Forscore App For Ipad

[Will Moore]

I originally posted this as a comment, but I'm finding it so useful, I thought it worth adding in its own post!

 

For those of you with iPads, I swear by an app called forScore (http://forscore.co/). At its core it is a digital storage system for written music, however it has many features that I think are useful for concertina playing and learning.

 

You can add mp3 files to the music, slow down the playback by 1/2 or 1/4 speed, loop the entire track, or just loop sections as you learn. You can also annotate sheet music too, and it offers many common tools to help. Oh and it has a metronome

 

It has been (and will be) invaluable for my learning, and I hope it helps you too. It's only £7.99 ($9.99) too, which I think is very reasonable.

 

They have an iPhone version, but obviously there are limitations to a smaller screen.

 

I am in no way being paid to endorse this app - just think it is really great!

 

Cheers!

 

Will

[Pete Dunk]

Hi Will,

 

I think you should take a good long look at ABC notation as a tool too. You don't need to learn anything about the notation system itself, just how to turn a text file into a PDF or midi file. You can also get an app like Tunebook SD or The Craic for the iPad, these take abc collections straight in and convert them on the fly so you can see the music and play back the midi at any speed you like, you can even change the playback instrument with Tunebook. Well worth the effort of downloading free software and learning how to use it.

[Will Moore]

Thanks Pete

 

I will take a good look at it! All a learning process! Ultimately I will go with whatever my tutor decides is best. I'll be sure to update you as I progress!u

[Michael Eskin]

Another great tune learning tool for iOS is "AnyTune Pro+", you can slow down, create sections, do progressive speed up on looping, etc. One of the few apps on iOS that can both record and slow down tunes either from live recordings or your iTunes music library.

[Don Taylor]

Another great tune learning tool for iOS is "AnyTune Pro+", you can slow down, create sections, do progressive speed up on looping, etc. One of the few apps on iOS that can both record and slow down tunes either from live recordings or your iTunes music library.

Michael

 

Can Anytune, or anything else, do this trick using your concertina sound samples?

 

Edit: I realize that this is a stupid question as AnyTune Pro+ works with recorded tunes and not musical scores.

 

What I wanted was to be able to take a music score application, or an ABC player, and have it midi play back the dots through your samples. I have been using Musescore on an iPad and, while the piano sounds fine, I would prefer to play back a concertina sound font.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Don Taylor

[Bruce McCaskey]

I have Anytune Pro + and used to love it but don't find myself using it since I bought AudioStretch for iOS a couple of years ago.

 

Using AudioStretch you can load content from your iPad/iPhone's music library (such as CD material you've previously loaded) as well as load individual sound files from other sources including self-made recordings. You can load audio files and the audio portions of videos from the device's internal library as well as from cloud sources such as iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Onedrive and Box. You may be able to access files from additional sources depending on the other Apps you own. Using FileBrowser (another favorite App) as a loading option, you can wirelessly access (within WiFi range) files stored on other computers, network attached hard drives and certain wireless storage devices/hard drives. I use it to get sound files from both my PC and my network hard drive.

 

I sometimes record material with my iPhone or another source, edit the content using TwistedWave (favorite editing App) and then export the result to Dropbox for storage. I can then load that file into AudioStretch to work with it whenever I desire. That route (skipping the editing step if desired) would do what you asked about Don. My most common working source is CD material though.

 

Of course you can export your pitch/speed modified audio files to a variety of destinations including other compatible Apps on your device. I can't recall ever using the export function though, usually I just import files to work with and leave the source intact.

 

What I like about AudioStretch is that not only can you mark, A/B loop and change the speed and pitch of recorded material, you can also use your finger as a slider on the sound file wave representation and move back and forth through the recording at will and at whatever speed you desire - right down to full stop. You can stop indefinitely at any point and the sound at that point sustains with sufficient quality for pitch identification. The display also includes a keyboard (turn it on in settings) that you can use as a reference to match pitch to determine the exact note.

 

No matter what speed the material is being played at, you need only touch the moving wave display to stop it and sustain a single note, or slide your finger to move back and ahead in the recording. When you lift your finger, normal play resumes. Setting the playing speed to zero and then using your finger to walk through the recording note by note, you can identify every note in sequence with certainty. Very handy when transcribing or trying to work out a fast passage. Move at your own pace as you transcribe. Encountered a complex flurry of notes? Just slide your finger back and forth as slow as desired and hear them played in order and reversed too.

 

Anytune Pro + permits you to slow to a near stop, but not a full stop with sustained sound. All in all it I believes it offers more features than AudioStretch, but the simple interface and full-stop feature of the latter makes it my favorite.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Bruce McCaskey