ChordPro in action
BandBinder ships with a few sample songs so a fresh library isn't empty on day one. Their ChordPro source is copy-pasteable - use it as a starting point for your own charts, or just read it to see what each feature looks like once it's real.
Home on the Range
A full band chart: inline chords sit directly above the syllable they're played on, {start_of_verse} / {start_of_chorus} sections let the chorus repeat without retyping it, and slash chords like [G/F#] render cleanly inside the lyric line.
{title: Home on the Range}
{artist: Traditional}
{key: G}
{tempo: 76}
{time: 3/4}
{comment: Gentle waltz feel - let the descending bass line breathe, soften dynamics on the chorus}
{start_of_verse}
[G]Oh, give me a [G/F#]home where the [Em]buffalo [C]roam,
Where the [G]deer and the an[D]telope [D7]play,
Where [G]seldom is [G/F#]heard a dis[Em]couraging [C]word,
And the [G]skies are not [D]cloudy all [G]day.
{end_of_verse}
{start_of_chorus}
[G]Home, [C]home on the [G]range,
Where the [G]deer and the an[D]telope [D7]play;
Where [G]seldom is [G/F#]heard a dis[Em]couraging [C]word,
And the [G]skies are not [D]cloudy all [G]day.
{end_of_chorus}
{start_of_verse}
[G]How often at [G/F#]night when the [Em]heavens are [C]bright
With the [G]light from the [D]glittering [D7]stars,
Have I [G]stood there a[G/F#]mazed and [Em]asked as I [C]gazed
If their [G]glory ex[D]ceeds that of [G]ours.
{end_of_verse}
{start_of_chorus}
[G]Home, [C]home on the [G]range,
Where the [G]deer and the an[D]telope [D7]play;
Where [G]seldom is [G/F#]heard a dis[Em]couraging [C]word,
And the [G]skies are not [D]cloudy all [G]day.
{end_of_chorus}
{start_of_verse}
[G]Where the [G/F#]air is so [Em]pure and the [C]zephyrs so [G]free,
The [G]breezes so [D]balmy and [D7]light,
That I [G]would not ex[G/F#]change my [Em]home on the [C]range
For [G]all of the [D]cities so [G]bright.
{end_of_verse}
{start_of_chorus}
[G]Home, [C]home on the [G]range,
Where the [G]deer and the an[D]telope [D7]play;
Where [G]seldom is [G/F#]heard a dis[Em]couraging [C]word,
And the [G]skies are not [D]cloudy all [G]day.
{end_of_chorus}
Oh My Darling, Clementine
Not every chart needs chords or sections - a bare lyric sheet like this one imports and displays just as cleanly, ready for you to layer chords onto later.
{title: Oh My Darling, Clementine}
{artist: Traditional}
{key: C}
{tempo: 92}
In a cavern, in a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Dwelt a miner, forty-niner,
And his daughter, Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling Clementine,
You are lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine,
Herring boxes without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling Clementine,
You are lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
Drove she ducklings to the water,
Every morning just at nine,
Struck her foot against a splinter,
Fell into the foaming brine.
Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling Clementine,
You are lost and gone forever,
Dreadful sorry, Clementine.
ChordPro Tour
BandBinder's own built-in walkthrough chart. Every line is written to teach a feature: inline chords and transposition, chorus recall via section labels, a {start_of_tab} block (verbatim and transposition-safe), and a {capo} directive.
{title: ChordPro Tour}
{artist: BandBinder}
{key: G}
{tempo: 100}
{comment: Welcome to the ChordPro Tour. Every line in this chart is written to teach a ChordPro feature - play through it once, then keep it as your own quick reference.}
{start_of_verse}
This [C]line pairs a chord with the [G]word it sits above,
so the [C]chord and its syllable always line [G]up together.
Press [C]Shift and plus to transpose - every chord in the whole [G]chart moves at once,
while the words under[C]neath never have to be re[G]typed.
{end_of_verse}
{comment: Section labels like Verse and Chorus group lines and can repeat - the chorus below is marked once, then recalled again later, word for word.}
{start_of_chorus}
[G]Mark a section once, give it a [C]name,
[G]call it again and the [D]label does the [G]same.
{end_of_chorus}
{start_of_verse}
A short second verse sits here to prove sections can alternate,
carrying the tour forward one labeled block at a time.
{end_of_verse}
{start_of_chorus}
[G]Mark a section once, give it a [C]name,
[G]call it again and the [D]label does the [G]same.
{end_of_chorus}
{comment: The block below is a tab environment. Tab lines render in monospace exactly as typed and never change with transposition - proof: press Shift and plus and watch every chord above move while this riff holds still.}
{start_of_tab: Intro riff}
e|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|------------3-------------|
B|--------------------------|--------------------------|---3-5-----7b9---7-5-3----|--0-----------------------|
G|--------------------------|-------------2p0----------|--------------------------|----0---------------------|
D|--------------------------|--0h2-2---2-0-------------|--------------------------|------0-------------------|
A|------------------5-3-----|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------2-----------------|
E|3---3---3---5---3---------|--------------------------|--------------------------|3-------------------------|
{end_of_tab}
{comment: A capo directive tells the player where to clamp, and that the chords above are the shapes to finger with the capo on - at the written fret they read exactly as charted, sounding two semitones higher. Dial the capo with Ctrl and plus or minus, and every letter re-spells to the right shapes for that fret - at fret zero they become the true sounding chords.}
{capo: 2}
{comment: That's the tour. For the full directive and chord-syntax reference, see docs.bandbinder.app/chordpro/authoring.}