Choosing a Tablet for Reading Charts

[John Stephen]

forScore is great....
....
You have to get pretty good with the page turning, since it only shows one page at a time. Especially when there are D.S. and whatever that go back 2 or 3 pages.

One of the most helpful features in forScore is that you can automatically page back 2 or 3 pages to a D.S. You just create a "link" within forScore to program it to jump from page 4 to page 2, or whatever it might be. There are certain aspects of forScore that I don't like, but that is one of the best things about it for me.

 

[DCFanatic]

I play in a country group and make my charts in PowerPoint. Using Nashville number system it is super straightforward.

 

[fdeck]

Paper charts are tough to read in outdoor gigs when the wind is blowing!. Brin lots of binder clips, even if you have them in a three ring binder.

Yup, as I've said, everything I know about being a professional musician, I learned in middle school band. And the band teacher told us that every musician needs to keep some clothespins in their case.

 

[fdeck]

One of the most helpful features in forScore is that you can automatically page back 2 or 3 pages to a D.S. You just create a "link" within forScore to program it to jump from page 4 to page 2, or whatever it might be. There are certain aspects of forScore that I don't like, but that is one of the best things about it for me.

That's great. One of the most aggravating things is getting to a DS in a multi page chart, and realizing that you didn't notice where the S was.

 

[BOOG]

I want to do it right the first time, but I don’t like spending more than I need to spend. Thx for any advice you can toss my way!

iPad.
Just like bass gear, cry once-buy once.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I have never owned a tablet in my life. Plenty of desktops and a laptop, never a tablet. But it appears that the entire reading world has converted. And I never make a major purchase without research and lots of it, especially something that I never bought before. Sooooo…

1. Will I look like a ne’er do well if I don’t have an iPad? Or would a solid Android tablet that doesn’t cost as much still make me acceptable and be as easy to use as iPads seem?

2. Obviously the bigger the screen, the better but how big is too big? Same for RAM and storage space as I can’t imagine there being a need for the.highest speed and storage just to flip thru sheet music and DL some MP3’s sometimes.

3. I have no idea what some decent software for organizing your music and making it easy to find quickly exists. Got suggestions for both Apple and Android?

4. What kind of average battery time can I expect out of one?

I want to do it right the first time, but I don’t like spending more than I need to spend. Thx for any advice you can toss my way!

#1 - As long as people don't come up specifically to see what you're using, no one will know if it's an iPad, Android, or Kindle. There are a lot more music apps available for iPad than either Android or Kindle.

#2 - I used a 7" Kindle Fire HD for years because I already had it. That screen is pretty darn small but the holder attaches to my mic stand and it works fine. My wife wanted a 10" kindle for Chrismas last year and I bought it months ahead of time at a really good price (around $100 instead of the $179 to $189 that it normally is. AND....then in late November she bought herself a $300+ iPad. Just ruined that great gift idea and I'd already had it in its box for a month. So I kept it and use it myself, including viewing pdf's of my charts. Just copied them right from my 7" to my 10" Kindle. It is much easier to see. Lead guitar player in one of my groups uses a full-sized music stand mounted low on stage and this 10" is certainly less noticeable than that.

Bad news is that I bought it in a Rose color because I thought she'd like that. If I was buying it for me, I would have bought it in black to be less noticeable. I've only used it for rehearsals so far but I need to find a simple black cover without a screen covering on it so it doesn't stand out so much on stage. My 7" one is in black and it's much less noticeable on stage. That 10" one is definitely much easier to read on stage though and I don't think it's too big.

#3 - lots of choices for iPad. Not nearly as many for Android and even fewer for Kindle.

#4 - Not sure how much battery time I get with my Kindle 10. When using it for gigs, I set my display setting for 30-minutes - meaning that I have to leave it on a page for 30-minutes without touching it before it will go into sleep mode. We typically play 4-hour gigs, so basically I have it on for the entire 4-hours. I never had it go out on me and I can't believe that reading charts takes up anywhere near as much battery as watching a video does. For me at least, it's no concern at all.

If you have the ducats for it, get the iPad for the wide assortment of apps. If money is a concern, get an Android or Kindle.

 

[frankie5string]

Folks are kidding if they think the audience can't tell. Of course they can! Everyone looking at their iPad is being lit by the backlight of the iPad no matter how dim it is set. If you're on a dark stage, it looks like everyone is standing up there telling spooky campfire stories. lol!

I've been running Forscore for iPad since about 2010ish. I use a Hercules iPad "mount" for my music-stand legs - but originally used to just set the iPad on the desk of the stand and use the remaining space to hold a water bottle, plectrums, or something like a couple Tylenol or an antacid
.
Forscore was one of the first applications where you could mark all your codas, DS, etc and have touch-points to jump between them (or use a pedal) ... Very handy with some of the multi-pagers I get. All of the links, annotations, and markings get saved to a separate file that gets backed up every week.

For page-turning I used a Pageflip Cicada from 2007 until I lost it after a show in 2019, then I upgraded to a Pageflip Firefly. The battery door on the Firefly is terrible and easily opened... Prepare to gaffer it shut.

Now that I have mild cataracts (not bad enough for surgery yet) I'm looking at getting the larger iPad.

 

[RobertAuCoin]

I have to download it to my computer and email it to myself or put it on google drive, and then get it from my ipad and save to forScore.

If you scan a PDF from your Notes app (in iPasOS, or even using an iPhone), then you can save it to any cloud location, just using the basic Files app. I have a subfolder called “ForScore” in my iCloud documents folder, but you could use Box, Dropbox, etc.

Next, I just import the PDF into ForScore from that location.

 

[Jack Deth]

I typically read an entire thread before posting, but I’m tired as crap so forgive me ahead of time if already posted.

I’ll go against the grain and mention a laptop convertible that switches to a table. Something like a “HP Pavilion x360”. Those run regular MS Windows software, so you can get much more robustness than a reader. Finale, Presonus, Sibelius, Pro Tools, Abelton, etc. can all run on it in addition to orchestra grade readers. Costs less too. I own an iPad Pro and a high octane gaming laptop (read that as heavy as crap) and am now kicking myself for not getting one. YMMV, so look one over good if it sounds like a fit for your needs and see if there is software for Windows that does what you need.

 

[OldSchoolFlats]

FYI, just loaded-up forScore on my iPad Air 3. Easy to load PDFs I had on the cloud (OneDrive), and the 10.5" screen is easier to read than I feared.

 

[Ronzo]

Folks are kidding if they think the audience can't tell. Of course they can! Everyone looking at their iPad is being lit by the backlight of the iPad no matter how dim it is set. If you're on a dark stage, it looks like everyone is standing up there telling spooky campfire stories. lol.

Using Dark Mode on the iPad might solve that problem.

 

[Jason Hollar]

I’ve used an older iPad Pro 9.7 for years but will definitely get a larger screen next time.

I use iReal, forScore, & OnSong. I use Spotify & Algoriddim Djay for set break music, and Amazing Slow Downer for practice.

I also chose the iPad with cellular and added it to my plan. I can’t tell you how many outdoor gigs I do in the boonies with no wifi, but somehow decent cell signal.

I still schlepp a beat up Manhasset because several gigs I do require binders that would kill most any other stand. Plus, the Manhasset can actually double as an umbrella on rainy load ins.

 

[Bass4Gsus]

My Kindle HD Fire 10 is great for reading PDF files - easy to read, battery life is more than enough to get through a gig, plenty of storage (which can be expanded), etc. I believe I paid $110 for it. There are smaller, older, cheaper models available.

One problem I have yet to solve is how, at the end of a song, to QUICKLY get back to the File Manager, scroll through the PDF's, and pull up the next chart. This is problematic because my band often starts the next song almost immediately after ending the previous song (kudos to them; I hate players that noodle around between songs).

Until I figure this out I am using paper charts. I maintain an Excel file with song titles in one column and charts in a second column. Before a gig I sort these columns in set list order (we are a band who sticks to our set list - imagine that!), so I only have to flip pages maybe three times per set.

I've only had the tablet for about a month, and I'm confident I can solve the afore-mentioned problem.

Easy Use MobileSheets Pro, setup a setlist, ready.

 

[c-ba55]

One of the most helpful features in forScore is that you can automatically page back 2 or 3 pages to a D.S. You just create a "link" within forScore to program it to jump from page 4 to page 2, or whatever it might be. There are certain aspects of forScore that I don't like, but that is one of the best things about it for me.

Wow that’s cool. Thank you!

 

[John Stephen]

Wow that’s cool. Thank you!

You betcha. Enjoy it.

 

[Bass4Gsus]

I am a boring old fart. No friggin' tablet for me. I was invited to a jam session which I attended a few times until I got tired of being the bass player playing with six guitar players who all strummed pretty much the same thing.

And they all had tablets! Somebody would call a song, then each one would take five minutes trying to find it on their tablet, then there would be a problem because they were in different keys. It would take 10 minutes to get a three minute song organized.

I quit.

The people I play with now use paper charts, and we each have a book of jazz tunes four-inches thick or several or we play blues or three chord wonders that everyone can pick up in a hurry.

Don't blame the technology when they use the wrong tools and the wrong software, and don't learn how to use it. That example makes me think you can play bass lines on an regular electric guitar because it has the same low strings. I can find any tune out of 4,000 in a second using MobileSheets Pro, but I use the Set Lists feature for my Church gig and just keep advancing. Over the course of a year it's a huge number of songs, different ones each week. I can notate, annotate, and write on my tablet to my heart's content because of Samsung's stylus is just like I was writing with a pen or pencil on paper. I even put my practice, lessons, and woodshedding on the tablet too.

It only took one session with my tablet to realize there is no going back to paper. Getting ready each week now that I'm setup takes a minute, no filing, putting in a binder, and returning it to the big music file box. AND no miss filings either. No fixing the holes with tape because they get torn over time. My office has been paperless for years, long before Covid. I feel like an idiot I didn't do the same with my music sooner.

I use my paper size tablet to write on like pen and paper so taking notes is just as easy as writing on paper and I've been doing that 7 years already.

You absolutely need the right robust and flexible gig ready software, not just Adobe reader, that is more important than the Eco System.

I do get preferring paper and no one should switch unless they want to. And wasting time between songs is a real pain, it kills the mood. But there isn't anything that's done on paper I can't do on my tablet, and it's backed up unlike paper. I'm not saying you should switch, just that it can be done and done well and I think actually faster, not just lighter. I'm not ditching or selling any of my paper fakebooks or lesson books.

I've down sized my amp, my gear, use neodymium speakers, and downsized my gig bag too. Why not ditch all the weight of the books too. We're not getting any younger. and lighter can be better. And Tech is not just for the young.

I really do regret not doing this sooner.

 

[Bass4Gsus]

The Galaxy Tab S7 is fantastic for writing, has a beautiful screen, powerful processor, and at 11", is a great size, between a standard tablet size and the jumbo sized 12.9" screens.

I tried to see if I qualified for lasik and it turns out I am too old for that but the doc said I have 20/20 vision still. Mid 50's. But I always go for more real estate even though I do not need reading glasses at all. It just makes sense. Eat out less for this month, cut the beer and starbucks and you should have the dough to get a bigger screen

Get a second opinion from another doctor, your not too old, if you have 20/20 though you may not need it but have other issues. Take care of your eyes!

 

[Outbush]

I'm at this same point and struggling a bit with the step away from paper. My question is, How much storage do you need? This thread has me thinking that inevitably I might not end up using Ultimate-Guitar, but say I start there and end up with 250 songs as lyric/chord charts and 2 or 3 Real Books do I need 64GB, 128GB, bigger?

 

[glocke1]

I have never owned a tablet in my life. Plenty of desktops and a laptop, never a tablet. But it appears that the entire reading world has converted. And I never make a major purchase without research and lots of it, especially something that I never bought before. Sooooo…

1. Will I look like a ne’er do well if I don’t have an iPad? Or would a solid Android tablet that doesn’t cost as much still make me acceptable and be as easy to use as iPads seem?

2. Obviously the bigger the screen, the better but how big is too big? Same for RAM and storage space as I can’t imagine there being a need for the.highest speed and storage just to flip thru sheet music and DL some MP3’s sometimes.

3. I have no idea what some decent software for organizing your music and making it easy to find quickly exists. Got suggestions for both Apple and Android?

4. What kind of average battery time can I expect out of one?

I want to do it right the first time, but I don’t like spending more than I need to spend. Thx for any advice you can toss my way!

If you aren't already an Apple user, it probably doesn't matter what you OS you get. I have an iPhone, iMac and MBP, so stuck with an iPad Pro (largest size now thanks to my eyesight getting worse).

FWIW, I do find Apple products to last pretty long before replacing them. Generally I'll go 5-6 years between products and I have one iMac here that is over a decade old and is still useful for somethings.

RAM/speed/storage space: get as maxed out a system as you can afford.

for music organization, I tried a couple of apps, but could never get the hang of them or get things organized the way I want and in the end that process just turned into too much of a timesink so I create PDF's and drop them into iBooks or whatever it is called and just make sure I have the tunes for that night easily accessible via bookmarks.

 

[frankie5string]

Using Dark Mode on the iPad might solve that problem.

Some of our folks tried that...Some also tried running their iPads in "reverse text" mode (I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's in the Accessibility section) and you could still see the light bleed.