Hello,
Newbie on this forum, and newbie as well in BandHelper, although my account is meanwhile one year-old.
Ad 1) Transposing
I'm starting to populate my account with songs. Being German, chord names are set to "German" on the general settings page. I entered some chords and inversions and realized, that they don't transpose - only the root/the bass noted after the slash does.
What could possibly be the reason for this behavior?
In case it helps with troubleshooting, following some annotations:
1.) I had inconsistencies in my chord naming, sometimes using English Bbm, sometimes the German Bm. Both are valid chord names in English, but Bbm is not in German, and I had "German chord names" selected.
2.) The first line of my song text only contains chords without lyrics. I put them in parentheses *and* brackets, so they can be switched off, are displayed in parentheses only and in chord color. Could combining [] and () be the cause of my problem?
Once in a while I get a warning that I have brackets containing no chords. I think the code sees the parentheses?
This brings me to the question how to enter chord names in the backend, and how to enter chords without lyrics in the songtext field, if my way is not the intended one.
I have no problem inputting ChordPro style chords the English way, as long as they are displayed the German way once I choose them to do so. Does the switch in the general settings apply to the rendering only or to the backend as well?
Ad 2) B, H and Bb
Suggestion to circumvent any misunderstanding: When teaching pop-rock, I use H and Bb and avoid B altogether. I don't do so when I teach classical music. The influence of Ultimate Guitar and other America-based companies on German young people is undeniable, as is the confusion that this causes. Avoiding B helps avoiding misunderstanding.
I would welcome another option "German chords, but Bb instead B".
By the way: Some German songbooks distinguish between majuscule for major chords and minuscule for minor chords. I've noticed BandHelper does it with scale degrees. I wonder if it is difficult to offer an option "minuscule for minor chords"?
Ad 3) Scale degree notation
I have a song (Les Champs-Élysées) in E major that contains (in English ;)) a G#/B# chord followed by C#m. When I switch on degree notation, the G# is displayed as III/V#. I perceive it to be the dominant of C#m, so I'd rather go for V|vi, but with a third as its root (V|vi/III). Is there a way to edit the scale degrees? Wouldn't that be the best solution altogether for clean transposing?
I cannot finish my first post without congratulating the maker of this piece of software for his achievements! Thank you so much, Arlo Leach, from across the pond! I hope you don't stop being inspired and interested in what you do!
QuoteI entered some chords and inversions and realized, that they don't transpose - only the root/the bass noted after the slash does.
Can you show an example of the problem?
QuoteI had inconsistencies in my chord naming, sometimes using English Bbm, sometimes the German Bm. Both are valid chord names in English, but Bbm is not in German, and I had "German chord names" selected.
You will need to consistently use either German or English chord names. BandHelper doesn't support a mixture of the two.
QuoteThe first line of my song text only contains chords without lyrics. I put them in parentheses *and* brackets, so they can be switched off, are displayed in parentheses only and in chord color. Could combining [] and () be the cause of my problem?
What are you trying to accomplish here? Square brackets are used for chord positioning within lyrics. Parentheses are used to place non-chord text into a line of unbracketed chords without interfering with the chord recognition. You normally wouldn't use both.
QuoteOnce in a while I get a warning that I have brackets containing no chords. I think the code sees the parentheses?
No, that would only refer to square brackets. The most common reason for this is copying content from Ultimate Guitar, which uses square brackets for headings like "Verse" and "Chorus" instead of for chord positioning.
QuoteI have no problem inputting ChordPro style chords the English way, as long as they are displayed the German way once I choose them to do so. Does the switch in the general settings apply to the rendering only or to the backend as well?
The German Chord Names setting affects both editing and viewing chords. If German Chord Names is on, you will need to enter the chords using the German names.
QuoteI would welcome another option "German chords, but Bb instead B".
This is on my wish list and I'll add a vote for you.
QuoteSome German songbooks distinguish between majuscule for major chords and minuscule for minor chords. I've noticed BandHelper does it with scale degrees. I wonder if it is difficult to offer an option "minuscule for minor chords"?
BandHelper only supports uppercase chord names. You will need to write an A minor chord, for example, as "Am", not "a".
QuoteI have a song (Les Champs-Élysées) in E major that contains (in English ;)) a G#/B# chord followed by C#m. When I switch on degree notation, the G# is displayed as III/V#. I perceive it to be the dominant of C#m, so I'd rather go for V|vi, but with a third as its root (V|vi/III).
I think all the Roman numerals should be relative to the key of the song, not relative to the following chords. I guess this would change if the song modulates to a different key, but BandHelper's Roman numeral option doesn't support multiple keys in the same song.
QuoteI cannot finish my first post without congratulating the maker of this piece of software for his achievements! Thank you so much, Arlo Leach, from across the pond! I hope you don't stop being inspired and interested in what you do!
Excellent, thank you!