How Do I Convert Plain Text Songs Into ChordPro?

If your song already has the chords above the lyrics (aka “plain text”) you’ll need it converted. Fortunately, this is done automatically within the Song-a-Matic editor.

Say that your song is in this (non-ChordPro) format:

Gm                 Cm            Gm
People are strange when you're a stranger
Cm         Gm   D           Gm
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Gm                Cm            Gm
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Cm          Gm     D           Gm
Streets are uneven when you're down

Often it’s easier to work with songs that have the chords above the lyrics on their own line

Whereas we want this:

[Gm]People are strange [Cm]when you're a [Gm]stranger
[Cm]Faces look [Gm]ugly [D]when you're [Gm]alone
[Gm]Women seem wicked [Cm]when you're un[Gm]wanted
[Cm]Streets are [Gm]uneven [D]when you're [Gm]down

The same song reformatted as a ChordPro song sheet ready for use

When the editor notices that you’ve not defined any chords (for example, [F#]) it’ll look for lines of chord names preceding lyrics and, if possible, automatically convert the song… but don’t panic, it’ll ask you whether the results are acceptable. You might need to make minor adjustments.

There are also several online ChordPro “formaters” (or importers):

UkeGeeks ChordPro Formater Tool (beta) (see note about why it’s beta)
Andy Stein’s Tab Compressor

Always check the results from these as they’re never going to be perfect.