Set List Modification in MS Word

[arlo]

You could tag each of your own songs with something like "MySong". Now you'd only need to build a Smart List that is filtering for that tag

Right. Conversely, you could add a tag with something like "Other Singer" and build a smart list that excludes that tag. Then you'd have less songs to add the tag to.

Also if you think of a better name for the "Other Singer" tag later, you can rename the tag and the new name will appear throughout the app. ;-)

[cdeminski]

Ah, okay, I didn't know I could build a Smart Set List with a specific tag included OR excluded. (I don't yet know how to do that.) Can I do that with multiple tags on a Smart List? THANK YOU - this is a very helpful suggestion!

That makes more sense for me, particularly in cases where jazz instrumentals are in the original key and being played within the set. I could create a tag called Instrumental and just put an X in that tag box ... Arlo, is that kosher?

As for the other singer's songs, I'm still on the fence about it. Example: I have a Featured Vocalist coming to my "Singer Celebration" show in March. (I'm MC and lead singer, and we have anywhere from 9-12 singers come through during the night playing with my band.)

My Featured Vocalist is singing "Loving You" a 1970's pop tune with a jazz flavor. I'll never sing that song, and Featured Vocalists only come through once. The song would be a one and done. It seems like much more of a hassle to put it in my database than it is to manually enter it into my set list and forget it when the gig is done.

THANK YOU FOR THESE IDEAS! Still trying to figure out the lowest friction work arounds... much appreciated!

[arlo]

I could create a tag called Instrumental and just put an X in that tag box ... Arlo, is that kosher?

If it were a custom field, you would have a field to enter text into and entering an X would be fine. If it were a tag, you would simply add the tag to the song and there's nothing to enter text into.

My Featured Vocalist is singing "Loving You" a 1970's pop tune with a jazz flavor. I'll never sing that song, and Featured Vocalists only come through once. The song would be a one and done. It seems like much more of a hassle to put it in my database than it is to manually enter it into my set list and forget it when the gig is done.

Okay, I agree with your assessment here.

[cdeminski]

Arlo, I know this is a dumb question, sorry...

If I create a custom TAG, can that be used to sort a Smart List?

Or do I HAVE to create a custom FIELD, (called instrumental) and then use a FIELD to sort a Smart List?

Oy!

[arlo]

You can't sort by a tag (because that would just group your songs into two sections, one with the tag and one without). You can sort by all tags, which groups your songs into one section per tag, or filter by tag.

[cdeminski]

I'm still a little confused between the functionality triggered by a TAG vs. functionality triggered by a FIELD.

If I want to create smart list for "instrumentals" what's the best way to do that? (Or a smart list for "other singers"). Is that best done driven by a FIELD inserted into each song, which is marked when used, or is that best done driven by a TAG?

Thank you for your unending patience... :-/

[arlo]

You can think of a custom field like a multiple choice or open-ended question. For example, in my band I use one custom field to track which guitar I play on each song (multiple choice) and another to track what things I want to work on next time I practice that song (open-ended). You can think of a tag like a yes/no question. For example, I use tags for Holiday, Contemporary and Novelty. A song either matches these tags or doesn't. In your case, I think Instrumental would be better as a tag because each song either is an instrumental or isn't.

Another feature of tags is that you can mix and match them, so one song can be tagged as Contemporary, Holiday and Instrumental while another can be tagged as Contemporary, Holiday and Novelty. This is generally easier to manage than a single custom field for "genre" or "style."

[cdeminski]

Thanks Arlo, this helps a lot. I feel so silly asking these kinds of basic questions...

Thanks again.

[arlo]

No need to feel silly -- I've spent years building this stuff and I'm happy to see people trying to use it to its full potential!

[cdeminski]

I really love your passion for the product and the obvious dedication you have to helping users and constantly making incremental improvements.

THANK YOU