Misc electronics Best Tablet/Digital Device for Reading Sheet?

[Nick Wyver]

That's an interesting idea. Thanks.

 

[sax panther]

I just did some pit work and the other player had a big Microsoft surface tablet running mobilesheets, she was very happy with that. Made my android 10 incher look quite teeny. Quite pricey but a second hand one might be an option.

 

[Kenny Garrick]

Just a thought but you can always use the device in landscape and have half page turns. You would definitely double the size of the displayed music if that is the primary concern.

 

[lydian]

I find I get only 3-4 lines at a time in landscape, making it plenty big but very impractical. Of course a two page layout looks great in landscape but it s quite small. So I’d just go for the biggest screen I could afford. 14” is about equivalent to a standard sheet of paper, but still smaller than the average sheet music. Tablets that size run about 4x the price of a 10.4”. So a used 2-in-1 laptop is probably the most affordable big screen option.

 

[mizmar]

I suspect the size is to some degree a matter of both the resolution and ones personal habit/preference.

Eg: I've got a Flip C434 14''er. it's heavy for a music stand - but manageable; but I'm quite happy with the 10'' tablet for the distances I'm comfortable with in the practice room; and don't get much out of seeing a bigger page... Which, I'm sure, wouldn't work, eg, on stage or bandstand etc.

One size certainly won't fit all.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Well, after much deliberation, I've ordered an iPad 12.9 2nd gen for £299. We shall see.

 

[sunsetandlabrea]

I have my wife's old 12.9 1st generation iPad for sheet music, I only use it for that. Holds a charge really well still.

I use Newzik which I highly recommend.

 

[jthole]

For the past two years I have been using a Samsung S6 Lite for the various bands I play in. There’s ample storage, and the screen is bright enough. But it scratches rather easily! Hopefully the iPad you chose is better in that respect.

One thing I could not do without is a foot pedal, even when sheet music software supports half page turns. There’s often not enough time for me to swipe with my fingers, and personally I don’t like having to swipe especially when playing in front of an audience. So while I sometimes go without the pedal for rehearsals, or playing at home, I never go without when playing shows.

 

[mizmar]

I was just pondering... These days you can get ≈16'' of touch enabled portable monitor for < £$€300.
If one had a reasonably capable phone, why not just hook it up?

Has the advantage of not being yet another OS that needs updating, falls out of maintenance etc.
They don't seem to be stylus enabled yet.

 

[eb424]

I was just pondering... These days you can get ≈16'' of touch enabled portable monitor for < £$€300.
If one had a reasonably capable phone, why not just hook it up?

Has the advantage of not being yet another OS that needs updating, falls out of maintenance etc.
They don't seem to be stylus enabled yet.

Also with windows you can get the remote cobtrol fir the media playet. Payse forward, rewind etc..saves taking the sax off

 

[mizmar]

Also with windows you can get the remote cobtrol fir the media playet. Payse forward, rewind etc..saves taking the sax off

The portable screens work with all OS flavours.
My thought was that as many phones are very highly speced (memory, storage, cpu etc) compared to tablets, why not have to dots and tracks on the phone and just use a slave screen? Saves money and the screen will still be good if you upgrade the phone... So less eWaste. Actually, what would be really cool is a big slave ePaper screen! Energy efficient and would work in bright ambient light.

Also, regarding remote control:
I have a Bluetooth peddle that works with android and ChromeOS - and, I guess, windows. It's a bit weird on ChromeOS because it clocks in as a keyboard and the OS changes behaviour!
Anyway, I don't much like it for just practicing (it was 2nd hand, so not much cost). If I want to follow the dots for a multi-page arrangement, Mobileaheets has a handy auto-scroll set of functions.

 

[Veggie Dave]

Just remembered - our drummer has set his tablet up so that it automatically scrolls through the sheet music. This isn't to a click or anything, just basic timing.

 

[mizmar]

Just remembered - our drummer has set his tablet up so that it automatically scrolls through the sheet music. This isn't to a click or anything, just basic timing.

As octopus-like drummers are, I'd guess having to use a peddle page-turner peddle might be too much!

 

[stitch]

As octopus-like drummers are, I'd guess having to use a peddle page-turner peddle might be too much!

Or even a pedal ...

 

[mizmar]

Or even a pedal ...

It's like watching the IT Crowd in here, sometimes

 

[Colin the Bear]

I used to peddle. Kitchens, appliances etc.

 

[Tonehole]

I travel light and small, I recently bought an iPad mini Air 512gb 2nd hand unit and it meets my needs perfectly.
My old iPad did not have enough storage, slow and could not be updated to the latest software but had a bigger screen, bulky and heavy. My new one and can be slipped into a large pocket.

I have a foot pedal but usually swipe. I play my sax tracks on it more than I read music off it. But a few bands I play in do charts and link our iPads during shows, you never know what tune is next or if you have ever played it before.

 

[lig]

I use an older 12.9” iPad for set lists and for the rare reading gig. Forescore is great for that as well as fake books and practice stuff that comes in pdf form as previously mentioned.

Hate to promote Amazon but this cheap and cheerful holder works pretty well.

https://www.amazon.com/Hola-Music-HM-MTH-Microphone-Smartphone/dp/B00QT1E3K2/

 

[dexdex]

Forescore on a 12.9’ (A4) iPad for more than 10 years now. 5 different bands/books, plus the whole stack of real books in C, Bb and Eb, all in 1 piece of HW.
This thing never let me down. I take a spare iPad on gigs, never EVER had to use it.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Forescore on a 12.9’ (A4) iPad for more than 10 years now. 5 different bands/books, plus the whole stack of real books in C, Bb and Eb, all in 1 piece of HW.
This thing never let me down. I take a spare iPad on gigs, never EVER had to use it.

My refurbed £299 one from 3 years ago is still going strong too. Used daily.