Tools

Seating chart builder

Set up your rows, add your players, and print the seating chart or show it on the board. Your seating chart is saved in this browser.

Loading the seating chart builder…

Making a seating chart

  • In the Layout tab, enter how many chairs go in each row and pick curved or straight. Row A is the row closest to the podium.
  • Choose Edit, then click a chair to type a name and pick its section. The pencil beside a row lets you type the whole row at once, one name per line.
  • Use Color to paint sections onto chairs, and Hide to take out chairs or stands you don't need. A hidden chair leaves a gap.
  • Name your sections and change their colors in the Sections tab.
  • Full screen shows the finished seating chart without the editing controls, for a projector or smart board. Press Esc to go back.
About the seating chart builder

Saving your seating chart

Your latest seating chart is saved in this browser, so it's still there when you come back on the same computer. Clearing your browsing data erases it. To keep a backup or move it to another computer, press Save and download a chart file (.json). Open loads that file again so you can keep editing.

Save can also make a chart link. The whole seating chart is stored inside the link, student names included, so send it only to people who should see it. Editing the seating chart later doesn't change a link you already made. Make a new one.

Printing and downloading

Print opens your browser's print window with the seating chart set up for a landscape page. Download makes a PDF to print or share, a PNG image for slides and email, or an SVG that stays sharp at any size. Printouts and downloads show the title, chairs, stands, legend, and notes, without the editing controls.

Conductor view and student view

Conductor view shows the band from the podium. Student view turns the seating chart around so it matches what players see from their chairs, and the names stay upright. Post the student view in the band room so players can find their seats on the first day.

Rows, stands, and the podium

Each row can be curved or straight, and the Layout tab sets how far the rows curve, how far apart they sit, and how big the chairs are. You can leave an aisle down the middle, number the chairs, and letter the rows. Music stands can be one for every two chairs or one for each chair. To change a single pair, click its stand in Edit or Color. The podium, section legend, subtitle, and notes are all optional.

Need to seat players by ability first? Read about chair tests and auditions.

Read more

Band skillsWhat is a chair test in band? How to prepareWhat to expect, an example week-by-week plan, and what to do on the day.Band skillsA sight-reading checklist to run before playingWhat to check before you sight-read, what comes first when time is short, and how to keep going once you start.Band skillsPlaying in tune: hearing "beats" and matching pitchWhat out of tune sounds like, how to tell if you are sharp or flat, and how to match pitch with your section.