| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| cpatch |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 12:40:16 PM
Talk to any Apple/technology fan these days and you'll hear all kinds of justifications of why they need an iPad. But not many will explain that it makes a great tool for guitar/ukulele players (or any musician who would love to carry their entire sheet music/tablature collection with them).
In case you've been living in a grass shack with no access to the outside world for the past few months, the iPad is, upon first glance, a larger version of the iPod Touch. But the additional screen space (a little over 2.5 times the height and width with just over 5 times the number of pixels), a gorgeously crisp and vibrant screen, and at least 10 hours of battery life make the iPad a lot more usable for everyday applications.
What that means to guitar and ukuelel players (and other musicians) is that the iPad is a great way to carry around your sheet music library, whether it's in PDF files (including scanned PDFs), text tab files, or Guitar Pro/Power Tab files. The screen is big enough for the tab to be readable (and you can quickly zoom in and out if necessary with a simple pinch gesture), and in the latter two file formats you can even have the iPad play the tab at a controllable tempo for you to learn from and play along with. Your music is neatly arranged by song title and artist and you can easily transfer files from your computer to the iPad using a web browser (or download directly from the web). All of this magic is courtesy of a $10 app called Tab Toolkit (also available for the iPhone and iPod Touch), which you can see in action on the iPad here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw4pxPecGKA
(Warning: If you have a large tab collection and don't have $500 to spend, do NOT watch this video!)
Now, whether or not all of this justifies the $499 price is up to you and your wallet. But just in case you need something else to lust after between bouts of G.A.S.... |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cpatch |
Posted - 10/15/2010 : 06:14:39 AM
Tab Toolkit just added GP6 support. Also, AirTurn, the makers of the MusicReader app Cynthia mentioned, have announced the availability of a Bluetooth page turning pedal for the iPad sometime before the end of 2010. Supposedly the pedal will work with other apps as well. |
| Cynthia |
Posted - 05/11/2010 : 04:04:01 AM
Well, I had to try out the various iPad apps, and here is a little more info. Tabtoolkit will not read files from Guitar Pro 6. The people at GP6 say they are working on making it possible to export to GP5 format, but no date estimate. The people at Tabtoolkit say they are working on being able to read GP6 format, but no date estimate. However, Tabtoolkit does read PDFs, as does MusicReader (http://musicreader.net/), which has a free iPad app but requires a PC or Mac version of its MusicReader software ($59) that converts PDFs into its proprietary format. MusicReader has some nice features, including the ability to add annotations, and some page turning alternatives. I like being able to use the MusicReader app in landscape mode on my iPad, since it renders the music full-size, important for my crummy vision. So for now, I'm inputting music on GP6, exporting it as a PDF and reading on the MusicReader app. So, okay, maybe if I spent more time practicing and less time geeking around, I'd be a better slacker. |
| cpatch |
Posted - 04/18/2010 : 09:37:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Volcano
I would think that you could put in the time (metronome marking) and the page would turn by itself at the right time.
I thought of that but repeats would be a problem. |
| Mark |
Posted - 04/18/2010 : 08:46:01 AM
...and now, here's another reason to buy one of these gadgets & help my Apple stock go up:
Sonoma Wireworks Multitrack Recording for iPad:
http://www.sonomawireworks.com/iphone/studiotrack/
That's in addition to the IK Groovemaker Ap, for all you hep DJs out in Taropatch.
http://www.groovemaker.com/ipad/features
I imagine it's only a matter of time until someone comes up with a decent mic & audio in, like they did for the iPod.
Pad up! |
| Volcano |
Posted - 04/17/2010 : 5:46:12 PM
I would think that you could put in the time (metronome marking) and the page would turn by itself at the right time. |
| RWD |
Posted - 04/17/2010 : 04:19:20 AM
Craig
Until the page turning foot switch was mentioned, the sheet music idea seemed to have a limited use .
I could see three buttons, one to continue, one for back, and one for the next score. An app that would allow the scripting of the display and a foot switch to "continue" would work out really well. |
| maggie |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 5:35:04 PM
I'll wait for the foldable version, that way I can tuck it into the pocket of my guitar case. |
| cpatch |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 12:06:09 PM
One thing I forgot to mention...the screen doesn't do well in direct sun as far as readability is concerned and is also highly reflective. (It's made of glass, so you may not want to use it outside anyway.) |
| Volcano |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 10:00:59 AM
Well, there goes $500.00. I was looking for a good excuse to buy one of these.
If you do gigs where you take requests, there is absolutelyt nothing wrong with using music on stage. If you have the chops to read music, why not use the skill? Almost everyone on the Big Island uses a music stand on stage either for words or music. Never heard a complaint before |
| Mark |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 08:12:59 AM
quote:
All the program is missing as far as PDF support is concerned is a remote foot switch the would allow you to turn pages.
Nah, you just do what the pro's do with multi page scores: buy two or three iPads and tape them together so they spread out across the stand. 
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| Mark |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 08:09:35 AM
quote:
I don't think people should play from books, never mind iPads, in public. Or at least not to an audience.
I'm not wishing to wind anyone up, or diss people who use the paper. But I think that the music gets lots better when you lose the paper and start focusing on each other, using your ears more, etc and it's more fun.
An excellent point, Trev. And, in general, I totally agree with you. If you don't know it, don't play it on stage. Mostly....
However, there are times when one is asked to play a gig that requires reading... as when I get hired at the last minute to play for a swing dance... or contra dance, for that matter.
Weddings and other casuals--like the "luau" gigs we all get from time to time -- are another instance when having a huge amount of material on "paper" can come in handy. Like when you get a request from the bride's uncle to play a tarentella...
Paul-- the kani kaplia clip is a great tool-- and I own one. The down side is it won't hold my two volume copy of The Real Vocal Book... a treasure every self respecting guitarist should own, by the way... or the Real Book, the New Real Book, The Legal Real Book...
....and of course, the Costco Book, aka He Mele Aloha. Big sucker, that.
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| cpatch |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 06:52:22 AM
Hey, come on guys...I DID put a warning under the link to the video!
Yes, I have one and it renders PDFs beautifully...you can display the whole page if you hold the iPad vertically and display the width of the page if you rotate the device. You can also zoom in or out using a pinch gesture on the screen. I have a tendency to cram way too much onto one page when I format my TablEdit files for output, so my PDFs are hard to read in portrait mode, but others are fine. All the program is missing as far as PDF support is concerned is a remote foot switch the would allow you to turn pages. Maybe at some point in the future!
While I couldn't justify buying an iPad just for this purpose (my justification was the ability to carry around a technical reference library with me and also to explore doing software development for it), a professional musician might. YMMV! |
| Trev |
Posted - 04/16/2010 : 06:46:44 AM
If people use this as a learning tool, and can afford it, then great.
However, I don't think people should play from books, never mind iPads, in public. Or at least not to an audience.
I'm not wishing to wind anyone up, or diss people who use the paper. But I think that the music gets lots better when you lose the paper and start focusing on each other, using your ears more, etc and it's more fun.
The danger with the gadget is that people will think 'oooh gadget' and not WANT to be able to play without looking at it. This already happens with paper. How much more tempting is it going to be with a shiny gadget? I want people to learn the stuff and play it from the heart and not out of a book.
Ned Ludd.
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| rendesvous1840 |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 7:42:06 PM
http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/175968
Here's more on a similar piece of gear.
Unko Paul |
| rendesvous1840 |
Posted - 04/15/2010 : 5:30:25 PM
$500 buys a lot of guitar or ukulele strings. Will the iPad mount on a mic stand or something similar to display your song sheets while your hands are busy with really important stuff, like strings & strums?
Or, for $8, buy one Kani-Ka-Pila Clip. http://kani-ka-pila.com/wordpress/kani-ka-pila-klip
Unko Paul |
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