings — Configure which fields from the songs are displayed in the three positions of the set list
  • Edit Genres — Add, edit, or delete genres from the Genre picker in the Edit Song screen
  • Edit Tempos — Add, edit, or delete tempo terms from the Tempo picker in the Edit Song screen
  • Export Data — Export all the songs and set lists so they can be added to another device
  • Import Data — Import a specific set list or the entire list of songs and set lists (depending on what was exported)
  • Info and Instructions — How to use Set List Manager (technically, it just brings you to this web page)

Set Lists screen

Displays all the set lists.

  • Tap the + in the upper-right corner to create a new set list
  • Tap a set list to display the [set list title] screen to view the songs (and breaks) of that set list

[Set List title] screen

Displays the title, creation date, total duration, and the list of songs of the set list. Duration tallies the duration of all the songs if all the songs have a duration entered, otherwise it displays “N/A.”

  • Tap Edit to display the Edit Set List screen — used to retitle the set list, delete or re-order songs, or add, delete, or move breaks
  • Tap share (box with arrow pointing up) to display the options to send or save the set list (more information follows in the Export or Save Data section that follows)
    • Share as Text — Tap to send a simply text output of the set list to someone via text message or email, or send to an app such as Facebook (you can also save or print the list)
    • Share Data for Import — Same as above, but it sends the data of the set list so that it can be imported into Set List Manager on a different device where it will create or update the set list and all the songs
      NOTE: The Sheet Music Image does not get exported
  • Tap a song to display the Edit Song screen
    NOTE: If you tap a Break, anything you enter will be ignored except for Duration which will be used in the tally
  • Tap < to return to the Set Lists screen

Edit Set List screen

Displays the set list in edit mode.

  • Edit the title of the set list in the top field or delete the title to set the current date as the title
  • Tap Add Songs to display the Add Songs to Set screen — used to find and select songs to add to the set list
  • Tap Add Break to add a break (i.e. intermission) that can be moved to separate the performance in to sets
  • Tap  then tap Delete to delete the song from the set list
  • Press and hold the grabber (three bars to the right of a row) to move a song or break
  • Tap Done to save changes and return to the [set list title] screen
  • Tap Cancel to reset any changes and return to the [set list title] screen

Edit Song screen

Displays a song and all the available fields used to define that song. The following are suggestions for how to populate the fields, but feel free to enter whatever information you’d like.

  • Title — The title of the song
  • Creator — The person(s) that wrote the song and/or lyrics
  • Recorded By — The person or group best known for the song
  • Genre — The main category of music the song falls into
  • Key — The key signature that the song is in: type the letter followed by a “b” for flat or “#” for sharp and “minor” or “min,” etc. for minor
  • Starting Note — The first note of the song
  • Tempo — The speed of the song
  • Duration — How long the song takes to play: time is entered from the right, so, for five minutes, type 5 0 0 (five zero zero)
    NOTE: Durations can be added to breaks as well to get an accurate tally for the whole performance
  • Notes — Short performance information
  • Lyrics — A multiline field for the lyrics of the song (see Power Tips for more uses)
  • Sheet Music Image — Access the camera or the photos on the device to add an image of the sheet music
    NOTE: The Sheet Music Image does not get exported
  • Tap Done to save changes and return to the Set Lists screen
  • Tap Cancel to reset any changes and return to the Set Lists screen

Export or Send Data

When you tap Share as Text or Share Data for Import from the send icon in a set list, the standard iOS send window appears. Here you can quickly send to someone you've contacted recently, send as a text message, send by email, send to an app, or save as a file.

When you tap Export Data from the settings menu, you have all the options available for share, but you can also send the file to a nearby iPhone, iPad, or Macintosh computer via AirDrop.

Send Set List as Text

This is useful if sending to bandmates or someone else who does not have the app or an Android device or even a laptop or desktop computer. They will get the set list in a readable format.

  1. View the set list desired
  2. Tap share (box with arrow pointing up)
  3. Tap Share as Text
  4. Choose what to do with the text
    • Tap a person, Messages, Mail, or another app to send the text to another person or perhaps to social media
    • Tap Copy to copy the set list to the clipboard so it can pasted somewhere else
    • Tap Save to Files (or Save to Dropbox if installed) to save the set list as a text file
    • Do not use Import to Acrobat as it does not directly import; instead, save the file to iPhone then open it from within Acrobat to convert it to PDF

Backup Entire Database

This creates a file with all the set lists and all the songs, even if a song is not in a set list.

  1. Tap the settings menu (three lines in the upper-left corner)
  2. Tap Export Data
  3. Tap Save to Files (if you have Dropbox installed you'll have that option too)
  4. (Recommended) Create a new folder
    1. Tap On My iPhone
    2. Tap the new folder icon in the upper-right corner
    3. Name the folder Set List (or whatever makes sense to you)
  5. (Optional) Change the name of the backup
    1. Tap the name of the document (defaults to SetList_[date]_[time])
    2. Enter a name for this backup
    3. Tap Done
  6. Tap Save in the upper-right corner

Restore Entire Database

  1. Tap the settings menu (three lines in the upper-left corner)
  2. Tap Import Data
  3. Tap Browse
  4. Tap the file
  5. (Optional) If this is the first time importing or otherwise if the file isn't there
    1. Find the file
      • If Locations is in the upper-left corner, tap it then tap On My iPhone
      • If On My iPhone is in the upper-left corner, tap it
    2. Tap Set List (or whatever you named the folder)
    3. Tap the file
  6. Choose how you want to import
    • Tap Merge to have Set List Manager attempt to only add new and changed data
    • Tap Insert to have it just add all the data (this will create duplicates of items that are already there
    • Tap Override to delete everything in Set List and replace it with the backup

NOTE: The Sheet Music Image does not get exported.

Send Set List as Data

This is useful if your bandmates also have the Set List app as they can update the set list in their app.

  1. View the set list desired
  2. Tap share (box with arrow pointing up)
  3. Tap Share Data for Import
  4. Tap a person, Messages, or Mail — the file is automatically attached

Import a Set List

This is a little complicated, so follow closely.

  1. Tap the attachment in Messages or the email client and tap share (box with arrow pointing up)
    • In Messages it's in the lower-left corner
    • If received in email, it's probably in the upper-right corner
  2. Tap Save to Files
  3. (Recommended) If you haven't already done so, create a Set List folder as described previously in Backup Entire Database
  4. (Optional) Tap the file name to change it
  5. Tap to highlight the folder where you want to save the file
  6. Tap Save
  7. Launch the Set List app
  8. Follow the steps described previously in Restore Entire Database

Apple Watch

Displays the current song with the Key and Starting Note plus the next two songs.

  • Swipe up on the face to advance to the next song
  • Swipe down to back up through the list of songs

Power Tips

  • Give a song a one-time genre without editing the picker:
    1. Tap the Recorded By field to make it active
    2. Tap the Next key in the keyboard
    3. Enter the genre
  • To have the Duration include the length of the break(s), tap on a Break and change the Duration
  • Change the Left Item (1st) and Left Item (2nd) in the Edit Display Settings from the settings menu before sharing the list to create special lists
  • Use Share as Text to post your set list to Facebook or Twitter for instant advertising
  • Use Export Data and Share Data for Import to quickly move songs and set lists between devices or to create a backup
    NOTE: The Sheet Music Image does not get exported
  • If you have PDFs of the music, you can take a screenshot of a page and load that as the Sheet Music Image
  • If you only need a reminder of part of the song, e.g. the intro, just crop that and load it as the Sheet Music Image
  • You can create chord charts in the Lyrics field:
    | C#mi | Bbº | Ab+ | C-7 |
    | D7sus4 | FMaj7(#5) | G7(b9) | Bbmi/Eb |
    | Dbmi∆7 | Eø7 | G7alt. |
  • You can add tablature in the Lyrics field:
    e|---0---1---3---
    B|---0---1---0---
    G|---1---2---0---
    D|---2---3---0---
    A|---2---3---2---
    E|---0---1---3---
             E    F    G
  • Use the Lyrics field for extended notes
  • Use the Lyrics field of a Break to store general information about the set list or gig

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
The Duration in the [set list title] screen displays “N/A.” Every song has to have a duration entered for the Duration tally to work.

Try setting the Right Item to Duration in the Edit Display Settings to see if one or more songs are still set to 0m 00s.

The Duration in the [set list title] screen adds up to more than each song. Make sure that any breaks have a duration of 0m 00s:

Tap on a Break to see the set duration.

Song titles are cut off in the [set list title] screen. The text in the three areas may be cut off to ensure that all three areas display something. On an iPhone, only about 15 characters maximum of the title will be displayed.

More of the title is displayed on an iPad and the full title will be displayed when the set list is shared.

Sharing doesn’t display all the options I expect. Be sure to swipe to the left and/or tap More (•••) to see if there are other options
When I tap Add Break nothing happens The new Break is added to the bottom of the list of songs. If the list is long, swipe up to find the new Break at the bottom.
The keyboard gets in the way of seeing the Sheet Music Image On the iPad, the bottom-right key (a keyboard with a down arrow) hides the keyboard. On the iPhone, tap either the Genre or Tempo fields, and tap done to hide the keyboard.