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Sections

Sections are at the heart of some of ChordMark most powerful features, like the automatic repetition of chords across sections of the same type. You can think of them as independent parts of a song such as Intro, Verse, Chorus, Solo...

Given the benefits they bring, it is highly recommended to systematically use section labels.

Declaring a section​

To create a new section, use the # character followed by a single word:

#intro
#verse
#bridge
#chorus
#verse
#chorus

Note that you should declare multiple sections of the same family with the exact same section label (eg #verse, #chorus...). ChordMark will automatically number them.

The section label should be a single word composed of only letters, uppercase or lowercase. If another character is present, such a space, then the line will be considered as a lyric line and no section will be declared.

Valid labels:
#custom
#mySection
 
Invalid labels:
#my section
#1custom
#custom 2

To end a section, just declare a new one, or end the file:

#verse
This is the verse 
 
#chorus
This is the chorus

Shorthand notation​

In order to speed up the writing process, ChordMark has a shorthand notation for the most commonly used sections names. Here is the list of all available shortcuts. It is highly encouraged to use them:

#a
#b
#c
#i
#o
#p
#s
#u
#v

Repeating chords​

Now comes the juicy bits. Once you specify the chords for a section, they are automatically repeated for the following sections declared with the exact same label. Even if the chord lines are not there anymore, the chord position markers can be defined exactly as if the chords were explicitly written above.

#v
Bm7.. E7.. A7
_The _first _verse
 
#c
D7 %
_The first _chorus
 
#v
_The se_cond _verse
 
#c
_The second _chorus
 
#c
_The _third chorus

If the chords differ a bit in a repeated section, just override them with a new chord line! Overrides are only applied to the currently repeated section:

#v
Bm7.. E7.. A7
The first verse
%
Has some chords
 
#v
The second verse
Bm7 E7+
Has slightly different chords
 
#v
And the third verse
Has the same chords as the first one

Repeating a whole section​

If a section is repeated with identical chords and lyrics, just write the label and leave the section body empty.

#c
The chorus
 
#s
(instrumental solo)
 
#c

By default, the first declared section with this label will be repeated. You can also target a specific one by appending its index to the label:

#c
The chorus A
 
#c
The chorus B
 
#c
The chorus C
 
#c2
 
#c3

Multiplying a section​

If a section should be played multiple times in a row, just multiply it:

#c x2
E7 D7
A chorus played twice in a row

If ChordMark renderer is called with the expandSectionMultiply: true parameter, the multiplied sections will be explicitly repeated.

#c x2
E7 D7
A chorus played twice in a row
 

This works for repeated sections too.