Ensemble Seating Chart Generator

Welcome to the Ensemble Seating Chart Generator. This tool allows music directors, bandmasters, and orchestra conductors to organize concert layouts, automatically calculate seating and music stand counts, generate name tags, and manage concert rosters with live visual updates.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Ensemble & Layout Setup

• Ensemble Name: Type your ensemble's name (e.g., Concert Band, Symphonic Winds, or String Orchestra) in the top input box. This name automatically updates the title on your seating chart and every exported name tag.

• Director / Stage Position & Arch Direction: Use the dropdown to choose whether the Director / Stage is located at the top or bottom of the chart. The seating arches automatically adapt their curve direction:

  • Bottom (Default): Places the director at the bottom, with Row 1 positioned immediately above them and arches curving downward.

  • Top: Places the director at the top, with Row 1 at the top and arches curving upward.

• Seat Box Size Scale: Use the scale selector to adjust how large or compact you want the name rectangles/seat boxes to appear on your seating chart (choose from Compact 75%, Standard 100%, Large 125%, or Extra Large 150%).

• Show Musician Names: Leave Show Musician Names on Seating Chart checked (default) to display each player's name inside their seat box.

  • Note: Unchecking this option hides individual musician names on the seating chart and in the roster input fields, displaying instrument and stand indicators for clean, anonymous chair tracking.

• Configure Rows: Click + Add Row to create your rehearsal rows (rows start completely blank). Type a custom name for each row (e.g., "Front Row (Woodwinds)", "Violin 1", or "Percussion"). You can add multiple rows or delete rows as needed.

2. Adding & Managing Musicians (Single & Mass Add)

• Single Add: Select the Instrument, choose the Assigned Row, check or uncheck Needs Music Stand, and (if names are enabled) enter the Musician Name. Click Add Player.

• Mass Add Roster (Bulk Paste): Click 📥 Mass Add Roster in Section 2 to open the bulk paste panel. Paste a list of musicians (one per line, formatted as Name, Instrument or Name - Instrument). Choose a default instrument and target row, then click Add Batch to instantly populate your roster.

• Grouped Sections & Column Headers: Your roster is organized into separate section boxes for each configured row, complete with clear field headers at the top of each section.

• Drag-and-Drop Roster Reordering: Click and drag the handle (☰) next to any musician in the roster list to reorder their position within the row or move them around.

• Inline Editing: You can directly update a player's name, instrument, row assignment, or stand requirement right from the roster list without having to delete and re-add them.

3. Live Seating Layout & Interactive Drag-and-Drop

• The seating layout updates in real-time as you add, edit, or reorder musicians and rows.

• Interactive Seating Chart: You can click and drag any seat box directly on the live seating chart layout to move people around instantly between seats or rows.

• Dynamic Scaling & Clean Spacing: Seat boxes automatically scale down in size as more players are added to a row. Seat numbers (#1, #2, etc.) are neatly placed in the top-left badge of each seat box, keeping names, instruments, and stand indicators completely clear of overlap.

• Stand & Seat Totals: Each row header automatically calculates and displays the exact total number of Seats and Music Stands needed based on player preferences.

4. Exporting PDFs & Saving Work

• Chart PDF: Click 📄 Chart PDF to download a clean, landscape-oriented layout of your entire ensemble seating chart.

• Name Tags PDF: Click 🏷️ Name Tags PDF to generate a portrait-oriented PDF containing printable name tags. Each tag features the ensemble name, row name, seat number, musician name, and instrument neatly formatted on the bottom third of the page (strictly optimized to fit one tag per page).

⚠️ Important: Saving and Privacy Notice

How to Save and Edit Your Work: Because this tool runs entirely within your web browser, the only way to save your charts to edit them in the future is to click the 💾 Save Chart button. This downloads a small configuration file (.json) directly to your computer. To edit your chart later, simply click 📂 Open Chart and upload that file back into the app.

• Complete Privacy: No information, roster data, or seating charts are saved by the developer personally. There are no user accounts, and no data is sent to or stored on external servers.

• Data Recovery: Because everything is stored locally on your device for maximum privacy, there is no way to access, recover, or restore charts if browser data is cleared or if you forget to download your saved file. Always make sure to download your .json file before closing your session if you plan to make changes later!