07-17-2024, 03:55 AM
I've seen a couple of threads here that mention this briefly, but nothing very detailed. So ... The basic question (for big band players) is the best way to set up paging for those pieces. I've run through three different attempts now, but would like to hear what others' experiences are -- realizing that different instruments will face their own peculiar demands.
The context is that a big bad "piece" is usually only one or two pages in length. Sometimes three, but that's relatively unusual, and sometimes a "medley" piece may be four pages or so. But there are often "D.S. al coda" portions that are spilt across two or three pages, and there are often repeats that are spread across two pages. This is no real problem in itself, but then add to that that (a) you're often playing close to every measure (with only brief multi-measure rests that may not be conveniently placed for page turning), and you're often playing at a demanding tempo in a demanding rhythm which makes planning and executing a digital page turn a little dicey.
In my own case, this is while holding a double-valve bass trombone that doesn't allow for very fast/effective finger tapping or swiping. You often need to turn the page as you're playing (or to already HAVE turned it so you can continue without missing any), and in the middle of a fast jazz/rock/pop passage. If the bass trombone drops out for a couple of measures, that will often be noticed.
I originally thought that vertical scrolling offered the most flexible approach, but that turned out to be to tricky to execute at the "right time" while not moving too much or too little -- and I found that I was spending way too much time being distracted about when to hit the pager. Full page turning isn't at all reliable because in a lot of big band pieces your demanding passage is split over the bottom of p. 1 and continues immediately on p. 2.
Right now I've got it set up with a peddle to do half page turning. I'm thinking this may work best since it always gives me a large enough display (top or bottom) to play from, and a good "margin" in which to bump up the next half page. Returning to a repeat sign or to "the sign" for a Coda will have to be accomplished (if necessary) by a finger tap. It would be great to be able to also accomplish this with a peddle action (keeping both hands on the horn), but that doesn't seem to be currently supported (unless maybe I get a four peddle set? or maybe I've missed something).
Anyhow, I'm wondering if there are any other big band players out there and how they handle things.
The context is that a big bad "piece" is usually only one or two pages in length. Sometimes three, but that's relatively unusual, and sometimes a "medley" piece may be four pages or so. But there are often "D.S. al coda" portions that are spilt across two or three pages, and there are often repeats that are spread across two pages. This is no real problem in itself, but then add to that that (a) you're often playing close to every measure (with only brief multi-measure rests that may not be conveniently placed for page turning), and you're often playing at a demanding tempo in a demanding rhythm which makes planning and executing a digital page turn a little dicey.
In my own case, this is while holding a double-valve bass trombone that doesn't allow for very fast/effective finger tapping or swiping. You often need to turn the page as you're playing (or to already HAVE turned it so you can continue without missing any), and in the middle of a fast jazz/rock/pop passage. If the bass trombone drops out for a couple of measures, that will often be noticed.
I originally thought that vertical scrolling offered the most flexible approach, but that turned out to be to tricky to execute at the "right time" while not moving too much or too little -- and I found that I was spending way too much time being distracted about when to hit the pager. Full page turning isn't at all reliable because in a lot of big band pieces your demanding passage is split over the bottom of p. 1 and continues immediately on p. 2.Right now I've got it set up with a peddle to do half page turning. I'm thinking this may work best since it always gives me a large enough display (top or bottom) to play from, and a good "margin" in which to bump up the next half page. Returning to a repeat sign or to "the sign" for a Coda will have to be accomplished (if necessary) by a finger tap. It would be great to be able to also accomplish this with a peddle action (keeping both hands on the horn), but that doesn't seem to be currently supported (unless maybe I get a four peddle set? or maybe I've missed something).
Anyhow, I'm wondering if there are any other big band players out there and how they handle things.
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Gary H. Merrill
Gary H. Merrill