Members The Pro Posted June 15, 2004 Members Share Posted June 15, 2004 Has anyone tried the Freehand Systems MusicPad Pro electronic sheetmusic display? Just wondering if it's worth the $999 that's being asked for it, and/or if there is any other product like it on the market? I like the concept but I'm not sure if this expensive device is the way to go. Opinions? Website: http://www.freehandsystems.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sigmund81 Posted June 15, 2004 Members Share Posted June 15, 2004 i was wondering the same thing, and if there are cheaper alternatives. I have too much paper sheet music, non organised etc.seems like a great toy, but i find it bit too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsongs Posted June 15, 2004 Members Share Posted June 15, 2004 I guess this is one of the rare instances where a Tablet PC is needed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted June 15, 2004 Members Share Posted June 15, 2004 Originally posted by The Pro Has anyone tried the Freehand Systems MusicPad Pro electronic sheetmusic display? Just wondering if it's worth the $999 that's being asked for it, and/or if there is any other product like it on the market? I like the concept but I'm not sure if this expensive device is the way to go. Opinions? Website: http://www.freehandsystems.com/ Right - I saw an ad for that thing a while back + showed it to the choir + band directors at the school I work in: they were like, "Cool! Wish we had the budget..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted June 16, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 16, 2004 Yeah, this looks like a logical idea but the price is very high and I'm not too crazy about scanning all my sheet music into PDF's if that's what this thing requires. It does have a few things over a laptop, like page turning at the touch of the screen or by pedal, and it does have some nice annotation and editing features. I would love to do away with my ever-growing music book, and I've played a couple of outdoor gigs recently where wind was a problem. I'm also concerned about how quickly I'll be able to get to a particular piece of music from the index... that looks about as easy as finding a file on a computer hard drive with the MusicPad Pro. I'd like to talk with someone with hands-on experience with this device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted June 17, 2004 Members Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by The Pro I would love to do away with my ever-growing music book, and I've played a couple of outdoor gigs recently where wind was a problem. Ha ha - I am SO with you, Pro (Re: the ever-growing music book + wind as a gig-hazard)! My latest concept is segment my music into several books, of the following categories: 1) Wedding Gigs Book 2) Duo/Rock Band/Bar Gigs Book 3) Solo Piano w/vocals 4) Solo Piano - only instrumentals There is definitely overlap - some songs fit into more than one category. That is my current goal - to make sure that if I have a song in one book and it should also be in another, to make copies and stick it in there. Since I do sing, it is doubly confusing, because a lot of the pages in my books are more for lyrics than music - or they simply ARE just lyrics, no music. Confusing because I have to decide whether or not to annotate the lyric sheet with chords or not - mostly not, anything I sing I usually internalize the chords to where I don't have to think about it, so I that I CAN concentrate on singing the lyrics and melody. The standards are where I really need the music, though - Night and Day, Under My Skin, Embraceable You, Autumn Leaves etc... although many of them I can slog my way through sans music if I had to, it's just still nice to have as a crutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted June 17, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 17, 2004 GM: have you seen this yet? http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2004/Solo-Performer-Controller.html Looks like a nice package for the singer-soloist. I'm an instrumentalist and I don't know why having music to go by is often regarded as a "crutch". Symphony players use music and noone says anything about it. OTOH I know some pianists who cart around HUGE libraries of sheet music/music books and that does look ridiculous. I'm learning new songs all the time so I'm gonna have some music on stage inevitably, plus I'd like to be able to pull songs out that I haven't played in a long time. My three-ringer binder with non-reflective page holders has served that purpose well and still does, but it's getting too big and heavy. I'd like to get away from using dead trees for a storage mediium anyway if a digital alternative is available. But I just can't bring myself to shuck out a grand for a device like the MusicPad Pro quite yet. I've posted this topic on several forums and haven't had a response from someone who owned one yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted June 17, 2004 Members Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by The Pro GM: have you seen this yet? http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2004/Solo-Performer-Controller.html Looks like a nice package for the singer-soloist. I'm an instrumentalist and I don't know why having music to go by is often regarded as a "crutch". Symphony players use music and noone says anything about it. OTOH I know some pianists who cart around HUGE libraries of sheet music/music books and that does look ridiculous. I'm learning new songs all the time so I'm gonna have some music on stage inevitably, plus I'd like to be able to pull songs out that I haven't played in a long time. My three-ringer binder with non-reflective page holders has served that purpose well and still does, but it's getting too big and heavy. I'd like to get away from using dead trees for a storage mediium anyway if a digital alternative is available. But I just can't bring myself to shuck out a grand for a device like the MusicPad Pro quite yet. I've posted this topic on several forums and haven't had a response from someone who owned one yet. Yeah, I agree - a giant, mammoth library of music/books is too much to cart around. Yet, there is a need to have SOMETHING - very few gigging musicians have it all in their heads (the ones that do are just amazing, like aliens). Speaking of aliens, I checked out the info on that link - http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2004/Solo-Performer-Controller.html ...the "Solo Performer Show Controller" by Alien Apparatus. Looks very cool, 'cept for the $595 price tag. But seems to do what no other all-in-one product currently on the market can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GigMan Posted June 17, 2004 Members Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by GigMan Speaking of aliens, I checked out the info on that link -http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2004/Solo-Performer-Controller.html...the "Solo Performer Show Controller" by Alien Apparatus. Looks very cool, 'cept for the $595 price tag. But seems to do what no other all-in-one product currently on the market can do. However, upon further review of their web site, it looks like the "Solo Performer Show Controller" is the ONLY product that Alien Apparatus currently makes - that seems a bit strange? Maybe it's a brand new company AND brand new product? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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