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How do YOU scroll PDF music on your laptop

russ_bass

russ_bass

Aug 5, 2020
42
41
#1
Hey there. I know it's a generic title but I wanted to know what YOU do, not what in theory can be done. I have quite a few songs now in PDF format. So I use a PDF reader (ie: Foxit Reader) on my PC.

The challenge is that if I'm playing along to a Youtube video and trying to read the music in the PDF reader, I need a 3rd hand to quickly hit the up/down key to scroll the PDF music up and down.

I know there are foot pedals for software that you have music in, but I'm needing something for simply scrolling up/down, etc. in a PDF that's a foot pedal (as I don't have the elusive 3rd hand).

I had seen a video where a guy altered a bluetooth calculator to act as a footpedal but apart from that, has anyone used a pedal of some kind for what I'm looking for?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2
In Adobe Acrobat, if you hit the space bar it will advance the page. So, if I'm playing at home, I place my wireless keyboard on the floor and tap the space bar with my toe. You could use a wired keyboard if the cord is long enough. My monitor is large enough so I can read a full page at a time and don't really have to worry about actually scrolling on a single page. There is only one major issue that I have encountered . . . if you have a repeat that crosses pages, I've not found an efficient way to PageUp to go back a page. My only fix for this has been to rewrite the music so that the repeat falls on a single page.

And, just for grins and giggles, they do make a device specifically made for music readers and for the life of me I can't recall the name at the moment. But it does open up like a book and has a 2-page display and uses a foot swtch to turn the pages. It also has a pen that allows one to make changes right on the screen. I first saw it watching vkgoeswild doing some of her piano covers. But it is very expensive! Probably only worthwhile for those who do reading gigs.
 
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#3
Now that's a good idea. Sort of the idea I saw where a guy took a bluetooth calculator, took all/most of the keys off the front and glued a piece on the left side where only the - was pressed and a piece on the right side where only the + was pressed. So pressing one side it went down, one side it went up. Looks like bluetooth is the way to go. Thanks.
 
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#8
I use a Donner wireless page turner for just that. Can send keystrokes to Acrobat so you can use it to scroll, flip pages or whatever. , Has two footswitces so you can go back and forth. If you set bookmarks in the pdf you can also jump between them.
 
#10
Not quite answering your specific question, but an iPad with OnSong and a Bluetooth foot pedal does it.
Also if you set the tempo in OnSong it will automatically scroll down the page without the need for the pedal.
I watched an old Elton John concert last night with Leon Russell who was using something similar on his piano.
You could clearly see the lyrics and chords on the screen as it scrolled.
 
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#11
PXL_20210327_132236679.jpg
this works for me. I use it on a tablet, but it works on anything with bluetooth. It's not locked into sheet music software. Works for kindle and PDF viewers, too. It's recognized as a keyboard by the device you pair it with, and you can configure what keystrokes it sends. :thumbsup:

Although I do appreciate the suggestion to put a keyboard on the floor, as it speaks to my cheapskate nature.:roflmao:
 
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#12
I use software called OnSong. It doesn't really support PDF. But once you create a song, one of the parameters is scroll time. For very short songs on a single page, I set that to zero. But for longer songs, it works really well.

Also, once a song is in the database, you can export it in plain text or PDF.

They are trying to push everyone toward a subscription model which sucks. But you can still buy a perpetual license. It's pretty cheap. I paid $20.
 
#15
I built this for a few bucks:

bassistTech/PgUpDnPedal

It's wired, not wireless. It simulates a USB keyboard with two keys: PgUp and PgDn. It also has a bit of logic to disable auto-repeat and make it more friendly for actual page turning.

I've also built a wireless version, but it still needs some refinement. Meanwhile, let's talk about wired and wireless. Sure, wireless is cool and eliminates a cable that you have to carry around. Also, it prevents having to keep the wire from pulling your laptop or tablet onto the floor. On the other hand, wireless connections are never as robust as wired, and Bluetooth has many interesting failure modes. And you have to keep a wireless device charged.

In terms of "just get it working," the wired version can't be beat. And many musicians end up with a wire anyway, for power, if their batteries aren't great.

Of course the project has the usual problem of DIY gear, which is that you really don't save much money or time unless you're fully tooled up to carry out a project quickly, which I am. I use these "Teensy" development boards all over the place, at home and at my day job. And for some reason, the lockdown drove me into some kind of weird self reliance mode, don't ask me why. Probably because I needed a diversion.
 
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#16
My laptop is a desktop replacement. When at home, I hook up an external display to it. The 20" display can show 2 letter pages side by side and the laptop screen is free (or available for the YouTube video in your case). Two pages is a lot, often I don't need to scroll. If I do, 1 click with the right hand and I'm on to pages 3-4.

Ergonomically, a external display is pretty necessary for extended laptop use at home. The built in screen is good for the plane or coffee shop, but at home we deserve better. LCD monitors are cheap nowadays. 24" for $200 is common.

I just tested it, and found out I can open the same PDF document with two different Apps at the same time (ie. Adobe Acrobat and Apple Preview). This allows 2 pages full screen on the external monitor, and 1 page full width on the laptop monitor all at once. I could also put pages 3-4 on the laptop monitor side by side... small but readable.

Oh yes, in Acrobat, I always use the View -> Page Display -> Two Up setting.

See two full pages side by side at the same time. Full screen is optional.

pdf reading.jpg
 
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#18
I’ve been using an Airturn pedal for years. They have several options, but I use one of the earliest (simple) models, and I’m completely pleased. The model I use is quite small and I typically take it to jams (mostly bluegrass) and use it with an iPad (and OnSong, but not required). It works with any Bluetooth-compatible device, though, so your PC should be fine if you’ve got Bluetooth.

I have no financial interest, but since I’m a longtime customer I get regular offers from them. I got email today announcing a discount code “SPRING” valid through 3/31. Check them out at airturn.com
 
#19
I use an app called Forescore on my IPad, and control it with a battery powered Bluetooth foot switch. It’s a system I’ve been using when I play tuba for the past 10 year or so, and works great. The app gives you the option of different libraries and different sets, so if you actually use it to play out it’s easier to stay organized.

I haven’t had to use it playing bass as I memorize all the music, but it’s getting to the point where I’m in enough bands to require “off site storage” as my internal storage devices are getting old and clunky!
 

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