Choir Leader Setup Guide
Everything you need to get your choir set up and your singers practising.
Getting Started
Before your members can use the app, you need to do three things:
This is where you'll put all your practice tracks. You can name it anything — e.g. My Choir or Amazing Voices.
Chorustr reads your files but never modifies them. Follow these steps to create a view-only link:
- Navigate to the choir folder in Dropbox
- Click the Share Folder button
- Click Copy Link
- By default Dropbox creates an edit link — click Manage
- Select Link for viewing
- Click Copy Link
Send the choir name and your view-only Dropbox link to support@chorustr.com. We'll create your choir entry and reply with a choir code — a short code your members type into the app to join.
This is a one-time step. Once your choir is set up, you manage everything by adding files to the Dropbox folder — no further contact with us is needed.
Folder Structure
The root of your Dropbox shared folder is your choir folder. Create one subfolder per song — that's it. There's no deeper nesting.
- The folder name becomes the song title shown in the app, exactly as you type it.
- You can add, rename, or delete song folders at any time.
Track Types: Premixed vs Stems
Chorustr supports two ways of providing audio. Choose the one that matches how your tracks were produced.
Option A — Premixed Tracks
Each MP3 is a complete full-mix recording with one voice part louder than the rest. Put the MP3 files directly inside the song folder.
full.mp3 is required for premixed songs. Without it the song will show as "Coming Soon" even if all the other parts are present. full.mp3 is what plays when a member chooses "All Parts" in the mixer.
Option B — Stems Tracks
Each MP3 is a single isolated part with no other voices audible. Put all the MP3 files inside a subfolder named stems. The app mixes them live, and members can adjust the volume of each track independently.
The presence of a stems/ subfolder is all that's needed — the app detects it automatically and switches to stems mode. No full.mp3 is required.
Stems take priority. If a stems/ subfolder exists, any MP3 files placed directly in the song folder are ignored. Chorustr always uses stems when they are present.
Supported Filename Keywords
The app identifies each track by looking for a keyword anywhere in the filename. Everything else — song title, dashes, spaces, numbering — is ignored. Filenames are case-insensitive, so Soprano.mp3, SOPRANO.mp3, and soprano.mp3 all work.
| Keyword in filename | Part | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| soprano | Soprano (undivided) | Both |
| soprano1 or soprano 1 | Soprano 1 | Both |
| soprano2 or soprano 2 | Soprano 2 | Both |
| alto | Alto (undivided) | Both |
| alto1 or alto 1 | Alto 1 | Both |
| alto2 or alto 2 | Alto 2 | Both |
| tenor | Tenor (undivided) | Both |
| tenor1 or tenor 1 | Tenor 1 | Both |
| tenor2 or tenor 2 | Tenor 2 | Both |
| bass | Bass (undivided) | Both |
| bass1 or bass 1 | Bass 1 | Both |
| bass2 or bass 2 | Bass 2 | Both |
| baritone | Baritone | Both |
| women | Women (combined) | Both |
| men | Men (combined) | Both |
| full | Full mix / All Parts | Premixed only |
| backing | Backing track (no lead vocals) | Stems only |
| click | Click / metronome track | Stems only |
Examples of valid filenames: Soprano.mp3, SOPRANO 1.MP3, Alto 1 - Baba Yetu.mp3, Amazing Grace - Bass.mp3.
Any file whose name doesn't contain a recognised keyword is silently ignored.
Supported File Formats
Audio — MP3 only
All audio tracks must be MP3 files (.mp3). Other formats (WAV, AIFF, AAC, FLAC etc.) are not recognised and will be ignored.
Recommended encoding settings:
- Sample rate: 44.1 kHz — standard CD quality, universally supported across all devices.
- Bit rate: 192 kbps is recommended for the best balance of quality and file size. 128 kbps is acceptable for voice-only tracks. Keep in mind that higher bit rates mean larger files — a choir member on a slow connection will wait longer to download them, so avoid going higher than necessary.
- Channels: Stereo or mono — both work fine.
Lyrics — PDF only
Lyrics files must be named lyrics.pdf and must be in PDF format. Other document formats are not supported.
Song icons — PNG only
Icon files must be named icon.png and must be in PNG format. A square image works best — the app crops to a square if needed.
Minimum Files Required
- Premixed: at least one voice part MP3 plus
full.mp3. Withoutfull.mp3the song shows as Coming Soon. - Stems: at least one MP3 inside the
stems/subfolder.
A song with only one part is perfectly playable — members just won't have other parts to choose from.
Lyrics
Add a PDF named exactly lyrics.pdf to the song folder. It will appear in the Lyrics pane on the now playing screen, so members can follow the words while they listen.
Song Icons
Add an image named exactly icon.png to the song folder. It will be shown as artwork in the song list and the player. If no icon is present, a default placeholder is used.
Coming Soon Songs
If you want to add a song to the list before the tracks are ready, create the song subfolder but leave it empty. The app will show the song with a Coming Soon badge so members can see it's on the way.
Once you add audio files to the folder, members will be able to play the song on their next sync.
Premixed reminder: even if all voice part MP3s are present, the song shows as Coming Soon until full.mp3 is added.
Updating Songs
Replace or add files in the Dropbox folder at any time. Chorustr compares file hashes and only re-downloads what has changed, so updates arrive quickly. Members get the update automatically the next time they open the app — no action needed on their part.
- Replacing an audio file → members hear the new version on next sync
- Adding new parts → new parts appear in the mixer on next sync
- Removing a part → it disappears from the mixer on next sync
Deleting Songs
Delete the song subfolder from Dropbox. On the next sync the app removes it from the playlist and deletes the locally cached files from each member's device.
Questions?
If you get stuck or something isn't working as expected, email us at support@chorustr.com and we'll help you get sorted.