iPad Specs for the Gigging Musician 2024

[FourOnSix]

I also agree that a good case is essential.

Absolutely essential! I had a pickup drummer knock my unprotected iPad off of my music stand, smashing the screen to smithereens. He actually did me a favor, because I was sorely in need of an updated iPad, and that pushed me over the edge.

[DawgBone]

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How many times have you seen a blues band w charts, why would you possibly need them? I'm not putting blues down, I love em and call them all the time. But until you're out of that comfort zone and playing something a little more challenging it might be best not to opine on whether using charts is acceptable because you've never been in that situation and would likely fall flat on your face, that's real life. Some of the greatest musicians on the planet use them, it's easy to talk smack from the sidelines-don't put the concept down until you've actually been there.

You don't need charts for blues eh? Well come test your blues knowledge then big dawg, You sound like a few other guys I never called back. You won't make it through the first set without some sort of guide if you're new, which is why I allow charts for a time. There are only a handful of songs that are straight 1-4-5 stuff so unless you're a veteran or have charts you're toast. I have not called several dudes back cause they said "blues is easy" before bumbling the entire first set after "doing my homework". I expect excellence.

I still think charts look like shit but it's better than having you make mistakes all night. When you need them for every gig it tells me you aren't learning the material and are wasting my time. I put food on the table by gigging so when I perceive someone making me look or sound like bad either through lack of personal hygiene, poor choice of stage clothing, endless chart use, throwing hissy fits on stage, texting between songs that is not gig related, loud foul language, being drunk or drugged up and not be able to play well, being late, or crying because my first set is 2 hours minimum I just see it as you taking food outta my kid's mouth and I have zero sympathy. I will short your pay and take your cut of the tips to split up between the guys who were on the ball.

[RJVB]

That’s the one I use, from a German manufacturer.

That's actually a very interesting offer, esp. if it is actually manufactured (and not only designed) in Germany. It would be interesting to know though how long they guarantee OS upgrades...

The question is if it does influence the readability of music on stage. Theoretically it shouldn't ...

Not if you manage to install it without any airbubbles, and don't "use" it because it'll start to go milky quite quickly once the scratches and scuffs start to accumulate. IMHO better to go for a tablet with some gorilla-like glass (the same stuff they use on glass top stoves) and be careful with it. (Or maybe nowadays there's also troll glass? )

[Cunamara]

I use UnRealBook on my iPad. It is an app that essentially functions like a container for PDFs and some other kinds of images. You can also do markup of PDFs if you need to, very easily. On mine, I have PDF versions of all the 5th edition Real Books and the 6th edition one, as well as the Scher New Real Books. I have set lists set up for different bands, for practice, etc. Very convenient, easy to use and has a lot of features I've never tapped.

As for the crabbier members of our forum who think you look like a bum if you're on stage with a chart, all I can say is I see a lot of professional musicians on stage with charts these days. The expectation that every jazz musician has 1000 tunes memorized in all 12 keys went the way of the dodo along time ago. Although if your setlist is nothing but blues tunes, you're probably aren't gonna need charts for it.

[ccroft]

Just wondering... can consumer grade tablets function while being anywhere near a dimed Twin? You might need a military grade version. Something designed to withstand the shockwave of a M198 howitzer for EG :)

[wintermoon]

You don't need charts for blues eh? Well come test your blues knowledge then big dawg, You sound like a few other guys I never called back. You won't make it through the first set without some sort of guide if you're new, which is why I allow charts for a time. There are only a handful of songs that are straight 1-4-5 stuff so unless you're a veteran or have charts you're toast. I have not called several dudes back cause they said "blues is easy" before bumbling the entire first set after "doing my homework". I expect excellence.

I still think charts look like shit but it's better than having you make mistakes all night. When you need them for every gig it tells me you aren't learning the material and are wasting my time. I put food on the table by gigging so when I perceive someone making me look or sound like bad either through lack of personal hygiene, poor choice of stage clothing, endless chart use, throwing hissy fits on stage, texting between songs that is not gig related, loud foul language, being drunk or drugged up and not be able to play well, being late, or crying because my first set is 2 hours minimum I just see it as you taking food outta my kid's mouth and I have zero sympathy. I will short your pay and take your cut of the tips to split up between the guys who were on the ball.

Sorry you've had such bad experiences picking sidemen, can't say I've ever dealt w any of that except the occasional tardiness or maybe someone that had a cocktail or two too many, both of which have been rare occurrences that I immediately nipped in the bud.
But I'm not going to derail this thread any more than it has been, it's supposed to be about picking a good iPad or tablet like the OP said before you insulted him. He's right, if people want to discuss non pertinent stuff best to start a dedicated thread.
I'm outta here like Vladimir......

[rpjazzguitar]

When I go to see a band that's in town on a tour, I don't expect to see charts. They're probably doing more or less the same show every night so they can memorize the music.

I rarely hear a band playing a standards gig. Now and then. I've seen them with and without charts. Even in situations which are mostly chart-free you're likely to see a phone or a tablet or a RB. Just in case.

I think that an audience can relate better to the band if at least one of the frontspeople don't have their face in a chart. If there's a singer, not reading, then nobody seems to notice if the sidemen are reading. Or so I think.

For myself, I'm not great at memorizing arrangements, but I don't want to give up music. So, there will be gigs I don't get offered and that's that.

[docsteve]

That's actually a very interesting offer, esp. if it is actually manufactured (and not only designed) in Germany. It would be interesting to know though how long they guarantee OS upgrades...

Like everything else, it is made in China. I haven't bothered about updates yet. I might try and post my experience.

[docsteve]

Seems like that is what I meant.

The question is if it does influence the readability of music on stage. Theoretically it shouldn't ...

In my experience, it doesn't.

[RJVB]

The expectation that every jazz musician has 1000 tunes memorized in all 12 keys went the way of the dodo along time ago.

Hah, because they're now expected to memorise those tune in whatever mnemonic, abstract form that works for them and then transpose on the fly, no?
And with jazz, all you really need is to memorise a recognisable portion of the theme - for the improvised bits you just need the stick to the key?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

As for the crabbier members of our forum who think you look like a bum if you're on stage with a chart, all I can say is I see a lot of professional musicians on stage with charts these days.

…like the New York Philharmonic. Even funky little groups like this power trio use charts - and they only play a few simple tunes that they’ve rehearsed and played a million times before.



More and more pro groups of all kinds and sizes are using electronic readers. There are purpose built devices for music, like the Onyx Boox and the Pad Mu 4. The Fujitsu Quaderno is also excellent for music. But for single sheet scores, a basic Android or iPad is fine. There’s useful info for the OP in this thread.

[RJVB]

Even funky little groups like this power trio use charts - and they only play a few simple tunes that they’ve rehearsed and played a million times before.

Define simple?! (And next time you go see them, ask them if you can "have a look at their charts" and see how long it takes before the coin drops )

There are purpose built devices for music, like the Onyx Boox and the Pad Mu 4. The Fujitsu Quaderno is also excellent for music.

Imagine the amount of copies/prints you can make for the price of one, let alone two ...


I seem to recall an argument from a similar thread a few years back that e-ink/e-paper readers weren't really up to the task (yet), but that was probably more about the Kindle readers. Apparently that's no longer true (?) but a quick look suggests there's no really competitively priced alternative in the current Kindle lineup (they're either "cheap" and tiny, or quite expensive already and not that big).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Define simple?! (And next time you go see them, ask them if you can "have a look at their charts" and see how long it takes before the coin drops )

Define sarcasm. Or try irony. Facetious works too. “Simple” was my attempt at humorously highlighting similarities between classical pieces and complex blues tunes that go far beyond the usual forms.

I’m not defending Dawgbone’s opinion on this - I think he’s both way off base and being far too nasty about it to write off as a communication failure. But he’s absolutely right that many contemporary blues tunes have complex forms and changes, and the best performances incorporate very sophisticated accents, fills, dynamics, changes, modulations etc. Many who are unfamiliar with that kind of blues think it’s all 1 4 1 5 4 1. And at least as many think chamber music and a lot of classical works are little more than scales, exercises, and repetitive ditties.

I tried and obviously failed (at least with you) to draw the comparison. But it’s still valid. Most professional classical musicians know much of their repertoire by heart before the baton comes down on the first beat of public performance. Yet 99% of classical ensembles use charts for every performance.

[AllanAllen]

Define sarcasm. Or try irony. Facetious works too. “Simple” was my attempt at humorously highlighting similarities between classical pieces and complex blues tunes that go far beyond the usual forms.

I’m not defending Dawgbone’s opinion on this - I think he’s both way off base and being far too nasty about it to write off as a communication failure. But he’s absolutely right that many contemporary blues tunes have complex forms and changes, and the best performances incorporate very sophisticated accents, fills, dynamics, changes, modulations etc. Many who are unfamiliar with that kind of blues think it’s all 1 4 1 5 4 1. And at least as many think chamber music and a lot of classical works are little more than scales, exercises, and repetitive ditties.

I tried and obviously failed (at least with you) to draw the comparison. But it’s still valid. Most professional classical musicians know much of their repertoire by heart before the baton comes down on the first beat of public performance. Yet 99% of classical ensembles use charts for every performance.

I got what you did in the post. RVJB is a Classical guy, so he's sensitive about the topic.

[RJVB]

Define sarcasm. Or try irony. Facetious works too.

Sorry, didn't catch the inflection of the electrons, and didn't see the quotes around simple either.


(Did you see the smiley after that statement, or after my earlier "Define simple"? )

I tried and obviously failed (at least with you) to draw the comparison.

I did kind of surmise that you were using 2nd degree...

Most professional classical musicians know much of their repertoire by heart before the baton comes down on the first beat of public performance. Yet 99% of classical ensembles use charts for every performance.

If you're referring to an actual baton and thus orchestral performances then yes, most musicians will know the repertoire quite intimately for having performed it time and again (and as I said earlier, they're also expected to be able to sightread unfamiliar repertoire well enough that a 1st rehearsal can immediately focus on interpretation). But you probably know there's a difference to having worked on committing a piece to memory, and having ended up knowing it by heart just because you practised it often enough. In the former case you can jump in anywhere, e.g. to pick up after a hiccup. In the latter, that's much less certain. Plus, in ensemble pieces there's the issue of rests. It can be tricky enough to count those out without a visual guide already, and you better not rely 100% on the conductor either. Lastly ... can you imagine rehearsals without scores ... "let's start at measure such-and-so, the upbeat to the 3rd beat". That adds an additional complexity to the memorising.
All this of course also applies to a soloist who'll be expected to play from memory (not all do) or the conductor who conducts that way (even less do, I'd guess?). But there's a reason such performers tend to be considered gods...

[docsteve]

How do you make a Classical guitarist stop playing?

- Take his sheet music away.

How do you make an electric guitarist stop playing?

- Put sheet music in front of him.




Add electronic inflections of joke and irony here.

Edith reminds me of famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. When asked why he directed from the score and not by heart, he answered: "Because I can read music."

[RJVB]

How do you make a Classical guitarist stop playing?

- Take his sheet music away.

Interestingly I think they're the ones most likely to claim that it is so much better "to not have to read". Not-so-secretely I think that's because most need to have their head in their fretboard rather than in a score - given how I find myself memorising most pieces I work on without even trying (because I am still not yet at the point where I can just play them without looking at my left hand at all).

[RJVB]

The Crowdstrike event? Last I looked that was due to a botched automatic update from the company itself that caused computers in charge of providing security to (big, public) online services "to BOD". [..] this didn't concern small-time end-user systems at all, other than indirectly.

Crowdstrike gaat beter testen na update die tot grote problemen leidde

[fep]

I'll add my negative two cents as a bandleader:

You look like a bum on stage with a music stand or even worse, the electronic screen. If you haven't memorized the lyrics to the song you don't know the song, and shouldn't be there unless you're just doing pick up gigs or are a new member. I guess if you don't give a shit how you present yourself or you're just a hired gun then you can disregard my input.

I just have a hatred for music stands on stage. Learn the material. Commit it to memory or you'll never have it memorized because you need your cheat sheet constantly or you're D.O.A. I have allowed the use of notes and ipads before when it was a new member or hired gun getting rolling but aside that I would shitcan anyone who insisted on using one after that. No doubt this post will trigger someone but at least i was honest with my thoughts.

Yeah right... Some of the best in town get together a couple times a year, they don't know the tunes because they have ipads, right.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Yeah right... Some of the best in town get together a couple times a year, they don't know the tunes because they have ipads, right.

Right. And these guys are probably just too old to remember stuff. I'd never hire them for my band........

[PatrickB]

Hey Dawg now you have me interested. Please show us a typical gig set list that will show these jazzers that reading from the bandstand is for losers.

[TheGrandWazoo]

Everyone

Stop harassing Dawg, please.

This thread is meant to help, not harass.

Let's all be like fonzie

And what's fonzie like?

[AllanAllen]

Everyone

Stop harassing Dawg, please.

This thread is meant to help, not harass.

Let's all be like fonzie

And what's fonzie like?

[DawgBone]

…like the New York Philharmonic. Even funky little groups like this power trio use charts - and they only play a few simple tunes that they’ve rehearsed and played a million times before.



More and more pro groups of all kinds and sizes are using electronic readers. There are purpose built devices for music, like the Onyx Boox and the Pad Mu 4. The Fujitsu Quaderno is also excellent for music. But for single sheet scores, a basic Android or iPad is fine. There’s useful info for the OP in this thread.

I got 20 bucks that says I take away those charts and one of them three crashes and burns and once you knock one domino over the rest tend to tumble along with them. Hundreds of performances but the sheet is in front of them at every one? Maybe if they are big pros nothing goes awry but that's an exception, not a rule. You start using charts every time, you will need them every time.

I used a lyric sheet for some new material a few times and immediately recognized that I would never learn the lyrics because I was keeping the crutches on my bandstand at the gig. Soon as I ditched them, they got committed to memory.

In the 80's and 90's I knew at least 8 or 10 phone numbers by heart. Home, dad's office, a couple best friends, girlfriends, work. I finally got forced into a smart phone. Today I know my phone number, the phone number of a lifelong friend who has had the same number 20 years, and one longtime ex bandmate and that's it yet I can still recall several of the numbers from 30+ years ago that belonged to people I haven't talked to since middle school. Amazing. Without the digital phone book in your pocket you're DOA if you needed any of those numbers in an emergency. I see the tablets in the same light. Musical astigmatism.

[RJVB]

Yeah right... Some of the best in town get together a couple times a year, they don't know the tunes because they have ipads, right.

Shhhht, the padis are the actual instruments; replacing the Mac computers people still used for that some 15y ago

Four of the finest jazz guitarists losers looking at sheesh music on wacky old stands: