Markdown chord sheet template: lyrics with inline chords

One song in a text file

A Markdown chord sheet can hold the words of one original song with chord names tucked into the lyric lines. At the top, a title precedes a sentence reserving space for the key and tempo. Verse and refrain headings divide the song fragment beneath them.

Here, a chord change belongs inside the lyric line, immediately before its chosen syllable. The words remain a complete line from beginning to end. There is no separate chord line to position above the words.

The file consists of text you type and keep with a .md ending. The introduction to Markdown files describes that file format.

Song fragment to copy

Fictional songwriter Jane Doe writes this short original fragment about Vellune Hollow, an invented place. These lyric lines were made up expressly for this post. The title, key and tempo stay as placeholders, while her invented lyric lines show where bracketed chord placeholders sit.

# [Song title]

Jane Doe's song has key [key] and tempo [tempo].

## Verse 1

[C]I carry the [G7]pail through Vellune Hollow.
[C]The path bends [G7]under a copper moon.

## Refrain

[C]Leave a little [G7]light beside the water.
[C]I will bring the [G7]empty pail home soon.

## Verse 2

[C]The gate leans [G7]over the sleeping clover.
[C]My coat holds [G7]petals from the afternoon.

Repeat Refrain after Verse 2.

The text fence encloses the example so its hash characters and square brackets remain visible. The fence conventions are described in Markdown code blocks.

Jane Doe's lyric and chord choices

Jane Doe leaves two complete lyric lines beneath each song heading. The pail and path belong to Verse 1; the gate and coat belong to Verse 2. The refrain returns to the water and the pail. These details keep the fragment about the same invented place.

The bracketed C and G7 are chord placeholders for this example. Replace them with the chord names you intend for your own song. Move each bracketed chord to immediately before the intended syllable, keeping the lyric words on that same line.

For instance, the opening line puts [C] before I and [G7] before pail. If a change belongs within a word, put its brackets directly before that syllable within the word. A bracketed chord takes its position from the surrounding letters rather than from extra spaces.

Repeating the refrain once

The refrain's two lyric lines appear in full beneath Refrain. After the second verse, the short sentence calls for that same refrain again. It names the heading instead of writing another copy of its words.

Keep that repeat sentence separate from the verse lyrics with a blank line. When the later refrain needs different words or chord changes, write those lines in full beneath a distinct refrain heading instead. The brief repeat sentence suits an unchanged return.

Naming this song file

For Jane Doe's fragment, vellune-hollow-chord-sheet.md ties the filename to the invented setting. Replace that setting with words from your own song title when making another file. The title inside the file can keep its ordinary spaces.

Filename choices get a separate discussion in Markdown file naming. Keep the title, key-and-tempo sentence, lyric lines and repeat sentence together in that song's file.

Where Sashmark fits

Sashmark's desktop plans pair reading Markdown with editing it. Currently in development, Sashmark is for people keeping Markdown their agents wrote.