Music software, chord diagrams

[Grommet]

Can anyone suggest a good program for producing mandolin chord diagrams above song lyrics and melody lines? I use TabLedit alot, but haven't really used the chord diagram function. I am currently using a free site called Go Chords that allows you to past in or write lyrics and drag chord diagrams over the words. You can use their chord library or you can build your own diagrams. This is a fun site. It is basically uke oriented, but recently added mandolin chords. On the down side it is simplistic. No way to edit chords entered. No way to add a chord except at the end of the list. No melody line. No way to save your library other than printing it out. I'm entering swing mando chords but for the amount of effort Id like to consider other software options. I would consider purchasing software, but not really expensive types. Thanks,

Scott

[veniatregnum]

I'm a big fan of LilyPond for engraving sheet music. There are a number of editors you can use so that you don't have to script out the .ly file from scratch as well. I've been using Frescobaldi recently.

It also has the option to define and build your own instrument's chord diagrams to insert above melody lines. Seems like there are pretty endless options with LilyPond; it just may take a bit of work to understand how to use the program as it's not exactly intuitive.

It may also be worth keeping an eye on MuseScore; check out some of their nightly builds for the most advanced (albeit buggy/beta versions) features. Not sure if it's offering customizable chord diagrams as of yet, but you can always request the feature to the developers - they're hard at work constantly adding new instruments and features.

[veniatregnum]

After a little more searching, it looks as though LilyPond already has a settings file for mandolin fretboard chord readouts.

Here's the link:
http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.14/Docume...-fret-diagrams

You could easily edit the file to create whatever chord fingerings you'd prefer to display.

[Grommet]

Very full featured! Thanks for the link.

Scott