Rehearsal time belongs to the music, not the admin

Introduction

Welcome to Chorilo! In this video, we’ll show you step by step how to set up your choir and use every feature, from signing up to the board.

Chapter 1 of 17: Getting started

On chorilo.com, click Sign up at the top right. Sign up with a choir is already selected. Enter your name, your email address and a password. Then your choir’s name and country. Accept the terms and create your account and choir. Your trial is free, no payment details needed.

Your email address is already filled in. Enter your password and log in.

After logging in, the setup assistant starts. Your choir’s name is already there. Pick a colour. It helps you spot your choir in the app. Check the time zone, it applies to all events. If you like, the watermark is printed on uploaded sheet music. You can change everything later in the choir settings.

In step two, you decide how members reply to events. For example, whether they have to give a reason when declining. Whether maybe is allowed as an answer. Whether members get a reminder on the day, by email and push. With parent links, parents reply for their children. Projects are for ventures with a changing line-up. And whether replies are still possible shortly after the start.

Step three is voice parts. The usual parts are already set up. Add your own, for example Baritone with a short code. Use the three dots to rename, reorder or delete. Finish setup, done.

Here you see upcoming events, new announcements and new music. On the left is the bar with events, music, messages, files and media. Under Ensembles, you manage members, contacts, cash book and settings.

Set up voice parts, permissions, subscription, website, venues and reports here. Add your address and bank details under General once you need them.

Chapter 2 of 17: Inviting members

Add member opens the form. Enter first name, last name and email address. Choose the voice part. The permission group decides what someone can see and change. Optionally a club role, for example music librarian. Create member, and the login details go out by email. Add passive members, such as supporters, without a login.

With the invitation link, singers join on their own. Create the link, copy it and share it by email or messenger. If you like, you approve new members first.

Import whole lists via the three dots and Import members. Active members get an invitation by email. Download the template or use your own table, as CSV or Excel. Columns are matched automatically. Check the preview and import.

Everyone is here, each with their voice part. You can filter by voice part or permission group. Join requests via the link appear under Approval. Our video for members on chorilo.com/en/help shows what happens next for them.

Chapter 3 of 17: A quick tour

The home page shows upcoming events, with replies per voice part. Below that, new announcements and polls. And new music. On the right, your tasks, birthdays and who hasn’t been to rehearsal for a while. From here on, we show the sample choir Harmonia Chamber Choir.

Search finds music, events, announcements, members and transactions. The bell collects all notifications. The question mark opens the help centre and AI assistant. Your profile leads to settings, light or dark mode and feature requests.

On the left are the areas: events, music, messages, files and media. Plus projects and board, when enabled. And under Ensembles: members, contacts, cash book and settings.

Chapter 4 of 17: Managing members

Click a member to open their profile. Under In the choir, you’ll find voice part, permission group and joining date. Under Roles, club offices and singing history. Under Attendance, how often someone came to rehearsals and concerts. And under Files, for example contracts or consent forms.

Use the three dots to edit a member, set them passive or remove them from the choir. Passive members are kept but no longer have access.

Manage voice parts and club roles in the choir settings. Create your own roles, for example section leader.

Three groups already exist: administrator, moderator, member. Create your own groups, for example for the music librarian. Then tick the rights one by one, such as editing music or uploading files. Then assign the group in the member profile.

Chapter 5 of 17: Events & rehearsals

Every event shows who is coming, also per voice part. As a list, calendar or table.

An event is a single event or a series, such as the weekly rehearsal. Choose choir, name and type of event. You can link a rehearsal to the concert. Enter start, end and location. A reminder goes to everyone who hasn’t replied yet. When saving, you notify everyone by email and push.

Under Attendees, you see who is coming. You can remind those pending, record attendance and invite guests. Under Music, you set what will be rehearsed. Everyone sees it right away. And you hand out tasks, for example setting up music stands.

All events appear automatically in your phone or computer calendar. Every member can subscribe to the calendar themselves.

Chapter 6 of 17: Sheet music

The library holds all your choir’s pieces. You can filter, for example, by licensed music, voice trainer or audio. Lots of PDFs at once? That’s what Import PDFs is for.

Hidden music is only visible to editors until you release it. Enter title, composer, duration and tags. Add the PDF, plus practice tracks, single parts or lyrics. Upload, and the piece is available to everyone right away.

Every piece has a PDF preview, also in full screen. You see which events it’s scheduled for. The AI analysis adds key, scoring and difficulty. And you can download or share it.

Chapter 7 of 17: Rehearsing & practice

A MusicXML file becomes an exercise for every part. You set the sound, count-in bars and starting note. Practise opens the voice trainer right in the browser. Choose a part, play it and follow along. Turn the other parts down in the voice mixer. In the app, the voice trainer also listens and shows whether you hit the note.

Enter occasion, difficulty and length. Optionally include rarely performed pieces and music from the shop. The AI suggests a programme from your library and the music shop. Live rehearsal: in the app, the director turns the pages for everyone.

Chapter 8 of 17: Communication

Announcements to the whole choir, optionally with a poll. You see who hasn’t voted yet and can send a reminder.

For a new announcement, choose who sees it: everyone or only certain voices, groups or people. Write title and text. Attach files directly or link them from the file area. Attach a poll, with answers or date options. And send it to everyone by email and push. If you like, you can see who has opened an announcement. Turn this on in the choir settings.

In the group chat, you write to everyone, without sharing private phone numbers. New chats with individuals or whole voice parts.

Chapter 9 of 17: Files, photos, projects

Files hold everything for the whole choir: rehearsal plans, programmes, the constitution. With the desktop app, everything sits on your computer like a normal folder. Create folders and upload files. You decide per folder who can see it.

Under Media, you find photos and videos from choir life, sorted into albums. Create new albums for a concert, rehearsal weekend or trip. If you like, members can upload their photos and videos too.

Projects are for productions with guest singers: a separate ensemble alongside the choir. The project takes over voices and permissions from the choir. It runs for a year. A short assistant sets it up. Turn projects on in the setup assistant or the choir settings.

Chapter 10 of 17: Concerts & tickets

On the concert, create the sale under Tickets. Set the number of tickets, sales period and price categories. You absorb the fees or pass them on to buyers. Then design the ticket, issue free tickets and scan at the door. Once sales are running, you see every order and what will be paid out. The proceeds reach the choir account 7 days after the concert.

The concert appears in the ticket shop and on the choir website. Your audience picks tickets, pays, and the ticket arrives by email.

For seating, create venues with a seating plan: rows, areas, stage and tables. We enable tickets with seat selection on request.

Chapter 11 of 17: Choir website

Switch the website on and choose a name and address. Write a description, such as when and where you rehearse. Your own domain works too. Concerts appear automatically. You choose colour and logo. Write news and save.

And this is the page: description, news, events and contact, no tech skills needed. Legal notice and privacy policy are included.

Chapter 12 of 17: Licences & sheet music shop

In the music shop, search by voicing, difficulty or publisher. Look at the preview and choose the number of licences. After buying, the piece is right in your library.

Under Licences, you see all purchased licences with seats in use. Each member gets their own seat, with a personal watermark. With Assign licence, you pick a member, and they get their music right away. The licence certificate is available as a PDF, for example for the publisher or venue.

Chapter 13 of 17: Cash book

The overview shows the balance of all accounts and this month’s income and expenses. For a new transaction, upload the receipt. Chorilo reads amount, date and payee. Enter account, amount, description and category. Plus the tax category for the annual accounts.

Under Transactions, all entries with consecutive receipt numbers. Under Accounts, current account, petty cash and more. Under Invoices, you write invoices, including e-invoices. And bank reconciliation matches statements automatically. The bank connection is an add-on.

Settings hold categories and the chart of accounts, such as SKR 49 for associations. Donation receipts and SEPA direct debit for membership fees. Importing transactions, the audit log and the year-end closing. And the export for the auditors and the tax adviser.

Chapter 14 of 17: Contacts

Contacts holds everyone who doesn’t sing in the choir: organisers, sponsors, authorities and guest musicians. Tags let you organise and filter them. A new contact gets an address, bank details and custom fields. Privacy is built in, with consents and retention periods.

Chapter 15 of 17: Board

In the board area, you create meetings, prepare the agenda and write the minutes. You can ask questions across all minutes, such as: who looks after social media? Closed minutes stay unchanged, with votes and attendance. The board area is an add-on, currently available on request.

Under Resolutions and tasks, everything from the minutes is in one place. Responsibilities show who is in charge and who stands in. The newsletter reaches friends and supporters, with its own sign-up page.

In the mailbox, you connect the association’s email account: address, password and server. Chorilo checks the connection and fetches the mail right away. The whole board reads the same mail. Known senders are linked to your contacts. You can reply, or mark a mail as done or in progress. Internal notes are for the board only, never for the sender. And you can turn a mail into a task or put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Login details are stored encrypted.

Chapter 16 of 17: Settings & subscription

General holds address, logo, bank details and the SEPA creditor ID. You’ll also find all switches from the setup assistant here. Reports cover attendance, member list, birthdays, anniversaries and the performance setlist.

The subscription is monthly or yearly, with every feature and unlimited members. Youth and project choirs get a reduced rate as sub-ensembles. Paying by invoice works too. And if you recommend Chorilo, you get half of the first payment as credit.

Chapter 17 of 17: Help

The question mark at the top right opens help and support. The AI assistant answers questions about Chorilo, step by step. Or write to us by email or WhatsApp.

The help centre explains every feature, including the video for members. Missing something? Request it, other choirs vote too.