My new Digital Music Reader

I just purchased another Music reader as a backup to my 19" Dell Inspiron "all in one" which calls up the sheets with registrations.

Check out:

http://protwelve.com/

A 12.2" All in one for $227 at WalMart. It is an amazing buy.

Here are a few pics (not my normal setup....only to show the size of the tablet.)

It works great with Mobilesheets app. This app will also allow calling up sheets from the keyboard but I haven't tried it yet.

A great product for the price.

PS: My vocalist is using a 10.1" Lenovo from BestBuy for lyrics. (on sale last week for $79.)

Regards,
Jerry

Jerry ... looks great ... I also like the +3 transpose indication on the music for "All The Way"

I am STILL living in the dark ages, using lead sheets of all types ... how would I get those into a music reader such as that?

Tony,

At this price it is very affordable and easy. Once you go digital you will never go back. That's why I purchased this backup. I showed an 84 year old singer, and now they won't give up their tablet.


Just put the tablet on your music stand.

I have over 600 individual songs and several music books on the device. (in case of requests). Too many to commit to memory plus as you pointed out they can be annotated to include transpose, special notes, etc.

The whole Wikiphonia library is available on Synthzone in PDF
format, and Hammer has shared his PDF song library.

There are tons of music books on line and you just cut and paste the songs you need in free PDF editors.

Another option is scanning your current sheets. I wasn't crazy about doing that.

Give it a try. They have a 15 day return policy if it's not for you.

Regards,

Jerry

Wow Jerry that was a great buy. I've been using an iPad for quite a few years for lead sheets, but the iPad was quite a bit more money.

Tony, I'll be back home in mid March but figure come April I'll have plenty of time on my hands and I think you know why I'd be happy to help you out, I have hundreds of lead sheets and fake books in digital form, I'll be happy to share them with you and assist you any way I can.

All you chart readers how much time do you devote to memorizing songs? This way the chart isn't a crutch.... Especially as a solo act... I could understand it's uses playing with others.

Now that's an offer you can't refuse.

In my case my visual cortex works much better than my auditory cortex when entertaining.

Jerry

Memorizing is the best but if you are in a variety of situations where you need lots of different types of music it can be hard. Not doing a song for a while will cause you to lose it from memory. If your doing a lot of the same thinga on a regular basis I'd say yes, memorize your setlist.
I love using my IPAd but I still keep a regular book of tunes for solo piano jobs.
Now if I could only learn how to change setups on my BK9 along with song choices I'd be a happy guy.

Bill,

I agree. I don't rely on the monitor for every chord, but instead uses it as a quick reference for the song. It is another tool in the "musician's tool box".

......and being able to pull up an unfamiliar song request sure adds to the tip jar.

Regards,

Jerry

It just may be an offer I WON'T refuse ...
thanks, Steve ...

Donny ... If I don't have the song memorized by NOW, it's never going to memorized ...

Ok paesan you're on!





I'm in the same situation.

I purchased a IPad on sale for $365 at Brandsmart. You’ve heard said Yamaha is great because of the availability of styles. IPad is in the same category.

I use mine for Midi Files, Word Program, Wi Fi, Blue Tooth, Mail, OnSong for my lyrics, PDF for sheet music; if needed, my five Bibles, RealBook which seems to do it all.

Most of all it’s very portable without many limitations. My favorite is OnSong it is programmed to match my keyboard.
BUT IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. I’m just sharing what I have,

John C.

John, I use my iPad for many of the things you use your's for. My go to program for lead sheets is unReal book.

OnSong made my life soooo much easier.
Thanks John for introducing me to it.
Eddie

Are both pics of the same tablet? It looks like the top pic is a longer ratio left to right as is shows in the pic where the bottom pic looks more like it's shaped like a regular piece of copy paper.

Same tablet rotated in Portrait and Landscape mode.

The music in the top was a half page of music like in an old fake book, and the bottom pic is a full page sheet of music.

If I had the top pic in portrait, the music would have occupied 1/2 the screen............. same size as in the fake book. Rotating to landscape filled the whole screen.

Attached are 2 more pics showing the same song formatted to original size and full screen in portrait mode.

Many possibilities for display preference. The same song displayed 3 different ways.

Jerry

Thanx Jerry. Could you measure the height and width of the sheet music in portrait mode? The ratio of the screen makes me think that there will be a lot of blank space at the top or bottom. The ratio on the ipad pro is more the same shape as standard copy paper and it seems one could see larger music.

I've been playing with this idea for some time now and have considered a 13.3 tablet but have been holding back so far.

Scott,

Sheet music in portrait mode.

The Length is 10", Width 6 1/2".

Mobilesheets has an option for cropping out the white area on top, bottom and sides. The sheet music fills the whole screen.

Jerry

Thanx Jerry. You know MobileSheet is supposed to allow you to select your pdf and it will automatically set up your keyboard. It also works in reverse where you pick a registration and it will bring up the pdf

I know you can have set lists using Mobile Sheets, but what about if you want something on the fly?

I got spoiled with using a laptop on it's side and could quite rapidly pick on the fly. It seems that it would be more on the slower side with android??

Scott,

Attached is a copy of "All the Way" in portrait and landscape vs the original 8 1/2 X 11" fake sheet.

Scott,

All songs are listed alphabetically. Select the letter A, B, C etc. Select the song. The chart pops up instantaneously. No waiting.
A quick vid.

https://youtu.be/a7zrFpo-vMk

Jerry

Jerry, thanx for going through all the trouble. I suppose one still has to carry a hard copy in case of malfunction or if outside in sun?

I read a review and it says for sheet music anyway the battery lasted 8 hours.

I am thinking of starting this project using MobileSheets on my 10.1 inch, saving evrything on an SD card and I would hope if I got the 12 or 13 inch that I could just stick the SD card into the larger one and it would be all set to go. Do you know if that would be true?

One, other thing. It seems originally to use the accompanying computer app you had to use Bluetooth to get it on the tablet. I do not have Bluetooth on my computer. I was hoping I could use a USB cable or something to do this. Do you know about this?

And/or can I just do all the work on the tablet and not use the computer. Or would this be too slow to do it this way?

Scott

Jerry, I see you say the display area is 10 x 6 1/2. I have been told the display area on a 13.3 tablet is 11 1/4 x 7. So, between the two it seems that the 1/2 inch difference would't make that much difference I wouldn't think. OTOH, my laptop, used on it's side, is 14.1 inches so it's a tad bigger than a piece of copy paper, so I am a little spoiled that way, but, one needs to use an older laptop pre-wide screen and one that folds flat which you can't find anymore. I've got two that need some kind of help, but they are from around 2002, so I reluctantly am looking to the future with a tablet. I have to admit the Apple Pro is very nice, but then again starting at $800 is it worth it?

Scott,

Just something to think about, it's still pricey but an refurbished iPad Pro 12 inch can be purchased from the Apple site for $679.

Refurbished iPad Pro

For songs on the fly with my iPad, it's instantaneous too, using the search function start typing a song title and the results are displayed. For instance for the tune All of Me, start typing "All" and you'll not only see All of Me but other tunes that have the word All in it, works very well.

P.S. I'm not trying to sell you on an iPad pro At $227 I just may order the Pro12.

If you are only going to use it as a stand alone music reader, i dont see any reason to go for the ipad... The android tablet will do just as well...

Dont know how far android midi got, just wondering if you can controll the reaser on Android under midi, just like i do on the ipad?

I am using the Android as a backup to my 19" Dell All-in One (Windows 10) just case of a problem with the Dell. I have purchased and used Mobilesheets Windows version also.

I use M Bedesem's Open Text to view my sheets on the computer. I select a registration on the keyboard, and the chart pops up on the Dell screen.



You can link your Tyros to Mobilesheets according to these instructions on the Mobilesheets forum.

[/i]Now first let me say that I am by no means a MIDI expert (started learning MIDIwhile in the MS Pro beta program), nor a Tyros expert (have had mine for 6 weeks). So there may be other (better?) ways to do this.
But this setup works for me.

How to load Tyros Registration from music sheet in MS Pro.
 
Selecting a song in Mobilesheets and have Tyros automatically load the related registration is actually not so difficult to accomplish using the MIDI capabilites of MS Pro and Tyros.
 
First some background information
 
An issue to overcome is that, while Tyros stores registrations as named files in folders on its internal drive,  MIDI is only able to send out numbers between 1 and 128, not filenames.
The solution here is to have Tyros, from the folder it is currently using for it's registrations,  load the registration file with a sequence number, based on the received MIDI number. So sending x from MS Pro, should mean that the x'th registration file in the Tyros folder is loaded. But there are a few small catches (read on)
A first catch is that not all MIDI systems are equal. Some are zero based (use numbers from 0=>127) others are 1 based (use numbers from 1=>128). When having the two communicate, you have to take that into account.
In practice here, it means that sending number x from MS Pro will actually cause the 'x + 1' 'th registration file in the Tyros folder to be loaded. So sending a 3 from MS Pro, will cause Tyros to load the 4th file in the folder. Sending a 0 will load the first file in the folder.
A second catch, is that when I am talking about the 4th file in  the folder, it means the 4th file, sorted alphabetically. So in order to preserve correct order we need to have the registration file names on Tyros start by a number. This will assure that the correct file is always loaded using MIDI.
Example for registration file naming on Tyros.
            000Song x
            001Song y
            002Songz
Starting the file name numbering with zero, will make it a little easier to remember what number to configure in MS Pro. So sending 0 will load file one, which is named 000Songx. Sending a 2 will load file 3 which is named 002Songz.. . .
 
Now in practice :
 
In Mobilesheets Pro
One time setup:
- In settings, choose MIDI channel 1 to use in the communication. (It's MS Pro's default, so normally you would not even need to change it)
To be performed for every song you want the registration to load on Tyros:
- In the song settings (edit screen/MIDI tab), add a 'Patch select' with following parameters
            - MSB : I do not use it
            - LSB : The number x to be sent to Tyros. Remember file x+1 will be loaded.
            - PC (Program Change): Can be used to activate a registration memory button on Tyros. 0 will activate button 1. sending 7 will activate
               button 8
            - Choose "Send on Load"
            Save the song settings.
 
On Tyros
One time setup:
-On Tyros there is a predefinied MIDI setting which can be used.
So go to MIDI settings on Tyros, and select the predefined setting 'All Parts'.
This predefined setting is set to receive the commands we need on MIDI port B, so you will need to connect your (USB to) MIDI cable to MIDI B on the Tyros and of course also to your tablet.
To be performed for every song you want the registration to be loaded by MS Pro:
- Save your registration on Tyros according to the above suggestions, and make sure they are in a Folder on Tyros, where all registration files start with the suggested sequence number.
 
To test the setup.
- Make sure the MIDI cable is connected to both tablet and Tyros.
- Load MS Pro.
When the midi cable is correctly connected, you should receive a message when loading MS Pro, asking if you want MS Pro to use the USB connection. Press OK.
If you do not get this message, the cable is probably not connected as it should.
 
Now make sure that Tyros currently has a registration loaded from the folder from which you want to load registrations through MIDI. If not, on Tyros go to the correct folder, load any registration there (does not matter which - it is just to point Tyros to the right folder).
 
Now load a song in MSPro, and the related registration should be loaded on Tyros. Even with the correct button activated.[i]

Android, Ipad, Windows they all work, and becoming more affordable. You just have to make a choice on your preference and budget. Make a decision and implement it, and you will say "what took you so long." to get up to date with the technology.

Attached is a video of Open Text posted by someone on YouTube.

But you don't have to use cloths pins to prevent it from blowing off the stand in the wind outside.

Scott,

Another option for you.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiro...p?skuId=4826900


Jerry

Thanks for all the info Jerry. Can you actually read your Pro12 outside?

Also, MobileSheets is made for Windows, in case you didn't know.

Guess, I just need to think this over.

[quote=Scott Langholff

Can you actually read your Pro12 outside?

[/quote]

I'll let you know in a couple of months. I live in Buffalo!!

Jerry

I have a somewhat similar setup to Jerry - a Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 13-inch laptop/tablet. I use Musicreader 4.0 to contain my library of, to date, 6,336 scores and generally play from that program - just a matter of selecting a song from alphabetic catalogue, or typing in a few letters to search. Takes about 2 seconds to locate and load a song. But it does playlists too.

Where I have created registrations I bring up the score full-screen via midi using OpenText. Most of my scores are multi-paged so I can turn page forward/back using PageFlip Firefly bluetooth pedal (still on original 2 AA-cells after more than a year). The pedal works on MusicReader, OpenText and all PDF editors/readers.

So how does it perform outside? Outside right now there's very bright sun and temperature is in 30'sC (90's F). My Dell has a highly reflective glass screen so:-

(20...44.jpg) Pic 1 - Out in direct sunlight (MusicReader 4.0)
(20...59.jpg) Pic 2 - In the partial shade of a tree (MusicReader 4.0)
(20...13.jpg) Pic 3 - Displaying on keyboard indoors- low room lighting (OpenText)

I just wouldn't be playing in direct sun - not kind to the instrument or player - but the scores are readable in the shade.

Is it setup perfect? Nearly - I'd go for a 15-inch screen or larger next time. For backup I'd carry one folder of paper scores and leave it in the car.

Phil

Thank you Phil. I have a lot to consider.

Does anyone know what the actual viewing area is on an ipad pro 12?

Hi - to add to this ... I adopted use of the iPad some years ago, and have stuck with that. I use the unrealBook app. I like its way of doing things, lots of features that are "musician-friendly". And I love being able to send MIDI commands from unrealBook to my Tyros so that my Tyros loads up the Registration I want for each song. I have ~1300 songs or so, and I have a 'system' so that I play most of them (probably ~900 of them) over a typical year of gigs, so memorizing all of them is not possible for me. For many tunes, the chart is a "quick summary" and I play many "partially from memory", using the chart to remember details or tough sections if any.

I use the 'metadata' (keywords / database) type features of unrealBook a lot too, which help me handle requests for types of music, music by requested singer/writer, music from specific eras, etc. It did take me some time, though, to enter all the metadata. But like the MIDI setup (which took a good amount of time), it's well worth it to make gigs smoother, faster, easier, etc.!

Outdoors can be a problem; luckily I always request some sort of 'tent' or 'cover' for any gigs I book outdoors. So, in partial shade like that, it's "tolerable" although not ideal. Sometimes I have to orient my keyboard a certain way to keep sun/glare off the screen (coming in from the side).

iPad is more expensive than some of these recent tablets people have discovered, but I kind of "went the iPad + unrealBook way" and stick with that ...

If anyone is using this particular combination and wants some help, I'd be glad to help ...

Jim

Jim,
I have the same basic setup, but don't use the midi or metadata features. I arrange everything in different playlist, so there is some duplication of core songs. My question then, whether the midi link feature would be feasible with multiple locations of the same song? Where can I read about setting it up?

Bernie

Thanx, I was actually hoping to get the inches height and width of the actual viewing area.

Scott, Deane aka Hammer has an iPad Pro 12.9 inch at some point maybe he can weigh in and give you those dimensions.

We've come a long way the original Music Pad Pro sheet music viewer retailed for $1199 and it used a proprietary format. To think that now for $227 you can get a device that does that an more.

....or even for $98.00.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/53990884?wmls...1.5&veh=sem

I got mine for $79 on sale. Downloaded Mobilesheets to see how/if it would work on this tablet....works fine. Display is probably not as good as the $227 tablet but is perfectly readable in this app. 11.5 screen, 32gb, standard and micro USB, HDMI, detachable keyboard, and android 6.0; a lot of 'bang-for-the-buck'.

chas

Chas,

That's a bargain. I doubt you could see much of difference in screen size for the application.

I would get one but looks like they are out of pink.

They are disposable at that price, and parts are probably made at the same factories as the high end tabs. Your not paying for name and advertising.


Jerry

Just happened to think. I wonder how easy it will be to find a screen protector for the Pro12? Maybe the Samsung version will fit as is or can be trimmed? Definitely worth having on all devices unless you have Gorilla Glass like I have on my phone.

what is the dimensions of the actual viewing area in inches for height and width? Thanx

When I am looking at such a purchase I load up some PDFs on a thumb drive, head to the local store and see if it works for me.

All questions answered immediately. I was going to purchase a 14" in 2 in 1 before this purchase. Glad I did. It was too slow.

/regards,

Jerryghr

Good idea Jerry, I'd do the same but the 12.2 is bolted down to the counter and the one chas got is not on display.

Interesting to note that previous runs of 13.3" tablets had a width of 7 inches. All the ones that I've seen now are 6.5 inches. That being the case unless I can find a 7 incher the 12.2 would be a better choice with the 6.5 inch width because there is no point in having all that extra real estate.

Turns out the RCA Galileo Pro 11.5" actual viewing area is 5.75 inches. My 10.1 Asus is 5 3/8", so not worth it for me for sheet music anyway.

I've found if you ever have a question on a product the customers on Amazon respond quickly. Walmart not.

Jerry - which 14" in 2 in 1 were you looking at?

Jerry,

Great find I just purchased the Pro12 tablet/laptop. I'm very happy with the Mobile Sheets Pro app, just transferred about 2000 tunes/fakebooks I had stored on Google Drive.

Another opinion.

A 12.2" All in one for $227 at WalMart.

I paid $336 at Brandsmart for my Ipad Air 2. That is a $109 difference. At a setting of 60% brightness my aging eyes have no problem reading notes or lyrics. In a horizontal position the notes and lyrics increase in size. And scroll down the screen automatically.

My opinion: I do not want my screen to get any larger. The smaller the screen the more of me and my audience. If I was playing classical music in my home I would use a 24” TV.\ connected to my keyboard.
My motto; K.I.S.S.

John C.
PS, I have a friend who places his Ipad Air 2 flat on the right side of his keyboard so he has full view of who he is playing for. I’m gonna try that.

This is the future for your home setup...



Microsoft Surface Studio, quadcore i7, 32GB, 1TB SSD and a 28" touchscreen.

Add this ton any keyboard at home, it offers not only a music reader, but a high end studio as well...

Glad it's working out for you.

One of my better purchases. It's a "Musical Swiss Army Knife"

Along with Mobilesheets, I am using it for playing MP3s on my EON one via Bluetooth during breaks. (Electric Slide, Country requests we don't normally do, newer tunes for the younger crowd etc,) lyrics for guest singers, accessing numerous fake books for requests..........

Regards,

Jerry

Scott,

Just to hitchhike a bit on Jerry's post. The search function on it is instantaneous. Let's say you want to pull up the tune "Just the Way You Are" , you'll immediately see a list of songs with the word "Just" in them . Or you could type the words "You Are", once again the results are instaneous. I just did a serach for "You Are' . and the following came up
1. Just The Way You Are
2. All the Things You Are
3. You Are Always on my Mind
4. You Are My Sunshine
5. You Are So Beautiful
6. You Are My Destiny

Jerry, I agree it's a "Musical Swiss Army Knife."

I backed up close to 2000 tunes/fake books to Google Drive just in case.

Another feature I discovered is the "Snippet Feature." Let's you open a fake book and you only need a few tunes from it, very simple just use the Snippet tool and it will save a single page or multiple pages depending on the tune.

It's a winner.

Yes, I think it's cool you can touch mic symbol, say the title and 99.99% of the time it pops up like you said.

I'm currently testing it out on my Asus 10.1 and surprisingly when the music is cropped it is quite easy to see even at this size except for a few which would be a challenge even on copy paper. Cropping the top and bottom does such a great job that it makes a lot of tunes that are normally hard to see because they are so squashed together that the staff is stretched and makes it extra easy to see.