My band, The TinyLittleBigband, had been using a setlist app for a while. One of the musicians ran the set. Every iPad got its own part on screen. That means you can play flexibly during an evening. You can respond to the mood, react quickly to requests and so on. Up to this point, everything worked. However, you all had to be on the same version of a setlist, so you always had to check beforehand that everyone was on the same version, and sync your iPad. If you were missing a song in a setlist, you got out of step with the rest and ended up with the wrong song on your iPad. A sub had to be given your login details, and you had to explain how the app worked.

When I joined The TinyLittleBigband, managing the sheet music ended up with me, and so did managing the app. That’s where my frustration started. Every band member had their own login, which isn’t practical for subs. Because of its many features, the app’s user interface was particularly unclear. PDF management in the web app was confusing. In short, I thought it could be done differently.

Another factor was that, as a freelancer, I also work in the theater world. For more than 25 years, alongside my band, I’ve played in musicals and other music theater productions. Given the stricter enforcement around (false) self-employment in the Netherlands and the uncertainty that brings, it was a logical step for me not only to make something for my own band, but also to turn it into a product. I can’t build apps or write code myself. After all, I’m not a programmer, but a musician with a frustration and an idea. So I started developing syncMNFST with the help of AI.

It started with the app and the accompanying web app. On the website you manage the PDFs, songs and setlists. That’s also where you assign the different sheet music to the different roles in the band: the singer gets lyrics, keys and guitar get a lead sheet, and the horns get their own parts. Every musician gets a pairing code linked to their role in the band. You enter it in the app, your sheet music and setlist are downloaded, and your iPad is ready for the gig. A sub gets the same pairing code for the role they fill in the band (e.g. guitarist), but linked to their own device. Each role can have multiple devices (also handy for a backup device), so a sub doesn’t need to borrow an iPad or log in to a web app.

Along the way, I started thinking more about the function of the different devices. You don’t manage your band and repertoire inside the app on your iPad, and you don’t put a laptop on stage for your sheet music. So why do so many apps still put every feature on every device? I don’t think that’s necessary, and it creates a lot of noise. That’s how my vision “Plan, Go, Play” came about.

Plan

In the web app (laptop or home computer) you handle band management. For example, sending pairing codes to musicians and subs. Keeping the calendar up to date and managing the details of each gig. You also manage songs and setlists from the web app. You create songs, upload the matching PDFs, assign them to the right roles in the band, and build your setlists.

Go

When you’re on your way to a gig, you don’t want to pull your iPad out of its case to check the address, or to look up your contact person’s number because you’re stuck in traffic. So there’s a pocket version for your phone with all the details of today’s gig. Address, times, contacts. One tap on the screen and Waze or Maps opens with the route to the address. And with one tap you call your contact person or your bandmates.

Play

Your tablet is what you need on stage. Sheet music, annotations, setlist. Features you only use in the web app don’t need to be on your tablet. As the master device, you run the show and send the right song to all the other devices. And you’re not limited to the songs in that gig’s setlist. You have your whole song library at hand, so you can deviate from the setlist you planned in advance. Filters and sorting options help you quickly find the song you’re looking for. The master sends the song, not the position in the setlist, so everyone always has the right song, regardless of the setlist.

I now talk about devices, no longer about iPads. Potential users dropped off because they have bandmates who use Android tablets, and there was only an iPad version. That’s why an Android version is in development. In a band with only iPads, the devices connect to each other without (venue) Wi-Fi. When Android devices are added, there does need to be a Wi-Fi connection between the devices. With a small network of your own (no internet needed), it also works in a mixed band. Internet is only needed to sync with the web app, for fetching new PDFs, setlists and so on.

At the same time, with feedback from musicians, I’m improving the app, and more features are being added along the way. Such as controlling pedalboards and keyboards via MIDI, linked to the song. More extensive annotation options are also coming, as well as more gig management options in the web app. I think it’s important that MIDI management (for pedalboards and the like) stays with the musicians themselves. That’s their responsibility, so the basics of it will be in the app. After all, you want to use it right away on stage. At a later stage, OSC will also be added, among other things, to control lighting desks or to start clicks and backing tracks via QLab. I deliberately only add sync options, and I’m not going to build all this functionality into the app itself. That creates exactly the noise I want to avoid, and it can put far too much load on your device. A standalone app like QLab is much better suited to playing clicks and backing tracks.

That makes syncMNFST not just another setlist or band management app. It’s a system built on a vision of how and where musicians and bands use the different functions. It grows with the needs of the field. Try it, no strings attached. A 14-day trial is available via syncmnfst.com (no card required). I’d love to hear your suggestions about what musicians need where, what’s missing, or what could be better.

Bas Schneider
Bassist and founder
syncmnfst.com