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MP3 Transposer, PDF Setlist Builder, and Songbook/Worship-Flow Sharing, Now Live!

Version 3.9.4 of WorshipPlanning.com is now live, and we can’t lie to you -it was really fun to develop.  But we think you’ll have even more fun using it.  Let’s dive right in:

MP3 TransposerMP3 Transpose
This feature has been requested by several churches, and it won’t take you long to figure out why.  With the MP3 transposer, you can change the key of an MP3 so that your musicians can hear the song in the key they will be performing it, while maintaining the original tempo of the song.  To try this out, Planners can log in to their account, browser to Library >> Files tab, and click the transpose icon next to the MP3 they want to transpose.  The steps are easy, though it could take a minute or two for the new file to be generated.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll integrate it with other parts of the website.  Feel free to give us your suggestions via the Feedback page on the site!

Adobe PDFPDF Setlist Builder
Also know as “PDF Concatenator”, “PDF Combiner”, and the more ambitious “Virtual Music Stand”, this feature allows you to build a single PDF from the PDFs and lyrics of songs scheduled to be performed at a service.  You can select which details to include, and what the order should be.  And in a few seconds, a PDF is ready for you to download or email to yourself.  Why would you want this?  Well, our main goal was to develop a “budget-minded” electronic music stand that would work with your iPad (and other future tablets).  The iBooks app on the iPad lets you flip through PDF files using finger swipes much like how you would with real pieces of paper.  So imagine setting your tablet on your music stand and using it instead of sheet music.  With this PDF combining tool, you can do that.  There is even a USB foot petal device on the market that will let you turn the pages with no hands (http://bit.ly/cqpJGC).

The current version of the iPad OS requires a couple of steps for iBooks to read and store the PDF (we provide instructions each time you use the PDF builder).  But the next version of iOS for the iPad will make it very simple.

Songbook/Worship-Flow Sharing via Facebook and Twitter
Of course, it is super easy to share worship flow plans and songbooks with others in your WorshipPlanning.com account.  But what if you want others on the Internet to have a look?  Maybe you want their feedback?  Or maybe it is a special guest at your church that needs to see that info?  That’s why we’ve create a special page that, if you permit, allows people to access songbooks and worship flow lists via Twitter, Facebook, and a few other social media sites.  But don’t worry.  Only general info about the song and worship flow are shared (nothing copyrighted), and you can unshare at any time.  Just look for the universal green “share” icon in your Planner account to start sharing.

Contest: How do YOU prepare to sing?

Vocal Warm-up CDChances are we all do something (perhaps even a little odd) to prepare our voices for singing.  Drink a tall, neat glass of water? Delight in a bag of greasy potato chips?  Well, we are hoping you’ll post a comment with your trick to tuning those pipes before taking the stage.  And in return for sharing your closely guarded secret, we’ll randomly select two people to win an “Essential Vocals Warm-Up CD” from The Musicademy.

Post your comment no later than Monday, September 13th, and we will pick the winners on the 14th.  Posting multiple comments won’t increase your chances of winning, so please just fit all your tricks into a single comment.  And we promise to only use your email address to contact you if you win (we won’t spam you, or sign you up anything, or post your your email anywhere).