A setlist is not a folder. A folder is the catalog. A setlist is tonight: the order you will play, the room you are in, and the next song before anyone asks. If that distinction still feels fuzzy, start with folders vs setlists.
If you keep tapping through Favorites while the drummer counts, you do not have a set — you have a search problem. Lyrics Library lets you name a list, drop songs in order, and open the whole night in stage view.
Start with charts you trust
Build the list from songs that are already readable. Fix the lyric and chords before you worry about running order. A setlist cannot save a chart that still has the wrong words on the last line.
Use invented working titles if you are still writing — “porch light draft,” “service opener” — so you do not mix a sketch with a finished chart.
Name the night, not the genre
“Acoustic songs” is a folder. “Harbor Hall · 23 Aug” is a setlist. Put the venue or the rehearsal in the name so next month you can see what you actually played.
If you run the same coffee-shop hour every Friday, duplicate last week’s list and swap two tunes. You should not re-tap the entire order from scratch.
Download Lyrics Library free when you want the running order on the phone you take on stage.
Order for ears, not for alphabet
A usable order thinks about:
- Opener — something you can start without a long talk
- Key and tempo — two ballads in C back to back will sag
- Vocals — give the singer a rest after a high chorus
- Closer — the one people should leave humming
You do not need a theory lecture. Hum the last chord of song one and the first of song two. If the jump feels rude, swap them or add a short instrumental.
Worship planners often keep a familiar congregational song near the middle. See a worship-team lyrics library for Sabbath and Sunday.
Open the set, not the whole library
On the night, open the setlist in stage view. Large type, chords you can hide, screen awake, auto-scroll if you want it. Swipe to the next song. You should not return to search between tunes unless someone calls an audible.
If the room asks for one more, keep a short encore list or a “pocket” folder of two reliable charts. Do not dump the entire catalog into tonight’s list — that is how you start hunting again.
After the gig
Leave the list as-is. It is a record of what you played. Next rehearsal, clone it or start a new one. Folders stay the long-term library; setlists stay the night.
If you use more than one phone, sync the library so the same set is on the tablet on the stand. More detail is in the FAQ.