Lastly, I hope that those who are currently using one of the apps that I will discuss can learn more about what other options are available, and maybe even something new about an app you’re currently using. It may also be useful to those who are considering an iPad purchase to use for score-reading, and are interested in some of the benefits of digital performance materials. This article is written for musicians who are currently using iPads for recreation or work, but have not yet committed to using an iPad to replace some or all of their work with paper materials for rehearsal or performance. I’d recommend bumping up at least one step from the base-level of storage as well, especially if you expect to ever use your iPad for anything in addition to reading scores and parts. I don’t need to remind Scoring Notes readers that music tends to be printed on inconveniently large paper sizes, so the bigger the screen, the better. In selecting an iPad for music, the most important thing to me is screen size. I have used all of these apps on my previous 2015-model iPad Pro, and all work great on my 2014 iPad Air 2. Having said that, there is nothing about score reading that requires the highest-end or most-recent hardware available. My 12.9-inch iPad Pro and Apple Pencil running forScore There are no third-party styluses that can even come close to matching it for its functionality. However, the functionality of an active stylus allows for extremely low-latency input, pressure and tilt sensitivity, and most importantly, palm rejection (allowing you to rest your hand on the screen as you write, just like on paper). I cannot overstate the importance of the Apple Pencil to my workflow. My current iPad setup, and the one I test with most extensively, is the 12.9-inch 2018 iPad Pro (third generation) with Apple Pencil (second generation). The teaching workflow that I detailed in my first Scoring Notes article has remained largely the same, and my use of the iPad as a music and music-teaching tool has expanded to include classroom teaching as well. I have performed as a trumpet player and conductor using an iPad, and I have used an iPad as a primary (though not exclusive) teaching computer since 2015. In my work, I look at many scores in the classroom, in lessons, rehearsals, and performances. I am a composer and university music educator. I spent time with each of the leading iPad score reader apps - forScore, Newzik, nkoda, Blackbinder, and Piascore - to assess the current state of the category, and to help musicians decide which of the excellent options best suits their needs. With the introduction of high-resolution displays on iPads in 2012, larger-screened iPad Pros in 2015, and the revised 2018 iPad Pros now at 11- and 12.9-inch displays, there has never been a better time for musicians to go paperless. Since that time, a number of hardware and software products have come and (mostly) gone to serve the enthusiastic but niche market of musicians wanting to read digital scores.Įver since the introduction of that first iPad in 2010, musicians have been leveraging the uniquely responsive screen and reliable software in rehearsals and performance. Even before Apple announced the iPad, seeing the first Amazon Kindle had me excited for the day that I would be able to leave my giant stacks of music scores at home.
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