Graham Dukes Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Just now and again, these forum discussions touch on the problem of turning the pages while playing, but I haven't observed any really practical solutions except for the recruitment of a page-turner. Has anyone tried using an electronic book to do the job? It should be possible to scan multiple pages of music into such a device and then turn the pages by a light touch to a switch or the screen. Using two or more electronic books side by side to show consecutive pages would make it even simpler, shifting the images further on at any convenient moment when one has a free hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm worse than useless at turning pages for myself - either a set of strategically connected p**** c****s or a well trained 12 year old daughter works for me. 'Not sure whether I could cope with anything electronic though. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Walker Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Just now and again, these forum discussions touch on the problem of turning the pages while playing, but I haven't observed any really practical solutions except for the recruitment of a page-turner. Has anyone tried using an electronic book to do the job? It should be possible to scan multiple pages of music into such a device and then turn the pages by a light touch to a switch or the screen. Using two or more electronic books side by side to show consecutive pages would make it even simpler, shifting the images further on at any convenient moment when one has a free hand. I've often thought about how technological advances could be applied to page turning, but I'm yet to hear of anyone using some kind of device. The now common flat screens could sit on a music desk very easily, and now that screens don't flicker in the way they used to, they would be much easier to read for a sustained period. The idea of turning the pages by touching the screen, or another button would make it much easier than wrestling pages, especially when they won't stay open! My fear would be that it's always one more thing with the possibility of going wrong. Just like memory levels and sequencers, midi and play back stuff etc. Just how many people have come unstuck with these things? I'd worry about battery life and computer glitches - or what happens if you suddenly end up on the wrong page! None the less - has anybody come up with anything yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidb Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 For Recitals, i've taken to the 'Dame Gillian' method. Photocopy the score at 50% size, and stick these sheets onto some A2 card. Because I already know the works fairly well, the score is little more than an aide memoir and so reading every note quickly is unnecessary, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 For Recitals, i've taken to the 'Dame Gillian' method. Photocopy the score at 50% size, and stick these sheets onto some A2 card. Because I already know the works fairly well, the score is little more than an aide memoir and so reading every note quickly is unnecessary, This works really well too - also - most of my 'current' music is reduced in size and in an A5 folder in little plastic wallets - handy to carry about and also to have in the car just in case - as long as the eyesight holds out that is. A former organ teacher used to play his Bach from those little pocket scores that you used to be able to get - I still have some of mine somewhere too. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arp Schnitger Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Just now and again, these forum discussions touch on the problem of turning the pages while playing, but I haven't observed any really practical solutions except for the recruitment of a page-turner. Has anyone tried using an electronic book to do the job? It should be possible to scan multiple pages of music into such a device and then turn the pages by a light touch to a switch or the screen. Using two or more electronic books side by side to show consecutive pages would make it even simpler, shifting the images further on at any convenient moment when one has a free hand. I played the closing voluntary this morning using my iPad and the "Unreal Book" Music App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/unrealbook/id370135173?mt=8 Simply tap the screen to turn (RH side forward, LH side backward) It even allows me to access (via 3G or WiFi) PDF files that I have stored in a Dropbox folder. The iPad screen is just a little on the small side when you display a full A4 page PDF, but nothing a decent pair of reading specs won't solve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwhodges Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Some people use this: http://www.musicreader.net/. There's a thread about it here. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Sayer Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Just now and again, these forum discussions touch on the problem of turning the pages while playing, but I haven't observed any really practical solutions except for the recruitment of a page-turner. Has anyone tried using an electronic book to do the job? It should be possible to scan multiple pages of music into such a device and then turn the pages by a light touch to a switch or the screen. Using two or more electronic books side by side to show consecutive pages would make it even simpler, shifting the images further on at any convenient moment when one has a free hand. Has anyone tried saving, say, as Sibelius file as a .pdf, and then downloading to a Kindle - no smaller than the average hymnbook, although there might well be more staves to the page. JS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggestelk Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I don't have an iPad, but.... http://www.forscoreapp.com/ Oliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJJ Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I don't have an iPad, but....http://www.forscoreapp.com/ Oliver. Oooer! - very neat - maybe an iPad is seriously in order. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrabombarde Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Oooer! - very neat - maybe an iPad is seriously in order. A When working in Congo I had to go to Kampala or Nairobi to do any organ practice so would simply take my music collection as pdfs with me on my laptop and set the laptop upon the music stand - not very heavy and you can orientate pdf files to landscape or portrait to suit the orientation of the laptop. Music worked best in portrait with the laptop on its side. To turn pages go into full view and then the left (bottom if turned!) mouse button becomes page advance. Better still if you have a remote mouse that you can click on. Of course you have to turn after every page, not after every second page. I'd imagine that the current crop of tablets might be a little small to legibly an A4 page compared to a typical 13 inch laptop (don't forget organ music takes up three staves for each line of music), but it's certainly a very versatile way of having any amount of music on tap in a jiffy. A number of Hauptwerk users have giant digital monitors - a 26 inch would work well for covering roughly A3 size - for displaying left and right pages and page turning software can turn one page at a time, ie you start with 1,2 after the first turn you have pages 3,2 then 3,4 etc. I guess eventually this will trickle down into a church or concert hall with a digital music desk built into a pipe organ console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newnham Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 When working in Congo I had to go to Kampala or Nairobi to do any organ practice so would simply take my music collection as pdfs with me on my laptop and set the laptop upon the music stand - not very heavy and you can orientate pdf files to landscape or portrait to suit the orientation of the laptop. Music worked best in portrait with the laptop on its side. To turn pages go into full view and then the left (bottom if turned!) mouse button becomes page advance. Better still if you have a remote mouse that you can click on. Of course you have to turn after every page, not after every second page. I'd imagine that the current crop of tablets might be a little small to legibly an A4 page compared to a typical 13 inch laptop (don't forget organ music takes up three staves for each line of music), but it's certainly a very versatile way of having any amount of music on tap in a jiffy. A number of Hauptwerk users have giant digital monitors - a 26 inch would work well for covering roughly A3 size - for displaying left and right pages and page turning software can turn one page at a time, ie you start with 1,2 after the first turn you have pages 3,2 then 3,4 etc. I guess eventually this will trickle down into a church or concert hall with a digital music desk built into a pipe organ console. Hi I've seen adverts for electronic display of music (for which I think they mean just chord charts plus lyrics) for church music groups. Never seen one in action though. I'm considering using a tablet computer to save printing out sermon notes - probably an iPad since it seems to have the largest screen size available at present. Every Blessing Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Has anyone tried saving, say, as Sibelius file as a .pdf, and then downloading to a Kindle - no smaller than the average hymnbook, although there might well be more staves to the page. JS A Kindle would be useful for the Hymn 'Oh Thou Who Camest From Above'. I'm thinking of the line 'Kindle a flame of sacred love....' Anyway I'm really writng this post because I remember a TV programme in the late 70s called 'It's Patanetly Obvious' in hich various gadgets were shown on the programme and a team of clever people (pre celebrity TV) had to try and work out what they were for. They once had a device for turning over pages on a music desk. It had various levers, springs and catches and one had to blow onto a flap to turn the next page. It could cope with several pages. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Walker Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Anyway I'm really writng this post because I remember a TV programme in the late 70s called 'It's Patanetly Obvious' in hich various gadgets were shown on the programme and a team of clever people (pre celebrity TV) had to try and work out what they were for. They once had a device for turning over pages on a music desk. It had various levers, springs and catches and one had to blow onto a flap to turn the next page. It could cope with several pages. John How interesting! It's the sort of mechanical device that no one would be interested in trying to invent these days. Personally I always trust mechanical things much more than I trust computers. As clumsy as that device was I'm sure, I bet I'd have more faith in it than some modern computer which would be bound to freeze on you, or the batteries run out. Or you drop it and it breaks and you've lost everything saved. Sigh.... why does the modern age make everything more difficult! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Robinson Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 A Kindle would be useful for the Hymn 'Oh Thou Who Camest From Above'. I'm thinking of the line 'Kindle a flame of sacred love....' Anyway I'm really writng this post because I remember a TV programme in the late 70s called 'It's Patanetly Obvious' in hich various gadgets were shown on the programme and a team of clever people (pre celebrity TV) had to try and work out what they were for. They once had a device for turning over pages on a music desk. It had various levers, springs and catches and one had to blow onto a flap to turn the next page. It could cope with several pages. John Ah, I remember that programme now! I wish they'd bring it back. Some of those gadgets (if I remember) were fascinating. It would be interesting to see how many laymen could work out what a Barker lever was for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Drinkell Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It seems to me that any electronic reader will have one grave disadvantage when it comes to sticking it up on the desk and playing from it - how are you going to put in fingering, registration, arcane signs and whatever else? Shades of the Essex Girl with Tip-Ex all over the monitor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It seems to me that any electronic reader will have one grave disadvantage when it comes to sticking it up on the desk and playing from it - how are you going to put in fingering, registration, arcane signs and whatever else? Any iPad-like touchscreen has the potential for adding comments, both as text and as freehand graphics, depending on the software being used for displaying the music. This feature alone would make an iPad more useful than a more traditional laptop, in addition to the problems of putting a laptop on the music stand of an organ [a grand piano is a different kettle of fish; you can easily put a laptop on a grandpiano by putting the music stand flat - also on a box organ]. If you were able to use Sibelius (or your music notation app of choice) directly on the iPad you would be able to add your fingering, registraton, marks of expression etc directly into the file as you practise. Which would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrabombarde Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I might be thinking a little too ambitiously but seem to recall the suggestion that some music software, used in conjunction with a MIDI-enabled keyboard, was able to actually recognise where on the page you were and move the music along accordingly so you never need to make page turns at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwv572 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Chatting to one of the sales guys in Birmingham's Apple shop yesterday, he mentioned that the iPad 2 with its front-facing camera can be configured to turn pages in response to gestures. I can think of a few appropriate ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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