Title: Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter
Author: George Lewe
Published: December 25, 2018
Last modified: October 13, 2025
---
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# Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter
By [George Lewe](https://profiles.wordpress.org/glewe/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/chordpress.4.0.1.zip)
* [Details](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/#description)
* [Reviews](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/#installation)
* [Development](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/)
## Description
Lewe ChordPress pretty-prints ChordPro formatted text files on your pages and posts.
You can configure output and formatting options. With ‘interactive’ mode on, you
can transpose the chords up and down and also print the output right from the page.
Lewe ChordPress supports [SVGuitar](https://github.com/omnibrain/svguitar) for visual
chord representation.
Your input to Lewe ChordPress needs to be a valid ChordPro formatted text. ChordPro
is a simple text-based syntax used to write lead sheets, the lyrics and chords of
a song. ChordPro also comes with a command line tool that pretty prints that text
into other formats like PDF.
You can read all about ChordPro here: [ChordPro](https://www.chordpro.org/chordpro/ChordPro-File-Format-Specification.html)
The Lewe ChordPress plugin allows to put ChordPro text inside its shortcode tags
on a page or post and will pretty print it when the web page is displayed.
Simply insert a ChordPro text inbetween the [chordpress] and [/chordpress] tags
and it will be rendered based on the default options of the plugin. You can change
output and formatting settings on the plugin’s admin page.
A TinyMCE editor integration is also included, providing an editor menu button to
insert the shortcode for you with its default paramaters, e.g. wrapping it around
selected text.
The `[chordpress]` shortag allows specifying custom options for rendering ChordPro
texts. For example:
1. `[chordpress transpose="1"]` will transpose the chords rendered by one semitone.
2. `[chordpress interactive="yes"]` will allow you to transpose the chords up and
down and also print the output right from the rendered page.
Check out this example:
[Lewe ChordPress Demo](https://sayandsound.lewe.com/heart-of-gold/)
The `[chordpress-chord]` shortag allows you to display a guitar chord as a diagram.
For example:
1. `[chordpress-chord chord="112"]` will show the guitar chord post with ID 112 as
a diagram.
2. `[chordpress-chord barre="5,1,1" fingers="(3,2,'2'),(4,3,'4'),(5,3,'3')" title="
F# Major" tuning="E,A,D,G,H,E"]` will show a custom guitar chord.
Check out this example:
[Lewe ChordPress Guitar Chord Demo](https://sayandsound.lewe.com/guitar-chords/)
If not from the WordPress marketplace, get the plugin here:
[Lewe ChordPress Homepage](https://www.lewe.com/chordpress/)
### Features
* renders the lyrics/chord format of ChordPro
* configure output and formatting
* transpose up and down on the fly from the rendered page
* print the rendered output
* show chord diagrams
Lewe ChordPress supports the following ChordPro tags:
* `{album}`
* `{artist}`
* `{composer}`
* `{subtitle}`
* `{title}`
* `{year}`
* `{meta}` for all of the above
Lewe ChordPress supports custom CSS for the following ChordPro tags:
* `{comment}`
* `{start_of_chorus}`, `{end_of_chorus}`
* `{start_of_verse}`, `{end_of_verse}`
Lewe ChordPress supports note/chord translations
* Chord transponation
* [H/B Notation](https://sayandsound.lewe.com/note-h/)
### Usage
1. Enter a `[chordpress]` shortcode in your page or post editor
2. Paste your ChordPro text right after it
3. Enter the closing `[/chordpress]` shortcode
Optional shortcode parameters
* `float=` Forces the rendered text block to float left or right.
* `hbnotation=` [Input is H/B notation](https://sayandsound.lewe.com/note-h/) (
using H for B and Bb for B). Wether it is displayed as such is defined on the
Options page.
* `interactive=` Enables interactive mode. A listbox will be shown on the right
of the title that allows you to transpose the chords on the fly. Also, a print
button will be shown fopr printing out the rendered ChordPro text.
* `transpose=` Enter a positive or negative number for the amount of semitones
to transpose the chords
Use the “Lewe ChordPress” admin menu of your backend to change the default settings.
### Documentation
[Lewe ChordPress User Manual](https://lewe.gitbook.io/lewe-chordpress/)
### Support
Choose your preferred support channel:
1. [WordPress Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/)
2. [Lewe Service Desk](https://georgelewe.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5)
4. [Lewe ChordPress User Manual](https://lewe.gitbook.io/lewe-chordpress/)
### Credits
* The [ChordPro](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rlisle/) team of course
* [@rlisle](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rlisle/) for his work on the ChordsAndLyrics
plugin that he created in 2009
* Ahkâm for the beautiful [Lewe ChordPress Plugin Icon](https://www.freeiconspng.com/img/17579)
* The developers of the [SVGuitar](https://github.com/omnibrain/svguitar) chord
rendering module
## Screenshots
* [[
* Lewe ChordPress Output Options
* [[
* Chord Diagram Options
* [[
* Shortcut with ChordPro text in editor
* [[
* Rendered text on webpage
* [[
* Optional chord sheet for each song
## Installation
#### Backend Installation
1. Go to Plugin page
2. Click Add New
3. Enter “chordpress” in search field
4. Install and Activate
#### Manual Installation
1. Download the plugin ZIP file from [here](https://wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/)
2. Unpack the ZIP file locally
3. Upload the ‘chordpress’ folder to your ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
4. Activate the plugin on the ‘Plugins’ page of your WordPress backend
## FAQ
### Why are empty ChordPro lines not rendered ?
Empty lines are stripped from shortcode content and are not passed to the plugin.
A good way to work around that is to use the {start_of_verse}/{start_of_chorus}
tags and give them a top/bottom margin on the options page.
### What is the H/B notation ?
The H/B notation uses H instead of B and B is used insetad of Bb. This notation
is used in some European countries. Read more about it here: [H/BN Notation](https://sayandsound.lewe.com/note-h/).
## Reviews
### [Awesome Plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/awesome-plugin-7378/)
[jehnsus](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jehnsus/) June 3, 2025
Awesome plugin and works well for adding melody notes and harmonica tabs as well
### [good but i have a question](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/good-but-i-have-a-question/)
[rajasarma9089](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rajasarma9089/) January 25, 2025
This plugin is
good, but I have a question for the creator about how to show the Chord Sheet, for
example, “These known chords are used in this song.” This is showcasing this heart-
of-gold , demo bottom showcasing chords . However, I can’t find anywhere how to
showcase all the chords on our website. Please tell me how we can show the chords like the website mentioned. Thank you, sir. I am waiting for your reply.
### [Best free chord plugin ever](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/best-free-chord-plugin-ever/)
[leelys](https://profiles.wordpress.org/leelys/) July 29, 2024
Thank you for your usefull plugin! I hope you can update the tooltips feature when
hovering over each chord, it can show the chord sheet faster than having to scroll
down the article to look up the chord sheet.
### [Thanks, grat plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/thanks-grat-plugin/)
[girolamorosselli](https://profiles.wordpress.org/girolamorosselli/) November 7,
2023
Thanks, grat plugin
### [Great plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-plugin-33411/)
[oncemenito](https://profiles.wordpress.org/oncemenito/) February 12, 2022
Great free plugin for chords.
### [Great plugin, works well.](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/great-plugin-works-well-35/)
[cypruscf](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cypruscf/) November 5, 2020
Good job with this plugin! Keep up the good work.
[ Read all 11 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/)
## Contributors & Developers
“Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter” is open source software. The following
people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ George Lewe ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/glewe/)
* [ rlisle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rlisle/)
[Translate “Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/chordpress)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/chordpress/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/chordpress/), or subscribe
to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/chordpress/) by
[RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/chordpress/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 4.0.0
* 2025-10-12
* HTML tag rendering fix
#### 4.0.0
* 2025-10-12
* Transpose will also update the Chordsheet diagrams
* Added sharp major, sharp major 7, sharp minor and sharp minor 7 chords
* Fixed chord post update bug
* Security fixes
* Code maintenance
#### 3.9.9
* 2025-07-14
* Print button fix
#### 3.9.8
* 2025-07-09
* Missing closing div fix
#### 3.9.7
* 2025-06-15
* Syntax fix for older PHP versions
#### 3.9.6
* 2025-06-10
* Interactive font size is now overwriting other custom style font sizes
#### 3.9.5
* 2025-06-10
* Interactive font size is now overwriting custom line style font size
#### 3.9.4
* 2025-06-07
* Improved font size changer function (now covering h tags as well)
#### 3.9.3
* 2025-06-06
* Improved interaction menu (but do not use fixed position when more than one song
on a page)
#### 3.9.2
* 2025-06-02
* Print button prints song only incl. custom styles
#### 3.9.1
* 2025-05-23
* Width adjustment to the harmonica select box
#### 3.9.0
* 2025-05-22
* Added option to transpose chromatic harmonica notes
#### 3.8.1
* 2025-02-19
* Added option to hide font size form element in interactive mode
#### 3.8.0
* 2025-01-24
* Support for harmonica notation
#### 3.7.1
* 2024-12-08
* Language file update
#### 3.7.0
* 2024-12-08
* Added ‘Hide Album’ and ‘Hide Key’ switches
* Fixed chordrpo.org links
#### 3.6.4
* 2024-12-06
* Adjusted display of the font, transpose and print form objects
#### 3.6.3
* 2024-12-04
* Added the transposed key in the numeric transpose form box
#### 3.6.2
* 2024-04-17
* Added ‘1’ – ‘9’ as allowed chord prefix
#### 3.6.1
* 2024-04-09
* WordPress 6.5 compatibility
* Added ‘-‘ as allowed chord prefix
#### 3.6.0
* 2023-11-15
* Added alternative transpose input (numeric plus/minus)
* Added interactive font size change (percentage plus/minus)
* Fixed Print button
#### 3.5.2
* 2023-09-21
* Fixed unclosed div bug
#### 3.5.1
* 2023-09-17
* Ghost barres bugfix in chord sheet
#### 3.5.0
* 2023-09-16
* Added support for monospace sections
* Added support for Italian key names
* Made output options available as shortcode params as well
#### 3.4.1
* 2023-08-22
* Fixed randomly missing chords in cord sheet
#### 3.4.0
* 2023-03-09
* Allow “yes”, “1” and “true” for shortcode parameters
* Updated delete function (option to delete settings and chord posts)
#### 3.3.3
* 2023-03-04
* Corrected some chord shortnames
* Allow multiple interactive songs on one page
#### 3.3.2
* 2023-02-26
* Async GuitarChord draw
#### 3.3.1
* 2023-01-16
* Support for more special characters iun chords: ~, |, /, .
#### 3.3.0
* 2022-12-22
* Added a set of 84 common guitar chords
#### 3.2.1
* 2022-10-15
* Updated documentation and support link
#### 3.2.0
* 2022-10-11
* Added VI7 and vi7 to the bluegrass chords
* Changed display name of plugin to ‘Lewe ChordPress’
#### 3.1.2
* 2022-07-10
* Added custom line CSS
#### 3.1.1
* 2022-07-05
* Rendering bugfix
#### 3.1.0
* 2022-07-05
* When ‘Key’ is given, transpose shows new key
#### 3.0.4
* 2022-06-12
* WordPress 6.0 compatibility check
#### 3.0.3
* 2022-01-26
* WordPress 5.9 compatibility check
#### 3.0.2 (2021-11-03)
* Transpose and print can now be hidden in interactive mode
#### 3.0.1 (2021-10-17)
* Fixed a bug for chord formatting in the rendered song
* Added ‘No chords’ in the transpose listbox
#### 3.0.0 (2021-10-08)
* Removal of the Vexchjord module
* Removal of the jTab module
* Introduction of the SVGuitar module
* Minor bugfixes
* Options page overhaul
#### 2.5.4 (2021-09-13)
* jTab formatting fix
* Plugin Info tab in admin backend
#### 2.5.3 (2021-09-10)
* Minor bug fixes
* Notification about rtetiring the Vexchords module
#### 2.5.2 (2021-08-31)
* Added support for nested shortcodes
* Added missing term langage support
#### 2.5.1 (2021-08-08)
* Added missing class file
#### 2.5.0 (2021-08-05)
* jTab support
#### 2.4.2 (2021-08-05)
* Number of strings bugfix
#### 2.4.1 (2021-07-19)
* WordPress 5.8 compatibility
#### 2.4.0 (2021-01-06)
* Added Bluegrass and Nashville chord notation
#### 2.3.1 (2020-11-07)
* Fixed barre bug in chord sheet
#### 2.3.0 (2020-08-10)
* Any CSS now for chords and lyrics
#### 2.2.0 (2020-06-06)
* Directive support for capo, key, time, tempo
* Chord sheet on top option
#### 2.1.0 (2020-02-23)
* Vexchords support
* Chord diagrams
#### 2.0.0 (2020-01-26)
* Completely rewritten plugin framework
* Adeded option to remove plugin data from database when it is deleted
* Added language translation support
* Character ‘~’ can now be used in chord brackets as chord placeholder or strumming
indicator
* Fixed TinyMCE ChordPress menu shortcut bug
#### 1.5.0
* Reworked the options page and fixed the tab save bug
#### 1.4.0
* Added print feature for interactive mode
#### 1.3.0
* Added interactive mode
#### 1.2.0
* Fixed duplicate plugin entry bug
* Reworked the plugins settings page
* Added TinyMCE integration
#### 1.0.5
* Updated documentation and support links
* Compatibility: WordPress 5.3.2
#### 1.0.4
* Fixed: Bass notes were not rendered correctly, e.g. A/C#
* Compatibility: WordPress 5.1
#### 1.0.3
* Readme update
#### 1.0.2
* Added screenshots, icons and banners
#### 1.0.1
* Fixed hard coded image path
#### 1.0.0
* Initital development for http://sayandsound.lewe.com
## Meta
* Version **4.0.1**
* Last updated **6 months ago**
* Active installations **200+**
* WordPress version ** 5.0 or higher **
* Tested up to **6.8.5**
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/)
* Tags
* [chord](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/chord/)[chordpro](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/chordpro/)
[chords](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/chords/)[lyrics](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/lyrics/)
[music](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/music/)
* [Advanced View](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/chordpress/advanced/)
## Ratings
4.5 out of 5 stars.
* [ 9 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/?filter=5)
* [ 1 4-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/?filter=4)
* [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/?filter=3)
* [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/?filter=2)
* [ 1 1-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/?filter=1)
[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ George Lewe ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/glewe/)
* [ rlisle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rlisle/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/chordpress/)
## Donate
Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?
[ Donate to this plugin ](https://www.paypal.me/GeorgeLewe)