# How Songstead works

Songstead keeps your songs and set lists in one library that you can play from on a phone, a tablet or a computer. A change you make on one device shows up on the others on its own, so you never copy anything between them.

If you don't have an account yet, see [Create an account](https://songstead.app/docs/create-account.md). You can also try the demo first, with a sample band's songs already in it.

## Songs and charts

A **song** is one piece of music in your library. It has a title and the details you'd want while playing it: the artist, tempo, time signature, how long it lasts, and any notes. See [Songs](https://songstead.app/docs/songs.md).

Each song holds one or more **charts**. A chart is the thing you actually read from while you play. Most songs have one chart, but you can keep several on the same song, like a full chart and a lyrics-only sheet. See [Charts](https://songstead.app/docs/charts.md).

A chart is either text or a file:

- A **text chart** is chords and lyrics you typed or pasted in. Songstead understands it, so it can change the key, show the chords as Nashville numbers, make the text bigger, and reflow it to fit your screen. See [ChordPro and chords over lyrics](https://songstead.app/docs/chart-formats.md).
- A **file chart** is a PDF or a photo of a chart. Songstead shows it exactly as it is. See [Files and storage](https://songstead.app/docs/files.md).

## Sets

A **set** is a list of songs in order, for a gig, a church service, a rehearsal or a lesson. Each song in a set can be in its own key and use its own chart, without changing the song anywhere else. You can play a whole set from start to finish in [Live Mode](https://songstead.app/docs/live-mode.md). See [Sets](https://songstead.app/docs/sets.md).

## Groups

Every song and set belongs to exactly one **group**.

- Your **Personal** group is made for you when you sign up. Only you can see what's in it.
- A shared group is for a band, a worship team or a class. Everyone in it sees the same songs and sets, and a change one person makes shows up for everyone.

Even on a shared song, a few things stay yours alone: the key and capo you play it with, your personal tags, and your personal annotations. See [Groups and roles](https://songstead.app/docs/groups.md).

## Finding your way around

The menu down the left side of the screen takes you to each part of Songstead. On a phone, select the menu button in the top-left corner to open it.

![Songstead on a computer, showing the Songs page. The menu on the left lists Songs, Sets and Groups at the top, then Account, Library, Appearance and Settings. The Songs page lists songs such as Analog Heart and Antenna by Broken Remote, each with its group and tags under the title and its key, tempo and time signature on the right. A search box and a New Song button are at the top, with Group, Key, Tags, Time and Tempo filters below them.](https://songstead.app/docs/overview/songs.webp "desktop")

| Section | What's there |
| --- | --- |
| **Songs** | Every song you can see, with search, filters and sorting. |
| **Sets** | Your sets, split into upcoming, past and undated. |
| **Groups** | The groups you belong to, and any invites waiting for you. |
| **Account** | Your name, password and connected apps. |
| **Library** | Importing, exporting, tags and how much storage you've used. |
| **Appearance** | The theme, how chords are written, and how charts and PDFs look. |
| **Settings** | Transpose mode, keeping the screen awake, and how Live Mode scrolls. |

Your plan is listed at the bottom of the menu. See [Plans and limits](https://songstead.app/docs/plans.md).

## Devices

Songstead runs in a web browser at [my.songstead.app](https://my.songstead.app), and as an app for iPhone, iPad and Android. You sign in with the same email address everywhere and see the same library. See [iPhone, iPad and Android](https://songstead.app/docs/apps.md).

> [!NOTE]
> Songstead needs an internet connection to load and save your library.