08-20-2014, 02:37 PM
I have used MobileSheets with the Hannspree 13.3" tablet and the BiliPro USB pedal for over 8 months now. I am VERY happy with this combination.
I accompany a chorus, sometimes play in a symphony orchestra, and occasionally play a solo recital. An amateur player for many years, to my delight I have become a semi-professional musician (i.e. I often get paid to play, but don't make my living at it).
I am now dependent on this system, and don't have paper for some pieces. Here are some things I have learned.
1. I always bring TWO tablets, TWO pedals, and one power adapter. Both tablets of course have the same configuration. In particular, configure the tablet to never timeout and go to sleep. To date I have never had to switch anything during a rehearsal or concert.
2. I always charge up both tablets before a gig or rehearsal. Not needing power is often a plus.
3. I always bring low-residue painter's tape. On some pianos the tablet can slide off all too easily, and on some floors the pedal slides away (also applies to the pedal on an electric piano). On some stages, real Duck Tape is needed, as the painter's tape lets go after a while.
4. I rotate the pedal so the PageBack pedal is behind and unlikely to be accidentally pushed.
5. As I have two systems, I do not use annotations in MobileSheets. Instead I use Preview (on a Mac). I have Finale installed, so I can use its Maestro font to insert notes, courtesy accidentals, etc.
6. I do not use MobileSheets backups, as my primary version is on my laptop (and on my Dropbox, and on my TimeMachine backups). It takes about 10 minutes to clear the MobileSheets database and reload everything.
7. I don't use setlists or collections very much; instead my classical songs begin with the composer's name, showtunes and pop songs don't, and I start song titles for groups with the name of the group -- works for me. For rehearsals, this puts all the pieces together in the songlist. For concerts I create a setlist, but as the titles all start with the group's name, this is very quick and I just do it twice.
8. For songs with repeats, I find I often cannot go backwards effectively, so I duplicate the pages so I only need to go forward. I use Preview's annotation capability to place big white rectangles over music that is skipped.
9. I find my left foot gets confused between the PageForward pedal and the piano's soft and sostenuto pedals. Fortunately the latter pedals are only needed in solo pieces, and for a recital I of course don't use music.
10. For the chorus, it is often necessary to play the parts, and I am not good enough to do that for fast music written on four staves. I use Finale on my laptop to re-notate it on two staves, careful to preserve the pages. Our conductor was astounded when he saw this ("You saved a gazillion hours of practicing reading four staves").
9. I used MobileSheets for choral rehearsals of 'Carmen', a 208-page vocal score. Worked great! I did have to make an index to relate the page numbers of the singer's reduced score to the full piano+vocal score (but would have had to do this with paper, too). I was lucky and found the same edition our conductor used on the internet, so I did not need to scan it. I had no paper for this.
Again, I am VERY pleased with this combination!
Good luck, and enjoy your music. Please add any tips you have found.
I accompany a chorus, sometimes play in a symphony orchestra, and occasionally play a solo recital. An amateur player for many years, to my delight I have become a semi-professional musician (i.e. I often get paid to play, but don't make my living at it).
I am now dependent on this system, and don't have paper for some pieces. Here are some things I have learned.
1. I always bring TWO tablets, TWO pedals, and one power adapter. Both tablets of course have the same configuration. In particular, configure the tablet to never timeout and go to sleep. To date I have never had to switch anything during a rehearsal or concert.
2. I always charge up both tablets before a gig or rehearsal. Not needing power is often a plus.
3. I always bring low-residue painter's tape. On some pianos the tablet can slide off all too easily, and on some floors the pedal slides away (also applies to the pedal on an electric piano). On some stages, real Duck Tape is needed, as the painter's tape lets go after a while.
4. I rotate the pedal so the PageBack pedal is behind and unlikely to be accidentally pushed.
5. As I have two systems, I do not use annotations in MobileSheets. Instead I use Preview (on a Mac). I have Finale installed, so I can use its Maestro font to insert notes, courtesy accidentals, etc.
6. I do not use MobileSheets backups, as my primary version is on my laptop (and on my Dropbox, and on my TimeMachine backups). It takes about 10 minutes to clear the MobileSheets database and reload everything.
7. I don't use setlists or collections very much; instead my classical songs begin with the composer's name, showtunes and pop songs don't, and I start song titles for groups with the name of the group -- works for me. For rehearsals, this puts all the pieces together in the songlist. For concerts I create a setlist, but as the titles all start with the group's name, this is very quick and I just do it twice.
8. For songs with repeats, I find I often cannot go backwards effectively, so I duplicate the pages so I only need to go forward. I use Preview's annotation capability to place big white rectangles over music that is skipped.
9. I find my left foot gets confused between the PageForward pedal and the piano's soft and sostenuto pedals. Fortunately the latter pedals are only needed in solo pieces, and for a recital I of course don't use music.
10. For the chorus, it is often necessary to play the parts, and I am not good enough to do that for fast music written on four staves. I use Finale on my laptop to re-notate it on two staves, careful to preserve the pages. Our conductor was astounded when he saw this ("You saved a gazillion hours of practicing reading four staves").
9. I used MobileSheets for choral rehearsals of 'Carmen', a 208-page vocal score. Worked great! I did have to make an index to relate the page numbers of the singer's reduced score to the full piano+vocal score (but would have had to do this with paper, too). I was lucky and found the same edition our conductor used on the internet, so I did not need to scan it. I had no paper for this.
Again, I am VERY pleased with this combination!
Good luck, and enjoy your music. Please add any tips you have found.