Members J.Paul Posted March 13, 2016 Members Share Posted March 13, 2016 Many many of us here is this forum use Ipads for song guidance..... Lately I am swamped with so much new material that the smallness of the Ipad screen has become a hinderance. Wouldn't the next step be to use a computer? How about a big computer? How about a medium/large video screen AKA a teleprompter? ... Anyone?Suggestions? Comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve mac Posted March 13, 2016 Members Share Posted March 13, 2016 As a user of an iPad plus someone who hasn't the best eyesight, the size has never been an issue and the big plus is with a black case on it gets lost from the audience perspective. I did see a photo of Springsteen using a TelePrompTer disguised as a monitor and I am sure others do as well. For me it's getting the balance between function and unobtrusiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 13, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 13, 2016 the correct answer is to slow down on the new material until you're truly ready to perform it... I'm jus'sayin'... I'm not sure why you have an issue using a tablet although I admit I had to give up on my 7" Droid because the screen was indeed too small; an 11" should be adequate [in landscape] unless you get more than a few feet from it. But you could certainly use a bluetooth enabled monitor with a tablet, or a larger laptop [i am toying with this now with my new 15" W10 HP...touchscreen enabled makes this very tempting]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted March 13, 2016 Members Share Posted March 13, 2016 I find if the screen is 8" tall and in 'landscape; shape, it's big enough for me YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted March 14, 2016 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2016 the correct answer is to slow down on the new material until you're truly ready to perform it... I'm jus'sayin'... Yes I agree. That would also get me fired and replaced. You gotta keep up or get left behind There's something odd about seeing a band that is s**t hot on fire super visual on one song and the next song they're all just standing there reading the chart... to me that's really disjointed (which is exactly what we're doing). It's as much new weekly material as a talk show band would be expected to learn. The difference is that talk show bands aren't expected to perform and sell the song.... they are only expected to get the material right. I'm not sure why you have an issue using a tablet ................... we are working a Bruce Springsteen size room w/ a large production and huge video screen. the small circumference of an Ipad works for a small sports bar or wedding but for a large concert venue type room can essentially alienate the other 500 people that you aren't "connecting with" because you're too focused on your little screen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted March 14, 2016 Author Members Share Posted March 14, 2016 As a user of an iPad plus someone who hasn't the best eyesight' date=' the size has never been an issue and the big plus is with a black case on it gets lost from the audience perspective. I did see a photo of Springsteen using a TelePrompTer disguised as a monitor and I am sure others do as well. For me it's getting the balance between function and unobtrusiveness.[/quote'] HAHA. That's great... I think I've seen The Stones (?) use something like that. Who runs those things? Is there an actual "Teleprompter Tech" that is on the road occupying a bus bunk and hotel room and only running the telepromter or does he have other duties (such as the rigger from earlier in the day or ugh..... gosh that's the only person I could think of that would have time all night to babysit a telprompter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 14, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 14, 2016 well, it would have been helpful to know all that first...see, we are mainly duos and solos working small rooms here...and certainly not doing the 'jukebox hero' thing. I used to do that [30+ years ago], and we had to learn a new set a week, brutal schedule....big $. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted March 14, 2016 Members Share Posted March 14, 2016 Here was my solution for the same problem: http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/...sheet-monitors Worked very well for me. There was a duplicate monitor on the other side of the stage. I set it up to display every song in the set whether I needed it or not, with a title page before each one. That way everyone on stage knew what the next song was and the key it was in. It wasn't perfect and required a lot of prep work on my part, but it sure smoothed out the flow of the set. I should add that there are more professional ways of doing this. But I wanted a project to mess around with and not spend a ton of money on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted March 14, 2016 Members Share Posted March 14, 2016 you could always memorize teh lyrics.talk about not needing to spend a ton... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ski219 Posted March 15, 2016 Members Share Posted March 15, 2016 I like trevcda's monitor! I am playing with 2 bands right now, one modern country and one alt country...so I have had to learn a lot of material and have been dependent on my ipad mounted on my mic stand. I have set a goal of weening myself off the ipad but that takes time. ( gaining on it though by at least a few songs per week. My problem is I have to put reading glasses on to read it and I hate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted March 15, 2016 Members Share Posted March 15, 2016 ... My problem is I have to put reading glasses on to read it and I hate that. Wearing glasses on stage is a bit of a problem. Just one of those things. Putting on glasses while on stage is a much bigger problem. It's like shouting: "I'm getting old!" And being old is, well, just one of those things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members senorblues Posted March 15, 2016 Members Share Posted March 15, 2016 Worried about wearing glasses?! Yeah they weren't on my radar when I was thirty either. Then it got to the point where I couldn't read the newspaper (does anybody read them any more?) I used to use a Macbook Pro, but the screaming Apple logo was unacceptable. I've reverted to paper charts, in part because they're less obtrusive on the 30 degree music stand that's part of my keyboard rig. Memorization?! I'm sympathetic to guitar players who if they forget the first line could take a while to recover. I remember a guy making up a whole verse to "Feelin' Alright". I may miss a word or two, but a whole verse?! . . . . Not for me! There are songs . . . and there are songs. There's pop lyrics, then there's Dylan. There are three-chord triads, then there are Oliver Nelson horn charts to Ray Charles tunes. There are arrangements, then there's Steely Dan. There's stuff you grew up with, then there's a band who wants you to cover a mostly new (to you) genre. But then, this is another case where the rules are mostly different for keyboard players . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted March 15, 2016 Members Share Posted March 15, 2016 When I play guitar I work from memory. When I play piano, I use books. I have a -- perhaps mistaken -- notion that a book on a keyboard isn't as obtrusive as something in a music stand. On the other hand, keyboard players are already sitting and behind this big piece of equipment, both of which separate you from the audience; staring at the lyrics doesn't help this situation at all. But, then, I'd like to be able to play more than a couple of dozen songs and memorisation doesn't come so easy at 60. It's all so complicated! I think it must be nap time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ski219 Posted March 15, 2016 Members Share Posted March 15, 2016 I agree it is much less obtrusive on a keyboard. As a guitarist I mainly use the ipad for chord changes...never needed it for classic rock stuff, but like the OP when you are learning/playing a ton of new, unfamiliar material it really helps. I am a much better and more confident player than singer so when it comes to the songs I sing, and even background vocals I tend to practice the shyte out of them and find them easier to commit to memory than chord changes. Keeping track of songsStructure is another issue when you are learning a boatload of new tunes in a short time. Songs I am playing solos and fills I don't need the modern day cheat sheet for. Paper is just too much of a PITA compared to the device and I will never go back. I do hate fumbling with my readers on stage though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 16, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 16, 2016 some people have worn glasses since before they could read, I'm jus'sayin'...not me, of course, but some... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted March 16, 2016 Members Share Posted March 16, 2016 I remember from, I think, Johnny Bond's autobiography, that he wore glasses onstage until some country legend strongly advised him to take them off, even if he couldn't see. So he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted March 16, 2016 Members Share Posted March 16, 2016 My ipad mini works for most songs. I mount it on the boom so I can see it while singing. Songs with 14 verses don't fit and those are the one's that need to be viewed the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kbeaumont Posted March 16, 2016 Members Share Posted March 16, 2016 You can get something like the IK Multimedia iRig BlueTurn Wireless Page-Turner street price $69.99. The nice thing about the ipad is you can mount it on a mic stand. Also nobody gives it a second thought. I once sang a song I didn't know because it was requested with an offer of $50 to play it. I brought the words up on my phone read them and set it on my keyboard. Books on a music stand definitely sends a not prepared message, why electronic ones don't is puzzling. I usually keep a 3x5 card of words with only the first couple words of each verse on songs I'm working on or are complicated. It takes up a lot less space and allows the brain to 'index' the song. Sometimes I have asked a band mate 'What's the first line?" its amazing but your brain will find the song in memory and away you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted March 16, 2016 Members Share Posted March 16, 2016 I need the 'cheat sheet' on the computer. We play over 550 songs, and we play over backing tracks that I create so: 1) It's impossible for me to remember that many songs. 1a) The ones we play often are memorized 1b) The ones we seldom play but have played a lot often just need a glance or two at the chart 1c) We gig weekly, learn new songs, and just don't have the time to memorize before we debut them 2) Since we play with backing tracks, even the memorized sounds are pulled up. Why? If distracted during the song you get off 'auto pilot' and can lose your place. The backing track won't follow you. Distractions could be that unaware person who thinks you not only can understand what he/she is saying over the music or can really pay attention while singing or playing your heart out -- or --- someone falls on the dance floor -- or -- a dancer smacks your boom stand and you need to get out of the way fast -- or -- _________ (fill in the blank). Once you get off auto-pilot, the chart in front of you can help you get back in with the backing track. Funny road story. Back in the disco days, we learned a Lou Rawls song *You'll never find...." during the afternoon. The guitarist/singer wrote the words in red and pasted them on the cornice on top of the stage. The DJ who alternated sets with us ran the lights all night, and when we started, he flooded the stage with red lights, the words disappeared, and the singer had only memorized the first verse. So he sang it over and over again. I don't think the audience even noticed, but we had a good laugh after the gig. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 17, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 17, 2016 and yet...Buddy Holly...Elvis Costello... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 17, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 17, 2016 as a solo, there is no band mate to ask for the line when you're 'up'...I've done the 'download on break' thing for requests a few times, with mixed results.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted March 17, 2016 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2016 Funny road story. Back in the disco days, we learned a Lou Rawls song *You'll never find...." during the afternoon. The guitarist/singer wrote the words in red and pasted them on the cornice on top of the stage. The DJ who alternated sets with us ran the lights all night, and when we started, he flooded the stage with red lights, the words disappeared, and the singer had only memorized the first verse. So he sang it over and over again. I don't think the audience even noticed, but we had a good laugh after the gig. Notes Oh that's good stuff HAHA bonus points for using the word "cornice" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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