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(I guess this qualifies as "Gizmos" but if there's a more appropriate subforum to ask this question, Mods please move this.)
Does anybody have experience with a dedicated e-reader tablet for sheet music?
I'm not (yet) willing to concede that a 13" iPad Pro is ideal for replacing paper charts on the music stand...first off, it's still too small to view two pages simultaneously, and secondly it is total overkill -- and commensurately overpriced -- for the relatively simple task I need it for.
I've heard of some dedicated tablets that use E-ink display technology -- E.g., Onyx Boox TabX, or PadMu 4 -- but those both seem pretty antiquated at this point. Plus I haven't heard any recent, real-world reviews of how they fare for this application.
I really just need a flatscreen two-page display that can launch PDF files (scanned sheet music) and, if necessary, instantiate page turns via Bluetooth footswitch, for all those charts that are more than two pages.
Is there anything out there?
Thanks.
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11-16-2025 10:05 PM
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For the last 2+ years I have been using an Android tablet with Mobile Sheets App.
A Bluetooth foot switch turns the page for me.
This has worked very well for the 300+ big band tunes. I also have other libraries containing 2000+ other tunes, lead sheets and vocal cheat sheets.
I will never go back to paper; with the big band I carry a backup of paper but have not yet needed the backup.
The tablet came with a deal package, my wife got a new smartphone, and I got the tablet.
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Broadway orchestras are almost all on Ipads as are the stage managers and have been for years, I'd get the right tool....
Originally Posted by Bob_Ross
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Last time I played in a Broadway orchestra -- which was nearly 40 years ago -- most of the other musicians were still younger than me. Today I'm sure most of them could be my children, if not my grandchildren. Folks their age don't have to deal with the eyesight of an old man like me! Originally Posted by SOLR
...unless you're suggesting there's a new Apple iPad that's bigger than the 13" iPad Pro? 'Cuz that's too small for me.
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How big is the display on that Android tablet? Originally Posted by BBGuitar
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The Samsung Galaxy S10 tablet is bigger than the iPad. I think the ultra version is the biggest tablet there is. If you need two pages both Android and ipad will be expensive.
The e readers are generally smaller because you don't want a big tablet to read books. I only read one page at a time usually so I make do with a10" cheap Samsung. The big screens are great for detailed charts and two pages at a time, but 800-1200 euros for it.. I find it too much since I rarely need it.
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Same for me. Originally Posted by BBGuitar
I am using a Samsung tablet 12,4" Android and mobile sheet pro. I never display two pages simultaneously, I use a Bluetooth pedal for page turning. I am using the half page turn mode, which is easier for me. You don't need to turn the page on the spot.
I will also never go back to paper.
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That 13" ipad screen is 8.5 x 11 inches. The same as your piece of paper. Originally Posted by Bob_Ross
I don't like ipads because technology is annoying and stupid. I choose to print all the guitar charts for my big band and am slowly making my own binder. So you know, any advice you get from me is coming from that kind of crazy.
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I have the older 11 inch display. The new TabS11ultra has a 14 inch display. Originally Posted by Bob_Ross
I am giving thought to upgrading to the 14 inch display.
Mobile sheets in landscape will display 2 pages smaller but 2 pages. A tight crop will enlarge the page somewhat.
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I have bought several used iPads from here for very cheap over the years. That way if the are damaged on the gig it's not like losing $1k
https://sellout.woot.com/offers/appl...nt_cdet_nash_3
Typically I don't need to update until iGigbook no longer works on my iOS
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I've been transitioning to IPAD. Here are a couple of thoughts.
It's great in portrait mode, but, of course, you can only see one page at a time. So, you have to deal with page turns. I have a bluetooth pedal that turns pages pretty reliably but it is possible to make a mistake. It's not bad for a two page chart.
If you have a multiple page chart with some repeats there's a way in Forscore to create a button (For your finger, not the pedal) which will return to the segno (or anyplace you want), but you have to set that up in advance. I haven't tried that on a gig yet.
Also takes some prep work, but you can unroll the charts so you're always moving forward. Unless, of course, your group makes roadmap adjustments on the fly.
Now, if you turn it to landscape mode you can see two pages. In Forscore you can use the Crop command to enlarge them to fill the page, which helps, but they're still a little too small. So, then you can think about glasses optimized for the 18 inches or so that you'll usually have between your eyes and the screen. I'm in the middle of pursuing that, but it's not working yet. I'll post about it when I've got all the info together.
I haven't considered any other brands. Why? Because most of the players I work with use Forscore on Ipad. Sharing charts on the fly works great with Airdrop and I don't have any formatting problems. Charts can be modified using tools within Forscore. With minor (arguable) exceptions Forscore is a well thought-out program. Basically, using the same gear as everybody else makes my work easier. Of course, that varies with the player's needs.
All that said, I'm still doing some gigs on paper. These are gigs where some of the charts are more than two pages with complicated roadmaps. It doesn't look as good. The Ipad is less obtrusive to the audience than a regular stand with four pages spread out. Wouldn't be as bad standing up, but I play sitting.
One of my musical collegues has thousands of tunes on his Ipad, mostly two pages or less. He's got what must be an enormous amount of time in creating these charts. I think he uses a scanner on the longer charts and then squeezes them down to two pages or, if he can't, more pages but without multiple page skip-backs. I've seen him use it on gigs to take arcane requests, airdrop them to the band and play the tune in less than a minute from when it's called.
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Another thought on screen size.
Before I had my cataracts done no screen would have been big enough.
Now I can read the screen at arm's length with no glasses.
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Not a big fan of iPad either. It’s bloated and very needy. For my cases, as a casual player doing mostly jam sessions with a few gigs playing one page sheets, I can’t see a reason to change it.
Yet with that, I’ll still use paper, for instance when vocalists are on stage, who will bring sheets often in their own keys and / or arrangements. Using paper can be safer too, with a flimsy stand.
But I do like having hundreds of sheets in a compact format and with the option of using iReal for practice, though cumbersome to quickly scroll or swipe to a sheet before the tune gets counted in.
Long ago, when I was a work a day musician, in the days when paper reigned, I had a bag with the fake and real books on gigs. Nowadays I noticed that it’s the vocalists that have binders with their tunes in individual sleeves, orderly with copies to hand out.
I suppose we each have our own contexts so seeking one solution for all cases might be an overkill.
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Currently still preferring paper and/or printed books for music sheet but if I would want to go digital with this, I would look at an e-ink screen. There are 13.3" ebook readers that would work great for this task i think.
I don't remember the name, but there used to be a dual screen ebook reader designed for musicians and i think it may have been discontinued. I've seen a demo unit a few years ago - they had a booth at a concerthall where the music uni was holding a festival thingie and it looked so cool; they even made foot pedals for it to control the page turns.
I am against iPads and Android tablets for this task because of the reflective screen which given it's on an angled stand can cause issues with overhead lights plus what others have said, the bloat and distractions on it can be a hindrance.
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iPad Pro and pdf’s in Musicnotes app works well for home lessons and scores.
1Chart is nice for quick arrangements.
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Probably old news to most folks here, but iGigBook is a pretty great app. It's like having a huge stack of fake books that is searchable
iGigBook (i Gig Book) App for iPad - The Go-To Gig Tool. Nov 18, 2025
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