BandHelper

After carrying around binders of music for years in our 5 piece band, I decided last year to try a digital approach. My band mates were afraid at first and two of them continued to use binders. After a few months of seeing how easy and convenient my setup was (and realize how nice it is to have back lit music in a dark bar) they made the switch and we have not looked back. I am continually learning how to do new things with this app that push me further into automation (which, as a control freak guitarist scares me, but also allows me to focus on performing and less on nonsense). I should have made the switch years ago and I very much so appreciate this app. There is a yearly subscription fee to use the app, but once you realize you can bring a guitar and all the music you have ever learned in one guitar bag, you won’t mind. Plus, the developer is making constant improvements so I think of it more as an investment than a fee. Don’t listen to the negative comments. There is a little learning curve, as with anything, but invest the time off stage so that you can focus on the music on stage.

I love this app because of three important benefits: 1) Split screen option which allows you to see the set list on one side along with the chord sheet on the other. 2) Custom fields. Because I use up to four different presets on a song, I needed an app that can store the bank and preset number for each preset used for each song. BandHelper allows you to create a seemingly unlimited number of custom fields for each song - no more need to rely on an excel spreadsheet that shows the presets needed for each song. 3) Very flexible display options: pick what fields you want shown on the main display for a song chart as well as on the set list. When you create a custom field, it automatically creates two additional versions of the field corresponding to the next song in the set list and the one after that. So on the display for a particular song, it can show the bank and preset for the next song coming up, the title of the the next song, the key, etc. — very cool! I used it on a gig for the first time last week, with a Donner tablet page turner footpedal, and the combination worked flawlessly.

I absolutely love this app. Great functionality and purpose. Easy to create set lists on the web with easier typing and stuff, then sync it to the app. Make one list— every band member gets it. I like the fact you can customize your particular info that pops up for the set list and doesn’t affect the others. I can display my drum charts with my set list in split screen while the other guys can display chord charts and things they need. Works really well on my iPad Pro. Big writing and buttons. I also have it connected via Bluetooth to my iRig page turner to advance to the next song and turn my metronome on/off. I have the Pro version of this app for schedules, stage plots, contacts, and financials. It really comes in handy, especially the “contacts” feature. You can save venue info for later use. You can use the app with MULTIPLE accounts (handy for hired gun musicians), make several different “repertoires,” set lists, etc. I LOVE THIS APP!!!!

I recently switched from Setlist Maker to Bandhelper. If you are familiar with SLM, than the transition is very easy. I really like the option of creating new set lists and editing in the Bandhelper website on my computer. Arlo really is a brilliant developer and offers top notch support. The website makes quick work of adding new songs to the repertoire. I prefer working on my Mac and syncing the iPad afterwards. I have been playing in cover bands for over 30 years and this app really has changed how we are able to manage our set lists. I was always the guy in the band that had the computer and printer to print all the set lists. I could never go back to paper now. No more typing set lists for me. Of course I have two guys in the band who still like paper. No problem, I just email them directly out of Bandhelper and they print the set list out themselves. No more wasting all my toner and paper! We use 3 iPads on stage and we use device linking over WiFi. I love being able to look down at my IPad during a gig and knowing right away what song is next, because my iPad is following the position of my singers iPad. You just can’t do that with paper! My singer and I also have an acoustic duo. With Bandhelper, I was able to totally separate our “Duo” lyrics from our “Band” lyrics. I think this is another great feature so we don’t clutter our band’s repertoire.

Our favorite feature is the MIDI setup and control during live sets or during practice. We use keyboards extensively (both controllers and rack mounted modules). This app enables us to switch midi settings to all devices with just a click on the song title on the set list. We use an iConnect MIDI 4 to interface to our various mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, and a Galaxy S8), and band helper works with all of them. We also have an old MIDI interface in the rack as well as a late 80’s tone generator with a quirky MIDI command set. Together, these require that the MIDI commands be sent in a particular sequence with some delays in between (since some of the equipment is old), and band helper is flexible enough to meet our needs. We’ve been using Band Helper for a little more than a year. During that time we ran into two technical questions. Tech support responded promptly each time and resolved our issues.