Hells gary,


We can't see properly or remember anything anymore, what's left for us... please don't say NHS, I couldn't stand it if your turned up... I could feed the dog..

And that's where just having 'Nibbling on Spongecake' pop up on your arranger's screen suffices. Most modern arrangers have quite adequate lyrics displays. Quite a lot of them play MP3's. Some of them will even display a .bmp graphic file, which means you can convert a .pdf and display that.

As I said, what impresses you most when you go out to listen to someone ELSE play? Someone fully engaged with the audience, or someone reading off a chart?

I don't know Diki, give me a hint, I don't hear very well either, would that make a difference...

The only problem I have with that, Diki, is the screen is just too damned small for me to see, and I have to look down to see it. The netbook, as you can see in the photos above, doesn't obstruct my view of the audience, and while the netbook's screen is small, it's large enough to read when necessary. I looked at the Tyros4's lyrics display a few months ago and even with the larger fonts, it was still difficult to read. The same lyrics, in the same format, displayed on the netbook, were very easy to read. Some of this, however, may be due to the better display resolution on the netbook than on the keyboard.

Cheers,

Gary

The case with most "shows" as you well know Diki, is they are usually a pre-arranged and WELL-rehearsed set of maybe 12-25 tunes...And then performed for months at a time....the same way at the same time....

And again Diki I must say the fact that you can remember ALL the music to ALL the songs is astounding. I would love to be at at one of your shows and throw a tune at you to play

I think maybe that some of us at SZ have 40-60 tunes that we totally know...but having a rep of tunes (in my case currently 935 - I never play the same set of 60 or so songs at a gig twice) on a tablet, pc, ipad - whatever...not only makes it so much more enjoyable for audiences but make sit far more interesting and challenging for the player, in my view....

I've been there and done that with bands where the rep WAS limited to 60 songs that got absolutely flogged, so much so that I actually hate (no, REALLY hate!!) some of them now!!!

But being able to pick from such a vast list at any gig at any time, makes it a bit more exciting...And at times I don't even create a set list, I just go where the mood of the room takes me!!

I wish I could have the ability to recall from memory, note for note, 935 songs like you can....

I had always heard that Sinatra was using a telepromter in his later years. I heard a recent interview with Paul Mcartney in which he said that he struggles remembering lyrics to songs that HE wrote. According to this article Elton John, Mick Jagar, and Bruce Springstein use telepromters too.

Believe me, Sinatra used teleprompters, and NOT just in his later years ... I saw him live and had such great seats, I could read the 'prompters ... even his 'ad-libs' were pre - written ...

I've seen MANY shows on tv where you could see the teleprompters being used by some top artists ... saw Neil Diamond using them ... they may not absolutely NEED them, but they are there even if "just in case" ... the STAR doesn't want to make a 'faux pas' in front of the audience ... Just because they are stars doesn't mean they don't forget words ...

Thanks for your comments, guys:

So far, Mason understands what I'm looking for the most. I don't perform like most of you talented guys. I'm wanting a portable songwriting tool that just might have a few extra bells and whistles.

Don, I sure agree with you about iTunes. Not for me... way too invasive. When I store my original songs on my PC or MP3 Player I don't want Apple searching my device. I know it's a great platform for those who play songs and playlists of their favorite artists but I don't need it.

Some of the videos being bandied about depict a keyboard (albeit rather small) on an iPad or similar device. When I'm away from home, on the road or relaxing on the couch, it would be nice to knock out a few notes for the melody idea and then add some lyrics to the tune being created until I can get back in the studio to take the idea to the next level.

I also like the idea of being able to use it as a portable roadmap or weather radar mobile observation device. The other day, we were on the golf course and a sudden storm came up and my buddy was able to use his big fancy digital phone to see where it was, how big it was and what direction. That way, we could estimate how much of a delay we were facing or to decide to abandon the course and go home.

If the gizmo I eventually choose has an MP3 player and telephone App built-in, so be it. Word Processor and Spreadsheet capability would be nice... as well as a dictionary, rhyming dictionary and internet access for e-mail and surfing.

I know I've probably only scratched the surface but remember, I can't afford to write a blank check or run up a huge monthly bill. I didn't retire that well.

I'm looking forward to more replies, ideas and positive comments giving me the pros and cons about tablets and why certain models are better than others.

Keep 'em coming... and thanks.

Dave Rice

Not sure, but I'll bet I could do at least 250 songs, including lyrics, from memory. Probably could do 100 Merle, Hank, and the Georges songs from memory, plus endless 50's and 60's r&r.
There are a couple thousand on my laptop, tablet and keyboard. Still, nearly every night, I get requests for songs I probably should know but don't remember. Sometimes, if I can spare the time during the evening, instead of taking a break I'll make a quick trip to Youtube and/or Google searchand find it is worth a large tip.
I'm a prostitute. People pay me to play their favorite songs.
DonM

P.S. It is interesting that I never forget the songs I learned from listening to them and learning the chords by hearing. If I start out doing a song looking at lyrics and chords, or music sheet, it is really hard to not need them.

Very interesting observation...Same thing happens for me