convert-chord-chart

Convert Chord Chart to song2html

This skill teaches you how to convert a standard "chords-over-lyrics" text file into the song2html plain-text format.

Standard Chord Chart Input (typical formats)

Standard chord charts look like one of these:

Format A — Chords above lyrics (most common)

Amazing Grace
Key: G  Tempo: 72  Time: 3/4
Author: John Newton

[Verse 1]
G            C        G
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
G            C        G    D
That saved a wretch like me

[Chorus]
C        G        D        G
I once was lost, but now am found
G        C        G
Was blind, but now I see

Format B — Chords inline in brackets

Amazing Grace (G)

[Verse]
[G]Amazing [C]grace, how [G]sweet the sound
[G]That saved a [C]wretch like [G]me [D]

[Chorus]
[C]I once was [G]lost, but [D]now am [G]found

Format C — Nashville Number charts

Amazing Grace - Key of G

Verse: 1 4 1 5
Chorus: 4 1 5 1

V1: Amazing grace how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me
Ch: I once was lost but now am found / Was blind but now I see

Format D — Tab/chord sites (Ultimate Guitar, etc.)

[Intro] G

[Verse 1]
G            C    G
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
G            C        G  D
That saved a wretch like me

Step-by-step Conversion Process

Step 1: Extract the title and key

Look for the song title and musical key. The key may appear:

• In parentheses after the title: Song Name (G)
• On a "Key:" line
• In brackets: [Key: G]
• Implied by the first chord

Write the title line:

Amazing Grace [G]

Step 2: Extract metadata

Gather author, tempo, time signature from the header area. Write as 2-space indented lines:

  author: John Newton
  tempo: 72
  time: 3/4

Step 3: Extract chord progressions per section

For each section (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.), read the chord sequence in order of appearance. Deduplicate sections of the same type — Verse 1 and Verse 2 usually share the same chords.

From chords-over-lyrics like:

G            C        G
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
G            C        G    D
That saved a wretch like me

The chord progression is: G C G G C G D

But look for the repeating pattern. In a 3/4 song with 4 chords per line, this is likely: G C G D (one chord per measure). Use musical judgment — the progression for the section is usually 4–8 chords that cycle.

Write as 2-space indented definitions:

  verse: G C G D
  chorus: C G D G

Important rules:

• Section names are lowercase in chord definitions: verse, chorus, bridge
• Multiple verses share one chord definition (matched by first word)
• If chords repeat with a pattern, use repetition: (G C) x2 D G

Step 4: Write lyric sections with caret markers

This is the critical step. For each lyric section, place a ^ caret at the exact syllable where each chord change occurs.

Given chords-over-lyrics:

G            C        G         D
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

The chords align to specific syllables:

• G → "Amazing" (start of line)
• C → "grace" (the comma area)
• G → "sweet"
• D → "sound"

Convert to:

    ^Amazing ^grace, how ^sweet the ^sound

Caret placement rules:

• Each ^ consumes the next chord from the section's chord progression
• Place ^ directly before the syllable/word where the chord sounds
• The ^ replaces the chord name — don't include the chord name in the lyrics
• Count your carets — they should match the number of chords in the progression (or the chords will cycle)
• If a chord sounds on empty space (no lyric), you can write ^ (caret then space)

Write under the Sections: header with 2-space indented names and 4-space indented lyrics:

Sections:
  Verse 1:
    ^Amazing ^grace, how ^sweet the ^sound
    ^That saved a ^wretch like ^me

  Chorus:
    ^I once was ^lost, but ^now am ^found
    ^Was blind, but ^now I ^see

Step 5: Add arrangements (optional)

If the chart specifies a song structure (e.g., V1 → C → V2 → C → Bridge → C), add:

Arrangements:
  Full:
    Verse 1
    Chorus
    Verse 2
    Chorus
    Bridge
    Chorus

Complete Conversion Example

Input (standard chord chart):

How Great Thou Art
Key: Bb  Time: 4/4  Tempo: 76
Writer: Carl Boberg

[Verse 1]
Bb           Eb          Bb
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Bb           F           Bb
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

[Verse 2]
Bb           Eb          Bb
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Bb           F           Bb
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

[Chorus]
Eb           Bb          F          Bb
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
Eb           Bb          F          Bb
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Structure: V1, V2, Chorus, V1, V2, Chorus, Chorus

Output (song2html format):

How Great Thou Art [Bb]
  author: Carl Boberg
  tempo: 76
  time: 4/4

  verse: Bb Eb Bb Bb F Bb
  chorus: Eb Bb F Bb Eb Bb F Bb

Sections:
  Verse 1:
    ^O Lord my ^God, when I in ^awesome wonder
    ^Consider ^all the worlds Thy ^hands have made

  Verse 2:
    ^I see the ^stars, I hear the ^rolling thunder
    ^Thy power ^throughout the ^universe displayed

  Chorus:
    ^Then sings my ^soul, my Savior ^God to ^Thee
    ^How great Thou ^art, how great Thou ^art

Arrangements:
  Full:
    Verse 1
    Verse 2
    Chorus
    Verse 1
    Verse 2
    Chorus
    Chorus

Handling Tricky Cases

Chords that fall between words

If a chord sounds between two words, attach the caret to the word that follows:

Input:   Am        G    C
         She walks in beauty
Output:  ^She walks ^in ^beauty

Chords on the same word (quick changes)

If two chords happen rapidly on one word, split it or attach to the nearest syllable:

Input:   G  C
         Amazing
Output:  ^Ama^zing

Lines with no chords

If a lyric line has no chords above it, write it without any carets:

    This line has no chord changes

Instrumental sections

If a section has chords but no lyrics, you can either omit it or create empty caret lines:

  Intro:
    ^ ^ ^ ^

Nashville Number conversion

If the original uses Nashville numbers, keep them — song2html supports them natively:

  verse: 1 4 5 1
  chorus: 4 5 6m 1

Different chords per verse

If Verse 1 and Verse 2 genuinely have different chord progressions (rare), define separate chord sections:

  verse-1: G C D G
  verse-2: Am C D G

Then name your lyric sections to match: Verse-1 1: and Verse-2 1:.

Workflow

1. Read the input chord chart
2. Identify title, key, metadata
3. Identify all sections and their chord progressions
4. For each section, align carets to where chords fall on lyrics
5. Optionally define arrangements
6. Use song2html:validate_song to check for errors
7. Use song2html:write_song_file to save the result
8. Optionally use song2html:render_html to preview as HTML