Carrying Sheet Music

[jsolberg]

I don't use sheet music, but for lyrics and backing tracks use an android tablet, Set List Maker app, and a page flip pedal for page turning. So far it's working great. Set List Maker work on both Android and IOS. The time savings in arranging a set list digitally vs paper sheets is worth it alone.

 

[madbanjoman]

I play in two bands. My main band I have most of the songs we play memorized. When we add new songs during our busy gigging season, we add them to the ipad and read them until they are memorized. In my other band, we have a book of 400 songs. There is no telling which song the BL is going to call so I need them all on my ipad. I have a high incentive to memorize the songs for my main band as we are getting paid to perform these songs not have our noses in the ipad. The other band is a large volunteer band that plays once or twice a week and most of the members play from sheet music.

 

[groooooove]

lotta dudes use Ipads, i don't

im a big fan of using some small magnets to hold the paper down, in plastic sheets or not. for outdoor gigs they're a must. you can get good ones on amazon pretty cheap.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

There are pros and cons to iPads for outdoor gigs. If you have direct sunlight shining on it, it can heat up. I had an iPad 3rd gen go into thermal protection during and outdoor gig. Fortunately it was on the last song of the set. Just something to watch out for. If you are playing with a chance of rain, you can put the iPad in a jumbo ziploc bag and the touchscreen will still work.

 

[fingerguy]

lotta dudes use Ipads, i don't

im a big fan of using some small magnets to hold the paper down, in plastic sheets or not. for outdoor gigs they're a must. you can get good ones on amazon pretty cheap.

I am a binder fanatic. I use binders for so many things and they are great for holding down pages, holding sheets of music, and separate binders holding multiple pages of each song together.

I am a binder fanatic and proud of it.

 

[duff beer]

Hardly...if I was going to toot my own horn, I'd tell you how I'm able to play along on guitar (not my main instrument) to another guitarist on an unfamiliar song while transposing with a capo. But, I won't do that because that would be bragging...

In all seriousness, I've never had sheet music or cheat sheets for any songs that I play, other than using a cheat sheet for the occasional new song that I'm still learning. I've always assumed that memorizing the set list was "normal" for most people. In fact, one of my red flags when auditioning for bands is when I see sheet music or chord charts used by band members for songs that they've been playing for years.

 

[fclefgeoff]

Question about For Score (hello everyone... I'm new here) ... I see it can do scores but can it also do chord charts? At my church I basically get a sheet with the lyrics and the chords above the word at the changes... not very music-like though it's enough. Can For Score recognize that?

In addition to importing PDF, ForScore also has a 'darkroom' function that allows you to import photos so you can easily take a picture of the sheet music (or chord chart, setlist, lyrics, etc.) and import it into the app. As mentioned, it also natively allows you to import files from Dropbox.

 

[fingerguy]

Hardly...if I was going to toot my own horn, I'd tell you how I'm able to play along on guitar (not my main instrument) to another guitarist on an unfamiliar song while transposing with a capo. But, I won't do that because that would be bragging...

In all seriousness, I've never had sheet music or cheat sheets for any songs that I play, other than using a cheat sheet for the occasional new song that I'm still learning. I've always assumed that memorizing the set list was "normal" for most people. In fact, one of my red flags when auditioning for bands is when I see sheet music or chord charts used by band members for songs that they've been playing for years.

Well that is different. I too memorize songs as I play them over and over again. I haven't played Blackbird on guitar in months but hand me a guitar and I guarantee I can play it right now. But when I am getting 3 songs at a time and then we don't go back to them that much, and I have only so much time to practice. memorizing isn't an option but for me to memorize a song it takes a lot of repetition because of how my brain works.

I am sure if I was on a band and been playing the same songs for months if not years, I would have to be really dumb not knowing them by heart. Sorry if that offends anyone.

Plus I found an old saying true: if you think you stink. I found when I am thinking as I am playing I am stinking. But if I am just playing by memory or at least following the charts and nothing thinking, I play quite well.

 

[ba55i5t]

I seen videos of Kirk Hammett backstage working with the guys trying to remember how to play a song and having trouble. My teacher and I sometimes do 3 new songs a lesson and I practice them till we meet again. Also I have a full time job, a daughter, a fiance, 4 dogs, house, responsibilities. So what were you saying about memorizing?

I'm saying you should memorize them rather than memorize your list of excuses.

 

[fingerguy]

I'm saying you should memorize them rather than memorize your list of excuses.

Tell that to the long hair guy making millions and playing the same songs for years and still having trouble playing them. Just saying.

 

[ba55i5t]

Tell that to the long hair guy making millions and playing the same songs for years and still having trouble playing them. Just saying.

I'm saying you should memorize them rather than memorize your list of excuses.

 

[Duanestuermer]

I worked for a band leader for a number of years, that lead an 8 to 12 piece band . He owned all the books of about 200 songs each, and carried them in a road case.
The case was one of the heaviest pieces of gear he had, as heavy as an 88 key keyboard.
I needed 3 stands to hold the weight of my bass/vocal book alone.
If that sucker dropped, it was a disaster

 

[fingerguy]

I worked for a band leader for a number of years, that lead an 8 to 12 piece band . He owned all the books of about 200 songs each, and carried them in a road case.
The case was one of the heaviest pieces of gear he had, as heavy as an 88 key keyboard.
I needed 3 stands to hold the weight of my bass/vocal book alone.
If that sucker dropped, it was a disaster

Watch the movie Whiplash (2014) - IMDb
You will understand.

 

[monkeyland]

What happens when you forget your pedalboard?

I was just listening to a podcast where someone forgot their pedalboard and all their cables were with it. They had to play directly to the amp with a borrowed cable.

Unless you have multiple backups for everything in multiple locations, something will be forgotten at some point.

In the case of paper charts, it's pretty much a sure thing that no one, anywhere, will have a duplicate for me. In the case of a charger, pretty much everyone has one of some sort, and I probably have a couple in the car. If not there's one available at the gas station that's near the gig but 50 miles from wherever I left the charger. The gas station won't have charts for me. If the tablet breaks then I have bigger problems and need to be a big boy and play the gig the best that I can.

 

[Jon Moody]

I worked for a band leader for a number of years, that lead an 8 to 12 piece band . He owned all the books of about 200 songs each, and carried them in a road case.
The case was one of the heaviest pieces of gear he had, as heavy as an 88 key keyboard.
I needed 3 stands to hold the weight of my bass/vocal book alone.
If that sucker dropped, it was a disaster

I had that with a local big band I used to play in. The bass book was GIGANTIC with the older, oversized charts from decades. I'd walk in and sight-read the show, all the while praying the wooden music stand held.

 

[2cooltoolz]

Android tablet with MobileSheetsPro app.

Ditto.

Tablets are great until you forget to charge them and the charger is at home.

Yeah, that electric stuff is just a fad. . Charger in my gig bag.

 

[FrankLowend]

When I first started with my teacher we went over so many songs that I got those plastic sheets, and put it in a binder but found the plastic sheets were so slippery that they would always fall off the music stand. So that method was stopped.

Then I continued to use the plastic sheet for each song but just as a holder but that got annoying for they are not always easy to get into the sheet. So that method was stopped.

So one day I walked around Staples and found something useful: a clear plastic folder with a zip seal. But now that I am playing bass we are going through so many song so fast. So the sheets are adding up but I always need all songs with me for you never know what he will want to work on.

SO...I went to Staples again looking for something else. Was going for more of a leather folder or something but every single thing I found has binder clips which I will never use.

So what do you use to hold all your music?

My broke brain...

 

[Michael Eisenman]

...So what do you use to hold all your music?

Assuming you are working with paper, an accordion folder. I keep my big-band charts in one for storage; for each gig I put the charts into file folders—one for each set.

 

[RoadRanger]

Android tablets are cheap, I carry two. iPads not-so-much but I carry two of those when they're needed.

 

[s van order]

I haven't had a problem with glare yet. When I first went this route I had a problem with sunglasses at an outdoor gig. Got new sunglasses, no more problem. Both Set List Maker and Fir Score allow you to edit the documents ( add dynamics, articulation, etc ) and save them to the chart.

Thanks for the tips.