Setting Up the Perfect Stage Display: Fonts, Themes, and Font Sizes for Live Performance

You are about to walk on stage and you realize you cannot read your lyrics. The text is too small, or the colors wash out under the lights. Here is how to avoid that.

GigScroll gives you control over themes, fonts, and font sizes so your lyrics are readable in any setting. This guide covers what each option actually looks like and when to use it.

Four Themes for Different Environments

GigScroll ships with four color themes. Each one works better in certain conditions.

Light is black text on a white background. It is the most familiar look and works well for practice at home or in bright rooms. On a dark stage, though, a white screen can be distracting to the audience and harsh on your eyes.

Dark is white text on black. This is a good general-purpose choice for dim venues. It reduces eye strain during long sets and does not throw light into the audience. Most performers start here.

Stage uses yellow text on a black background with gold accents. This was designed specifically for bright stage lighting, where white text can wash out. Yellow holds up better under intense overhead lights and offers the highest contrast in those conditions.

Cream is dark brown text on a warm cream background. It has a vintage, warm feel. Some performers find it easier on the eyes than pure black-on-white for long rehearsals. It is a personal preference thing.

There is no single best theme. It depends on where you are performing and what lighting you are dealing with.

Five Font Options

You get five fonts to choose from.

System (San Francisco) is the default. It is the same font your iPhone and iPad use everywhere, so it is extremely readable at all sizes. If you are not sure what to pick, stick with this.

Georgia is a serif font with a classic look. Some performers find serifs easier to read at medium sizes because the letter shapes are more distinct.

Helvetica Neue is a clean sans-serif. It looks professional and tidy. Very similar to System but with a slightly different character.

Courier is a monospace font with a typewriter feel. Every character takes the same width. Some songwriters like it because it matches the look of typed lyric sheets.

Arial Rounded MT Bold has friendly, rounded letterforms. It is bold by default, which can help with readability at a distance.

Font Size: The Setting That Matters Most

GigScroll supports font sizes from 24pt to 72pt. This is the single most important display setting for stage readability. A beautiful theme means nothing if the text is too small to read from where you are standing.

You adjust font size per song using the jog wheel — a drag-based control that gives you haptic feedback as you turn it. You will feel a tick every 2pt for fine adjustments and a stronger tick every 4pt. It is quick enough to adjust between songs during a set.

You can also set a global default font size in Settings. When you change it, GigScroll asks whether you want to update all existing songs or just apply the new size to songs you create going forward.

Size Recommendations by Scenario

These are rough starting points. Your eyes and your stage setup are different from mine.

24-32pt works for close practice — the iPad is on a desk or music stand right in front of you, within arm's reach. This fits a lot of text on screen, which means less scrolling.

32-44pt is a good range for standard performance situations. The iPad is on a mic stand mount or a nearby table, roughly two to four feet away.

44-56pt suits an iPad Pro on a floor stand where you are standing and looking down at it. The extra size compensates for the distance and the angle.

56-72pt is for maximum visibility. Use this on bright stages where lighting washes out the screen, or when your iPad is further away than usual. You will scroll more, but you will actually be able to read.

Practical Tips

Clean your screen before the gig. Fingerprints and smudges reduce contrast more than you might expect, especially under stage lights.

Angle the iPad away from direct stage lights. Overhead spots and side washes cause glare. Tilting the screen a few degrees can make a big difference.

Test during soundcheck. Set up your iPad where it will actually be during the show, walk to your performing position, and check if you can read comfortably. Adjust the font size then, not two songs into your set.

Try the Stage theme under actual stage lighting. It might look odd in your living room, but that yellow-on-black combination exists for a reason. It holds up where other themes fade.

For more details on all of GigScroll's features, check out the user guide. You can download GigScroll on the App Store — it comes with a free trial so you can test everything with your own setup before committing.

Once your display is dialed in, see the full teleprompter setup guide for a walkthrough of performance mode, or read about going hands-free with a Bluetooth foot pedal. If you are a solo performer, the acoustic performer's setup guide ties everything together.