iOS Help

Band Central for iOS requires iOS 16 or later. That covers iPhone 8 and newer, iPad (5th generation) and newer, iPad mini 5 and newer, iPad Air 3 and newer, and all iPad Pro models. If your device runs an older iOS version, you can still use the Band Central website at www.bandcentral.com in Safari.

When you open Band Central for the first time, you'll see the login screen with three options: Sign in with Google, Sign in with Apple, or Sign in with Email. If you don't already have an account, one will be created automatically when you sign in. Your email address is what identifies your account — if your email is banduser@gmail.com, signing in with Google, Apple, or Email using that address will all connect to the same account. Once signed in, you can create or join a band to start adding songs and setlists.

If you sign in with Email, tap "Forgot Password" on the email sign-in screen to receive a password reset email. If you use Sign in with Google or Sign in with Apple, your password is managed by those services instead.

Bands are shared workspaces where members collaborate on songs and setlists. The band owner creates the band and adds members from the band settings. All band members see the same songs and setlists, and changes sync automatically.

Only the band owner can add or remove members. Go to the Bands page, tap the info button to the right of the band, and choose Edit. At the bottom of the band page there is a section to add and remove band members. The member must already have a Band Central account — once they create their account, the owner can search for them and add them to the band.

Only the band owner needs to subscribe. When the owner subscribes, all members of that band get the full subscription features. The owner's subscription covers everyone in the band.

Each band has its own subscription level based on what the band owner has purchased. You may be a member of a band with a paid subscription and also own a separate band on the free tier. You'll see an indicator on each band showing its subscription level.

The free tier allows 1 band with up to 25 songs and 5 setlists. Upgrading to a paid subscription removes these limits and unlocks additional bands and members depending on the plan.

Tap the "+" button on the Songs tab. Enter the song title, artist, and any other details. You can also add lyrics, set the tempo, time signature, and attach audio files.

Tap on any song to open it, then tap the edit icon (pencil) to modify the song details, lyrics, tempo, or other fields.

Use the search bar at the top of the Songs tab to search by title or artist. You can also filter songs by tags.

Yes! You can import songs from text files, ChordPro files, or from your previous Setlist Helper data. See the Import & Export section for details.

Tap the info button next to a song and choose Lyrics. This will show all the lyrics the song contains. To edit a lyric, tap the info button next to it. A song can have multiple lyrics — for example, plain lyrics for a vocalist, lyrics with chords above them for a guitar player, or a PDF chart for horn players.

If a song has multiple lyrics, you can set one as your default. The default lyric setting is tied to your profile, so each band member can choose the lyric that works best for them. If no default is set, the app will display the first lyric it finds.

Different band members often need different views of the same song. A vocalist might want plain lyrics, a guitar player might want lyrics with chords (ChordPro), a keyboard player might want a chord chart, and horn players might need a PDF sheet music chart. With multiple lyrics per song, each member can set their preferred version as their default and see exactly what they need during a performance — all without duplicating the song.

ChordPro is a standard format for writing lyrics with chord notations. Chords are placed in square brackets above the lyrics, like [G]Amazing [D]grace. Band Central renders ChordPro with chords highlighted and properly positioned above the lyrics. For more details on ChordPro format, visit chordpro.org.

When viewing a song with ChordPro lyrics, tap the transpose button (up/down arrows) to shift all chords up or down by semitones. The transposition is saved per song.

In the lyrics viewer, tap the auto-scroll button to start scrolling through the lyrics automatically. You can adjust the scroll speed using the speed controls. This is great for hands-free performance.

Yes! Use the pinch-to-zoom gesture on the lyrics view to adjust the text size, or use the zoom controls in the toolbar. Your preferred zoom level is remembered.

Go to the Setlists tab and tap the "+" button. Give your setlist a name, then add songs from your band's song library. You can add the same song to multiple setlists.

In the setlist editor, press and hold on a song, then drag it to the desired position. Your changes are saved automatically.

Band Central calculates the total setlist duration based on each song's duration. This helps you plan your sets to fit time slots. Set each song's duration in the song editor.

Setlists are automatically shared with all members of your band. Everyone sees the same setlists and any changes sync in real time.

Open any song and tap the metronome icon. The metronome uses the tempo (BPM) and time signature set for that song. Tap the play button to start the click track.

Edit the song and set the BPM (beats per minute) in the tempo field. You can also use the tap tempo feature — tap the "Tap" button rhythmically and the app will calculate the BPM for you.

Yes. In the song editor, set the time signature (e.g., 4/4, 3/4, 6/8). The metronome will accent the first beat of each measure accordingly.

Edit the song and tap "Add Audio." You can select an audio file from your device or from Dropbox. Supported formats include MP3, M4A, and WAV.

Open a song that has audio attached and tap the play button. You can control playback with play/pause, and seek through the track using the progress slider.

Band Central on iOS supports AirTurn Bluetooth pedals (such as the AirTurn PED, DUO, and QUAD). These pedals connect via Bluetooth and allow hands-free page turning and control.

First, pair your AirTurn pedal with your iOS device in Settings > Bluetooth. Then open Band Central and go to Settings > Bluetooth Pedal. Select your pedal and configure the button actions (e.g., next page, previous page, scroll).

You can assign actions such as: scroll up, scroll down, next song, previous song, toggle auto-scroll, and toggle metronome. Configure these in Settings > Bluetooth Pedal.

Go to the Tags section and tap "+" to create a new tag. Give it a name (e.g., "Rock," "Acoustic," "Favorites"). Tags help you organize and filter your songs.

Edit a song and scroll to the Tags section. Tap to select one or more tags to assign to that song. You can also manage tags from the song list.

On the Songs tab, tap the filter icon and select one or more tags. Only songs with those tags will be shown. This is useful for quickly finding songs by genre, mood, or any category you define.

No. Band Central caches your songs, lyrics, and setlists locally on the device — once you've signed in and opened them at least once, they're available without wifi or cell service. Performing on stage doesn't require a network connection. Wifi (or cell) is only needed when you're syncing changes between band members or pulling down something brand-new the device hasn't seen yet, and that runs automatically in the background — there's no Sync button to press. For venues with truly flaky wifi, there's also a Cache Mode toggle in Settings that pins everything offline so the app won't even try to reach the network during the show.

Band Central automatically syncs your songs, setlists, and settings to the cloud whenever you have an internet connection. All band members see changes in real time.

Yes — Band Central is designed for offline use. While you're offline (for example, at a venue with no signal), you can keep editing songs, lyrics, setlists, font sizes, and scroll speeds as normal. Every change is saved to a local cache on your device.

When your device regains an internet connection:
• If Band Central is open or has been recently open, queued changes start syncing within a few seconds, automatically. There is no "Sync" button to press.
• If Band Central was closed while you were offline, your changes are still safely stored locally and will sync the next time you open the app.

In practice: at the end of an offline session, open Band Central once when you're back on wifi or cellular data and give it a moment. That's all that's needed. Don't uninstall the app while changes are pending — that would discard the local cache.

Band Central uses a last-write-wins approach for sync conflicts. If two people edit the same song simultaneously, the most recent change is kept. We recommend coordinating edits with your band members to avoid conflicts.

If you're migrating from the Setlist Helper app, see our detailed Migration Guide for step-by-step instructions on importing your data.

You can import plain text (.txt) files and ChordPro (.cho, .chopro, .chordpro) files as song lyrics. You can also import audio files in MP3, M4A, and WAV formats.

Go to your band and tap the Import button. You can import lyrics and documents from Dropbox. Place your files in a Dropbox folder and connect your Dropbox account when prompted.

Yes. You can export individual songs or your entire song library. Exports include song details, lyrics, and metadata in a portable format.

Go to Settings to customize the app appearance. You can adjust display options including text size and other settings.

We have a dedicated migration guide that walks you through the entire process step by step. Visit the Setlist Helper to Band Central Migration Guide for complete instructions.

Try closing and reopening the app. Make sure you're running the latest version from the App Store. If the issue persists, try signing out and signing back in to refresh your data.

Check your internet connection. Band Central requires an active connection to sync changes. If you're connected but still having issues, try force-closing the app and reopening it.

Visit our contact page to submit a support request. Please include your device model and iOS version to help us troubleshoot.