The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I have an iPad that I believe has gone south. For a number of reasons I'd rather get a device other than an iPad.

    I mainly use my iPad for lyrics and cheater chords if I'm playing rock type gigs but I'd like to use something for Jazz charts as well as Jazz styled tunes with lyrics as I move forward.

    That's all I'll use it for, music, and maybe some ebooks. The iPad was a gift and I really don't use it for much else.

    I can't see spending the $ on another iPad if I don't need to.

    So, are you using an iPad, Tablet or something else for your music that does the job and if so what software are you using.

    Hey, even Yo Yo Ma uses one for his music.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I am using an Android tablet with some useful apps:


    - Mobilesheets (pro) for organize my leadsheets, setlists, etc
    - irealpro for playalongs. It comes with a large number of jazztunes
    - Inner Pulse Trainer as an extended metronome and rythmic trainer
    - drumgenius for drum loops
    - MuseScore App

    I would miss my tablet very much.

  4. #3

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    I have an older google tablet I tried integrating into my recording/playing life and it just sucks ass for everything. Even after a few factory resets and operating system upgrades. It couldn't even handle basic web use or playing music. I can occasionally use it to trigger my camera, but that's it.

    I had hoped to try out an apple product as a result, so your news is disheartening.

    A lyrics/teleprompter type app would be neat.

  5. #4

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    I've been using iPadPro with iGigBook for a few months and like the size and flexibility of the search function with iGigBook.

    I don't know anything else, so all i can say i'm almost happy with it. The only feature i miss is the possibility to handwrite notes on the music during rehearsals. (For that i use the good notes app which allows to export pdfs with the notes which in turn have to be reimported into iGigBook which is annoyingly time consuming)

    Luckily i have about 40 real books on pdf which work with iGigBook indexes. I can import my own music too, i just have to convert everything to pdf.

    Update 2021=> in the meantime iGigBook has updated the app. It is now possible to handwrite notes onto the music sheets which comes in very handy!
    Last edited by JazzNote; 05-04-2021 at 12:30 PM. Reason: update

  6. #5

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    I guess it depends upon your mode of use, and if you require portability.
    From a software perspective, I have found a program called Power Music Pro that runs on Windows and or IPad, and there is a Mac version, although it appears to be feature challenged. The Windows version is quite versatile and allows for import of pdf files from any source, as well as editing of music, printing, enlarging, annotating, etc.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by feet
    I have an older google tablet I tried integrating into my recording/playing life and it just sucks ass for everything.
    I have been using Android tablets for a few years now. The Android OS has evolved a lot over that time and so have the tablets. I remember trying to display pdf files on my first tablet and it was painfully slow, whereas now it's not a problem. An up-to-date model from a well-known manufacturer (e.g. Samsung) will be fine, easily match an Apple iPad, and cost less too. The most useful app for me is iReal Pro; it's available on both systems (Apple and Google) and the chord charts can be shared between them via email.

    There's some good app suggestions above from holgit.

  8. #7

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    while that is a comfort, i did kind of want to try an apple product simply for the amount of neat peripherals made for them. all the cool mics and cameras and knick knacks and what not. been an android guy since it came out and i always stare at all that stuff in stores and catalogs and sigh forlornly.

    my tablet is a google nexus, made by asus. bought it back when they were still current. i can only assume things are less worse now, but those are three names i never want to throw money at again. :/ now that i think of it, it is technically my third one. it was replaced by google once, and i bought a third to harvest parts to repair the second one, but that didn't pan out, so i sporadically use the third one and the second (and first) one are frisbees.

  9. #8

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    I have found my iPad to be indispensable and use it for music related things all the time. Forescore is a brilliant app for charts. you can load pdf's and make notes and remarks right on the page. that's essential when playing in a band. Great sorting features as well. you can organize things by sets or gigs. Also the ability to download charts directly from the cloud like DropBox is very cool. I'm playing in a big band and the conductor uploads the charts to his dropBox account and I can access it directly and download into Forescore.

    Another app Drumgenius give you very realistic drum loops in many styles to practice over, much better than iRealPro. Petersen tuners has an app that's one of the best tuners out there.

    There are peripherals that are also useful to use. Wireless Bluetooth footswitches will give you hands free page turning when reading multi-page charts. Also, connecting your guitar directly to your tablet with something like iRig allows you to experiment with sounds and record directly, or play along to recordings. There's an app called Jam Origin that will take your analog sound and convert it to midi instantly, opening up sound layering possibilities as well as recording midi. I've got some synth apps that I can trigger and layer with my guitar sound. No Roland GK pickup needed.

    iOS also has something called Audiobus that will connect audio apps together so you can use a looper, synth, guitar effects and recording apps all at the same time and they integrate beautifully. Not sure if Android does that.

    Something to consider as well is the screen resolution. My eyes aren't that great and iPads seem to have some of the clearest screens out there. No pixilation on text and nice contrast.

    There are lots about Apple products I don't like (like iTunes) but ipads are pretty solid machines. It's basically replaced my laptop.
    Last edited by BigToe; 06-30-2016 at 05:44 PM.

  10. #9

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    honestly I use a Samsung 12.2 which is older * but can be had for around 400 dollars, and has terrific colour, will run netflix well, i can use it as a college student (which I am, of Jazz Studies.) It was waaaaaayyy cheaper when i was on the market last year and frankly the writing software thats out is still too fresh to really make use of writing music from a tablet anyway.. but its a good device for the money, Then again I used to work for apple, and have a 15 Macbook Pro, and a Mac Pro tower (8 core) which are incredibly powerful. The 12.2 is a great size for having all my fake books and charts on though, as soon as a prof. gives me a chart it gets brought home scanned and then filed, at which point its on my tablet, which is also synced with google drive, so all of that information can be accessed from a computer and printed in a battery emergency...The battery has great life to it though.

  11. #10

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    I do see your point about unification of charts, and notation too, though, sounds like a great idea. I end up using an intigrated PDF editor with my charts for notation. worth it in my book for having the tablet convenience at a cheaper price.... I do stand by my statement that should be clarified **composition software** seems too new to the market to really be a quick and useful tool yet. Disagree? I have tried pretty much all of them, I wish someone could prove me wrong on the comp. software thing. I would upgrade..but I even tried the windows and the super expensive comp. software and it kinda sucked for the money dumped into that whole situation...glad i had a friend who let me try it.

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by feet
    I have an older google tablet I tried integrating into my recording/playing life and it just sucks ass for everything. Even after a few factory resets and operating system upgrades. It couldn't even handle basic web use or playing music. I can occasionally use it to trigger my camera, but that's it.

    I had hoped to try out an apple product as a result, so your news is disheartening.

    A lyrics/teleprompter type app would be neat.

    I believe both OnSong and the Ultimate Guitar apps have a scrolling feature. I know they work with iPads but not sure of any other tablets. You can even get a pedal to start/stop the scroll function although I never did use scroll.

  13. #12

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    IPad Pro and UnRealBook. Works great.

  14. #13

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    Wow! I'm more of a dinosaur than I thought. I use a printed pages and a looper. If by some accident I come up with an idea I manually write it down.
    You guys and yer new fangled gizmos......

  15. #14
    My iPad is stuck. Turning it on just shows the Apple icon, and I can put it into "restore" mode but it won't restore, go to normal, update, nada. I've tried everything including software made specifically to remedy the situation. My last resort is to try a trick that worked a few years ago when something similar happened. Let the unit sit until the battery is dead enough so nothing shows on the display. Then charge it to full and see what happens. It worked last time but I'm not sure if it will again.

    I'm not feeling good about dumping another $800 into an iPad that won't last more than 4-5 years hence the query.

    The Samsung Galaxy Tab2 Nook 8" screen and Tab E Nook 9.6" screen don't look bad at all and the memory is a snap to upgrade with an SD card.

    I need to do some more homework.

    Thanks for the suggestions so far!

  16. #15

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    For home use I have a Dell Inspiron 20. It's an all-in-one PC with a touch screen, battery power and 19" diagonal screen. By flipping it 180 degrees on a music stand, it will display an 8" x 11" page at full size. Also added an Air Turn for foot controlled page turns. Price is around $400 but the downside is that it runs Windows and is too bulky and heavy for live use. For that I would use an I-Pad.

  17. #16

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    I use a second gen Nexus 7 that is quite fast. I use it mainly for irealb, my pdf collection and a few other apps. I have an 11" netbook on the stand that I use for lesson articles that seem to read better on a laptop and it also runs Reaper as the primary DAW for quick recording. I have an iPad that was a gift that I use to read the Times with. For music apps, I find it more trouble than it's worth, but my teacher swears by his. It's all what you're used to, I guess. I'd never pony up the dough for an apple product when my Android devices have served me so well, but that's just my opinion.
    Last edited by ah.clem; 07-05-2016 at 05:15 AM.

  18. #17

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    If you are thinking of using a tablet for audio processing (recording, guitar effects, etc) then you should know that Android has always had a problem with audio latency. It is getting better with each new version of the OS, but it has not yet reached the magical 10ms. This is why a lot of audio apps are only available on Apple devices, where low latency is the norm. It will be interesting to see if Android version 7 (dubbed 'Nougat') will bring even greater improvements.
    Here's an article that explains the historical problem:
    Android Audio Latency In-Depth: It's Getting Better, Especially With The Nexus 5X And 6P

  19. #18

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    I just picked up an Amazon Fire for $50. So far, so good. I already had pdf's of my Real Books and transferred them over, and downloaded iRealPro. It all works fine. In theory, there are fewer apps in the Amazon store than the Apple store or Google Play, but I've found everything I needed. The only downside is that you can't turn off the ads on the screensaver unless you a pay a few bucks more, but I haven't gotten annoyed enough yet to do that.

    John

  20. #19
    Well, I heard back from the shop today and my iPad 2 is fried. Strange since it's never been abused and the only thing I did was recharge it. The tech told me they narrowed it down to the main board which, they don't repair and won't charge me a diagnostic fee for the troubleshooting, would cost about $500+ to replace.

    I'm basically going to use a device for music software but not listening music unless it's in the software. So all of my iTunes music won't be loaded on a new tablet.

    I'm considering the iPad mini 2.

    Anyone use the Mini 2 for charts, vocal cheat sheets etc. ??

    Thanks

  21. #20

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    I've done gigs using my iPad. I've done gigs using my laptop. Both tend to go to sleep at the worst moments. So, I prefer paper. Actually, I prefer to memorize everything...it's more professional. I'm old enough to have a preference for wearing a suit, if not a tuxedo, too. Nobody does this anymore, though.

    I'll tell you what...back when you dressed for the gig you just felt much better about it. You were really putting on a show. (Now, if I could only erase from my memory some of the hideous "tuxedos" that we wore in the 70s--along with the damned ruffled shirts. Gawd, I wouldn't be caught dead or alive in those "formal" clothes now. I would, however, prefer a Buck Owens Nudie suit to the torn-knee jeans and crummy shirt that get worn in bands, these days. In fact, if I ever put a country band back together...it's matching Nudie suits all around...and sensible western hats, like my grandpa wore.

  22. #21
    Yeah, I used to try an memorize all the lyrics, chords etc. back when using a music stand was taboo. But now days even Yo Yo Ma uses and iPad so…...

    I've used my iPad 2 for plenty of gigs but I don't want to dish out another $800 so I'm wondering if the iPad Mini 2 screen is large enough.

  23. #22

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    It's large enough. I have used the iPad Mini plenty of times. Works.

  24. #23

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    John, Just purchase a fire tablet. Have all my band in a box charts on pdf's and using fakebook pro. Great for play list. Installed a storage card, but for the life of me, I have no idea where the fire tablet stores things and how to get a back up of my files and play lists on internal storage. Suggestions...or just 'keep the faith' and no back ups? thanks Bill

  25. #24

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    i’m lucky that a friend gave me their
    old slow ipad 3rd gen ....

    i re-booted it and loaded on forescore
    for my pdf sheet music after it was recommended by a pro friend
    ’it’s what we all use” he said so i went
    with that

    and it works fine ... does everything i need it to annotation , sharing , making , set lists
    etc

  26. #25

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    I guess I'm the first here to answer, "none of the above - nothing".

    I performed in dozens of bands and have been in four bands at the same time (two bands right now). I was the guitarist in the host band for a weekly four hour open mic for about 10 years. Throughout all of this, many hundreds of tunes (a couple dozen I composed), I have never used anything except listening to practice, compose, rehearse, and perform.