That's one of the many reasons I really like my e-paper device over iPads/Android tablets. I can adjust the lighting where the page is illuminated, but I'm not. No campfire glows.
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Choosing a Tablet for Reading Charts
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
That's one of the many reasons I really like my e-paper device over iPads/Android tablets. I can adjust the lighting where the page is illuminated, but I'm not. No campfire glows.
Yeah, one of the other things we did was to make sure the backgrounds on all the charts were "blank" - some ended up being kinda grey when one member scanned them in. A high-pass filter really helped <ducks beer bottle of sarcasm>...
I can't remember the name of the company, but years ago (maybe around 2003?) There was a company doing a distributed digital sheet music system using E-Ink panels. They could even network to the conductors "master score" tablet and follow along in real time. I know War of the Worlds used it for their tour in the early 2000s. I got to try it, and one group I was in almost invested the four figures to get the system. I think they basically disappeared overnight as soon as the iPad hit the market.
I've never tried to link devices together, mainly because no one else is using the same system as me and we're all reading different parts with different page turns most of the time... but many apps have that ability now (forScore, etc...). Seems like a neat concept. I thought I had read somewhere that Harry Connick Jr had used that system... maybe?
I just grabbed a few pics of the difference an iPad has when compared to an e-paper display. Both are set at 25% brightness with the same chart pulled up. Most of the glow you're seeing from the e-paper display is just light coming in from the kitchen. The iPad... well it's a beacon no matter what brightness I set it at. I could have dimmed both a little more... but for the iPad it didn't seem to change the amount of light it sent out and it got hard to read pretty quickly. For the e-paper display, I could have lowered the light level even more and still read the chart.
In MobileSheets Pro 4,000 songs either as part of 6 fakebooks or individual sheets the backup file takes 726 meg. The Real Book 6ed V1 is 49.5 meg by itself which I scanned using 400x400. The Sher New Real Book V1 is 266meg which I purchased as a pdf. On my tablet the storage folder which is song data only is 734 meg. So even if all are the size of the purchased pdf a couple of gig is plenty of head room.
Speed is better on my newer tablet but unless comparing side by side it's not noticeable and the app is very fast.
The big thing for me has always been screen size, that makes a difference.
I don't play in a darkened room, but I still used a music stand light with paper. If your in a dark room you need a light to see the paper, wouldn't a music stand light create light noise too?
Although now I have a solid good reason to want the bigger Onyx Boox.
When I use paper charts I use a light if I need one. But the only place I use paper and lights is for big band reading gigs... which is a different context because we're all using lights and it's the norm. For trio's and such, I use a K&M small mic stand with a very small device mount. It's pretty unobtrusive.
My gig tablet is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A, 10.1" screen.
1. I've had band members look at what I can do with my tablet (splitting the screen to have both the set list AND my charts on screen at the same time, being able to adjust the size of each split, and be able to navigate my file system independently on both sides of the split) and then immediately say "Wow I wish my iPad could do that." Samsung tablets are INFINITELY superior. It is impossible to understate this.
2. Part of going with a tablet is to avoid the look of everyone having a music stand on stage. A big enough tablet could start to look like this. All personal preference though.
3. I use Xodo. It's a PDF viewer. I organize all my charts into folders for each letter of the alphabet, so I can quickly get out of a chart, navigate the file system, get to the right letter, and grab the right chart that I need next.
4. I get three 4-hour gigs out of a charge if I turn the screen off during breaks/speeches/dinner/etc. This tablet is probably five years old, and that's what it gets after all this time. Pretty good if you ask me.
I use a 10.5" iPad and use my reading glasses. But the type of gigs I do, that's fine. I would much prefer the large iPad though. One thing nice about using a tablet is one doesn't have to fiddle with a light for the music stand. The tablet is very even lighting comparably.
I use Piascore for years, but they've been removing features in favor of their paid version. I've used Muszak and Forscore. Forscore is the best one from what I found. Piascore is kluggy in their navigation. Particularly if one is going back and forth between downloading and the setlist.
Also, tablet and phone apps from Musescore is not open source, and for practical purposes, not free either.
Any contributions one makes to the open source side, they have to sign over ownership of that code to the people that run Musescore. This is what enables them to move that contribution over to tablet versions and charge without paying royalties, etc.
Musescore is weak for guitar compared to apps like Guitar Pro. It's really geared towards lyrics and other instruments. Seems like the people that own Musescore are classical or symphony musicians. Workflow is great, but just not for guitar. Guitar Pro is the other way around.
I use Piascore for years, but they've been removing features in favor of their paid version. I've used Muszak and Forscore. Forscore is the best one from what I found. Piascore is kluggy in their navigation. Particularly if one is going back and forth between downloading and the setlist.
Also, tablet and phone apps from Musescore is not open source, and for practical purposes, not free either.
Any contributions one makes to the open source side, they have to sign over ownership of that code to the people that run Musescore. This is what enables them to move that contribution over to tablet versions and charge without paying royalties, etc.
Musescore is weak for guitar compared to apps like Guitar Pro. It's really geared towards lyrics and other instruments. Seems like the people that own Musescore are classical or symphony musicians. Workflow is great, but just not for guitar. Guitar Pro is the other way around.
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Try dark mode - this will minimize the light by making the background black and the writing white.
apparently this is also better for your eyes…
I'm not famiiliar with Xodo. Is it possible to link pages in a long chart, so that if you get to page 7 and you want to then go back to page 2, can you create that kind of link?
Also, can you group a bunch of individual song pdfs into one setlist, like you can in forScore?
This is strictly for amusement... my homemade page turning pedal. It simulates a USB keyboard with PgUp and PgDn buttons, but with unique timing that makes it less error prone when used as a foot pedal. For instance there is no auto-repeat. It was one of several pandemic-inspired hobby projects. All of the parts were already on hand, from other projects.
I also built a Bluetooth version, but Bluetooth is a bit more fussy for a hobbyist to get working reliably, and then it always needs a battery. I'll save that for the next pandemic.
In any event a wire really isn't going to be much of a burden.
Of course there's no reason to do this, when you can just buy a page turning pedal. But that's not what hobbies are about.
I also built a Bluetooth version, but Bluetooth is a bit more fussy for a hobbyist to get working reliably, and then it always needs a battery. I'll save that for the next pandemic.
In any event a wire really isn't going to be much of a burden.Of course there's no reason to do this, when you can just buy a page turning pedal. But that's not what hobbies are about.
I never had much luck with my AirTurn page-turning pedal. I kept accidentally stepping on the back pedal instead of the forward pedal, which induces panic during a gig, and sometimes it just wouldn't work (I guess I didn't have the exact amount of pressure needed when I stepped on it?)? Anyway, I just use my fingertip to tap the screen to go to the next page. Your homemade pedal looks like it would be easier to use.
Nope, at least as far as I know. It's really just an open source (I think it is anyway) PDF viewer. Nothing fancy. But one really nice thing is that you can have multiple instances of it, so I can browse folders on both sides of the split screen, and have multiple PDFs displaying at one time.
Technically, there is no “age limit” for Lasik. But there is definitely a point of diminishing returns. I was told that I could definitely do it, but then I would likely just be needing reading glasses not too far in the future.
(BTW, that was probably around 10 years ago, so now…
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Technically, there is no “age limit” for Lasik. But there is definitely a point of diminishing returns. I was told that I could definitely do it, but then I would likely just be needing reading glasses not too far in the future.
(BTW, that was probably around 10 years ago, so now…
Thanks. As for the OP, who knows what and why the Doc said, and maybe the message was misunderstood. I’m pretty sure they recommend lasik for people with growing cataracts that are going to be operated on anyway.
As for Lasik, some people can’t actually handle the mental gymnastics of having the near correction and the far sight corrections. That is quite common and they do test for it. I tested OK.
I have the contact lens equivalent but multi focal but with the same near/far correction like lasik, only with a 3D effect afforded by the lenses. I’m actually 20-15 with these. No need for glasses other than to give your eyes a break.
The main reason I got these (since 2006) was how well it worked with reading sheet music. But it also eliminated safety issue of going and down steps wearing progressive focal glasses. For me these contacts are just about as good a when I was a were a kid.
Folks, who knew this page would blow up like this so quickly?? I've been so busy with moving and cleaning and putting things on top of other things. I thank you all for your input. and I'll read them just as soon as I can get the pedal storage room shelves loaded. Whew! I hate moving!
everything you post blows up jimmy.
You’re a popular guy!
