LeadChart Pro
Lead Sheet Maker
Only for Mac
Free
Mac
A lead sheet is the fastest way to write down a song: chords on top, lyrics below, and in between as much rhythm and melody as the piece needs. That is exactly what LeadChart Pro is built for, and nothing else.
Three levels, one sheet
Just chords? A chord chart for rehearsal takes two minutes to throw together. With rhythm? Rhythmic information sits right in the chart, clear and readable. With a full melody? The staff appears exactly where you switch it on, bar by bar. No mode switch, no second document.
Everything a real chart needs
Repeat signs, endings, segno, coda, fine, da capo and N.C. are all there, and playback runs the song unrolled: with every repeat and jump, the way you actually play it.
Chord spelling is complete. From Cm through Cmaj7, Cdim7 and C7b9 to slash chords like Bb/G, everything is recognized and set correctly, with German note names on request.
Check your arrangement
Repeats, endings, D.C., segno and coda: the arrangement check shows you how the song really runs, pass by pass, with every repeat and the total number of bars. It reports what doesn't add up. Better here than at rehearsal.
Hear it instead of guessing
Chords and melody play back, with grand piano, organ, vibraphone, drum kit and more sounds. Add a metronome, a count-in and a loop over the selected bars. If you connect a keyboard, you play the melody in directly, step by step or in real time.
Setting notes without detours
Press a key, choose a note value, click. Dotted notes, ties and triplets are one keystroke away, and LeadChart Pro sets the beams itself, following the rules of music engraving.
Harmony analysis
You write down the melody in a few bars. The analysis names the most likely key and suggests chords for every bar that fit the notes, with sevenths if you like. Every suggestion can be played back. The song only changes once you accept one. Your ear decides.
The right version for every instrument
Transpose by any number of semitones, or go straight to B-flat, E-flat, F and A instruments. One sheet becomes as many versions as the band has members: the singer gets their lead sheet with lyrics, the bassist the chords with rhythm, the pianist the full staff.
Ready to print, ready to connect
PDF export with a preview right in the sheet, as many pages as needed, in a formal engraved look or in a handwritten style. MusicXML goes in and out, MIDI and WAV only out. If you bring your charts from another program, you read them in via MusicXML.
Between sketch and score
I have been making music for over four decades, live and in the studio. On the computer I always missed the tool in between: intuitive like a quick sketch on paper, precise enough for the gig. LeadChart Pro is the lead sheet program I wished I had back in 1995. Everything I need often costs one click or one keystroke, not three.
Who it is for
Musicians, bands and teachers. For the quick chord chart at rehearsal, the complete lead sheet on stage, material for music lessons.
No subscriptions, no ongoing costs.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
- Automatic backup copy: unsaved changes are saved in the background, every two minutes or at the interval you choose under Settings, General. After a crash, LeadChart Pro offers to restore them at the next start.
- A triangle shows the bar where the next playback starts.
- Select bars with Cmd+Shift+click, another click extends the selection. Cmd+Shift+right-click extends it the same way and opens the menu for the whole range.
- Note entry: the preview note follows the mouse more calmly, and the grid line where the note will land lights up.
- Import of compressed MusicXML (.mxl).
- Right-click next to the tabs: New and Open. Quit is now also in the File menu.
- Zooming responds immediately, without a blank intermediate frame.
- File names from the song title: characters a file name cannot hold become a hyphen, also for PDF, WAV and MIDI.
- Print view: the staff lines at the start of a line sit exactly level with the bar.
- The help window can be moved: drag it by the handle at the top.
- Now requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
The developer, Thomas Haake, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Thomas Haake
- Size
- 48.1 MB
- Category
- Music
- Compatibility
Requires macOS 13.0 or later.
- Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later.
- Mac
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Thomas Haake