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Colors and scroll speed

Two tools to guide the reading: a tint that shows who sings what, and a marker that slows down or speeds up auto-scroll at a given passage. You add them to the song just like verses and choruses.

1. One tint per voice

   Three numbered tints come on top of the normal text color: blue, pink and green, picked to stay clearly apart in light and dark mode alike, even for color-blind readers. You decide what they mean: her part and his, the groups of a round, spoken text… Lyrics and notes take the tint; chords always keep their own color.

2. Color whole lines

   Select the lines, click the “Color” icon in the “Structure” group, then pick a tint. The lines get framed by two markers, each on its own line: {x_start_of_color: 1} at the start, {x_end_of_color} at the end. A tinted block can sit inside a chorus, or contain one.

   Example: three groups in a round

   {x_start_of_color: 1}
   The [G]itsy bitsy spider climbed [D]up the water [G]spout
   {x_end_of_color}
   {x_start_of_color: 2}
   [G]Down came the rain and [D]washed the spider [G]out
   {x_end_of_color}
   [G]Out came the sun and {x_start_of_color: 3}[C]dried up all the [G]rain{x_end_of_color}

3. Color a few words

   Select just a few words within a line: the two markers go around them, inside the line, and only those words change color — handy for a “(spoken)” or one person’s line. With nothing selected, the icon inserts the pair of markers at the cursor. Here is the result on the page:

   

4. Slow down or speed up a passage

   Put the cursor at the start of the passage and click the “Scroll speed” icon in the “Rhythm” group. Type a percentage from 10 to 300: {x_scroll_speed: 80} scrolls at 80% of each reader’s chosen speed, from this line until the next marker; {x_scroll_speed: 100} goes back to normal. A song can have several.

   Example: slow down the ending, then resume

   {x_scroll_speed: 80}
   And the [G]itsy bitsy spider climbed [D]up the spout a[G]gain
   {x_scroll_speed: 100}

5. What the reader sees

   The marker isn’t shown on the page; only the editor preview shows it (⏱ 80%). During auto-scroll, the speed changes when the marker reaches the top third of the screen, where people read, and “× 80%” appears next to the speed. Everyone keeps their own base speed: the marker multiplies it. It works in a campfire too.

Compatible: the x_ prefix marks these markers as specific to this site; other ChordPro software simply ignores them. The editor flags a color opened but never closed, or an end without a start.

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