06-26-2024, 03:28 AM
Hello !
I’m just about to make the big move from paper to digital, and I’ve all but decided that MobileSheets will be my software of choice.
I have downloaded the free version to my mid-size (11” diagonal) IPad and have started playing with it. I already have many questions. However, before I get to most of them (which I imagine would be better posed one-by-one in separate threads), I have a basic threshold question that will determine my next steps.
That is: since I’m starting from scratch and will be purchasing a separate large-screen device that can display at least an 8 ½ by 11 sheet of music – which OS and general class of device should I opt for? (separate but related question involves which specific device I should get, but there seem to be threads on that already). Are there significant differences between the Android, Windows, and IOS versions of MobileSheets?
At the risk of boring you folks by going on too long, I should probably give you an idea about how I intend to use it. I am a gigging Blues and R&B musician (keys and harp) who is also “score librarian” for his band. Our legacy chord charts are in all sorts of formats (including Word Docs, which I know MobileSheets won’t read), but I have been migrating everything over to ChordPro. MobileSheets's ability to read both the .pro and .txt files natively was clearly an important factor in my choosing the product, Most of the files are kept in various folders on my Windows PC. My plan with this library is to replace my gig book with the digital device, creating a set list for each gig and turning pages and switching between songs with a foot pedal.
I am also an aspiring jazz pianist with a very extensive collection of Real/Fake books with lead sheets in PDF format. Part of my learning process is to actually chart out (in MuseScore) the rooted and rootless voicings (and some transcribed solos) for a bunch of classic rep, with an eye to making making the process automatic over time so that I can just play the LH voicings as I read lead sheets and improvise solos in various jazz scales. As I work on the chart at the piano with my laptop, I keep it in in MuseScore MSCZ format, but once I am happy with it, it can be output as a PDF on my desktop for printing and putting in my rep book – or – in the future – into MobileSheets and onto my tablet for practice and eventually jam sessions. (doubt I’ll ever get to gigging level in this style).
So, in terms of general file handling - given the central place that my Windows desktop has for storing both “libraries” - will the MS Companion on PC work equally smoothly with any of the tablet operating systems? (I also have Dropbox and Google Drive capacity, but obviously the less preliminary file manipulation I need to do, the better).
More generally, are there any relative strengths and weaknesses between the various OS versions of MobileSheets that would have an impact on my work processes and gigging? I would imagine that these would probably show up in the handling of the ChordPro files rather than the PDFs, but that’s only conjecture on my part. And finally, given that each OS is linked with a general class of device, is there any general consensus about whether it is better to use a Windows 2-in-1 laptop, a Chromebook, an Android tablet or a large format IPad as my basic MobileSheets device for the kind of applications I am going to be attempting.
Sorry to have gone on so long…and thank those of you with the patience to have read this…and a SPECIAL thank you to those in MobileSheets community who chose to respond.
-Paul
I’m just about to make the big move from paper to digital, and I’ve all but decided that MobileSheets will be my software of choice.
I have downloaded the free version to my mid-size (11” diagonal) IPad and have started playing with it. I already have many questions. However, before I get to most of them (which I imagine would be better posed one-by-one in separate threads), I have a basic threshold question that will determine my next steps.
That is: since I’m starting from scratch and will be purchasing a separate large-screen device that can display at least an 8 ½ by 11 sheet of music – which OS and general class of device should I opt for? (separate but related question involves which specific device I should get, but there seem to be threads on that already). Are there significant differences between the Android, Windows, and IOS versions of MobileSheets?
At the risk of boring you folks by going on too long, I should probably give you an idea about how I intend to use it. I am a gigging Blues and R&B musician (keys and harp) who is also “score librarian” for his band. Our legacy chord charts are in all sorts of formats (including Word Docs, which I know MobileSheets won’t read), but I have been migrating everything over to ChordPro. MobileSheets's ability to read both the .pro and .txt files natively was clearly an important factor in my choosing the product, Most of the files are kept in various folders on my Windows PC. My plan with this library is to replace my gig book with the digital device, creating a set list for each gig and turning pages and switching between songs with a foot pedal.
I am also an aspiring jazz pianist with a very extensive collection of Real/Fake books with lead sheets in PDF format. Part of my learning process is to actually chart out (in MuseScore) the rooted and rootless voicings (and some transcribed solos) for a bunch of classic rep, with an eye to making making the process automatic over time so that I can just play the LH voicings as I read lead sheets and improvise solos in various jazz scales. As I work on the chart at the piano with my laptop, I keep it in in MuseScore MSCZ format, but once I am happy with it, it can be output as a PDF on my desktop for printing and putting in my rep book – or – in the future – into MobileSheets and onto my tablet for practice and eventually jam sessions. (doubt I’ll ever get to gigging level in this style).
So, in terms of general file handling - given the central place that my Windows desktop has for storing both “libraries” - will the MS Companion on PC work equally smoothly with any of the tablet operating systems? (I also have Dropbox and Google Drive capacity, but obviously the less preliminary file manipulation I need to do, the better).
More generally, are there any relative strengths and weaknesses between the various OS versions of MobileSheets that would have an impact on my work processes and gigging? I would imagine that these would probably show up in the handling of the ChordPro files rather than the PDFs, but that’s only conjecture on my part. And finally, given that each OS is linked with a general class of device, is there any general consensus about whether it is better to use a Windows 2-in-1 laptop, a Chromebook, an Android tablet or a large format IPad as my basic MobileSheets device for the kind of applications I am going to be attempting.
Sorry to have gone on so long…and thank those of you with the patience to have read this…and a SPECIAL thank you to those in MobileSheets community who chose to respond.
-Paul