iPad music score apps

[SteveS]

Having carried around for years a folder containing all of my music scores, it's time to upgrade - I'm getting myself an iPad Mini 4.

Which apps do folks use for organising their scores?

My scores are PDF, but I also have ABC variants of most of them.

I'd like to be able to organize in an app and to be able to easily pull out a score at a moments notice (eg in a session).

Also, the ability to arrange scores in a set list would be nice too.

[Dave Weinstein]

I use Tunebook for ABC. Also, the iPad Mini 5 comes out imminently, and is significantly more powerful.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Dave Weinstein

[Jim Besser]

1 hour ago, SteveS said:

Having carried around for years a folder containing all of my music scores, it's time to upgrade - I'm getting myself an iPad Mini 4.

Which apps do folks use for organising their scores?

My scores are PDF, but I also have ABC variants of most of them.

I'd like to be able to organize in an app and to be able to easily pull out a score at a moments notice (eg in a session).

Also, the ability to arrange scores in a set list would be nice too.

 

I've been using ForScore for a long time.  Uses PDFs, has annotation capability,  organizing into sets,  playlists or other categories is relatively easy.  Not perfect, but pretty darned good, and works well with IOS devices. Works well with bluetooth foot pedals, if that's something you need.

 

On thing you might want to consider:  the scores on a mini are pretty small. I'm about to replace mine with a  full size iPad.  Your mileage may vary.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Jim Besser

[SteveS]

11 hours ago, Dave Weinstein said:

the iPad Mini 5 comes out imminently, and is significantly more powerful.

Yes I know - there are some good deals to be had on the iPad Mini 4 right now - and for music scores only I don't need loads of power.

The iPad Mini 5 does look like a super bit of kit though.

[SteveS]

10 hours ago, Jim Besser said:

 

I've been using ForScore for a long time.  Uses PDFs, has annotation capability,  organizing into sets,  playlists or other categories is relatively easy.  Not perfect, but pretty darned good, and works well with IOS devices. Works well with bluetooth foot pedals, if that's something you need.

 

On thing you might want to consider:  the scores on a mini are pretty small. I'm about to replace mine with a  full size iPad.  Your mileage may vary.

Thanks Jim - the iPad Mini 4 is the right size to keep in my concertina case - I'll take a look at ForScore.

[Robin Tims]

Yes, I can also absolutely recommend forScore from the AppStore which is brilliant, and very easy to use.

 

We currently have at least 3 users (and growing) on iPads around here in Norfolk UK, two on 9 inch or so ones and one on the big new 12 inch job (which displays scores A4 size, superb, but sadly is not the one I have !) We can also quickly swop scores when wanted using Airdrop. You can readily fix via the forScore settings so that the screen does not turn off in mid-tune.

 

I often add score file pdf's scanned and cropped with the TurboScan app, 'any old place any old time', with colours too if you want.

 

Neither App is expensive

 

I am mildly embarrassed to admit that we often use them in sessions ! Handy if your old memory is struggling a bit but rather 'infra dig' in some quarters.

 

'best

 

Rob

[SteveS]

21 minutes ago, Robin Tims said:

Yes, I can also absolutely recommend forScore from the AppStore which is brilliant, and very easy to use.

 

We currently have at least 3 users (and growing) on iPads around here in Norfolk UK, two on 9 inch or so ones and one on the big new 12 inch job (which displays scores A4 size, superb, but sadly is not the one I have !) We can also quickly swop scores when wanted using Airdrop. You can readily fix via the forScore settings so that the screen does not turn off in mid-tune.

 

I often add score file pdf's scanned and cropped with the TurboScan app, 'any old place any old time', with colours too if you want.

 

Neither App is expensive

 

I am mildly embarrassed to admit that we often use them in sessions ! Handy if your old memory is struggling a bit but rather 'infra dig' in some quarters.

 

'best

 

Rob

Thanks Rob

Yes sometimes I need just a little reminder of a tune in a session - and the iPad Mini is great alternative to carrying around my ever increasing folder of scores.

S

 

[RonnyB]

I also use ForScore plus Turbo scan on my 12.9 Ipad pro excellent to use it's a bit pricey but for me well worth it 4 in our band use ipad's

Ron

[David Barnert]

I can agree with the forScore recommendation. I use it (on an ancient iPad 2 that I use for no other purpose) for both my contradance band and the orchestra that I play cello in. Stored on the iPad are scans of the Barnes I & II ECD books, the Waltz books (I, II, and III), New England Fiddler's Repertoire (I & II), and whatever we’re playing currently in the above ensembles.

 

Some years ago, I attended a lecture on the topic at the Boston Early Music Festival given by Peter Sykes, the multi-keyboardist. Here are the notes I took:

 

Quote

The app that holds it all together is forScore https://forscore.co

 

The instructions are built into the app. You send (email, airdrop, Dropbox, download from web, etc) a pdf to the iPad and it offers you the choice of saving it to forScore.

 

The page turn pedal is Airturn BT-106 DUO: https://store.airturn.com/products/b-stock-airturn-duo. With a sufficiently new iPad, you can use the AirTurn PEDpro (the website will tell you the requirements).

 

Any Scanner app will allow you to take a picture of a page of music on paper and turn it into a pdf for use in forScore.

 

IMSLP.org is a website with hundreds of thousands of PDFs of classical music in the public domain. Basically free, but if you make a donation things happen faster.

 

[Kelteglow]

I am using old technology which after 10 years of use still works well .Its a filofax which I call my JOG book (to jog my memory ) I print all my songs and arrangements in Word then print them up to the edge of 6x4 "with an index .I often print them in A4 when I am playing them for the first time .I haven't fully got to grips with with modern technology .Bob

[David Barnert]

Having reread the opening post to make sure I read it right (you ARE trying to get away from paper, right?—sorry, Kelteglow), I notice a couple of details that are also plusses for forScore that I didn’t mention.

 

On 3/24/2019 at 10:34 PM, SteveS said:

I'd like to be able to organize in an app and to be able to easily pull out a score at a moments notice (eg in a session).

 

Yes: type the first letters of a title and a short list will appear that you can choose from. One drawback of the app is that if you are using a bluetooth foot pedal to turn pages, the onscreen keyboard is disabled (the iPad thinks the pedal is a bluetooth keyboard). You can always turn off the pedal (or disable bluetooth on the iPad) momentarily to bring up the onscreen keyboard.

 

On 3/24/2019 at 10:34 PM, SteveS said:

Also, the ability to arrange scores in a set list would be nice too.

 

Absolutely. You can group tunes into play lists and change the order any time you want.

 

On 3/24/2019 at 10:34 PM, SteveS said:

My scores are PDF, but I also have ABC variants of most of them.

 

forScore works with pdfs, and can’t handle abc. But any decent abc software can output a pdf or at least a graphic that you can convert to a pdf using other software.

[SteveS]

Thanks David, and thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I downloaded forScore and it is pretty good and seems to offer everything I’m after.