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Thread: Digital Music Tools & Software

  1. #11
    I've been using an ipad for music since the ipad 2 came out, 2011ish? I guess about the same amount of time as Don. I don't use it for every gig, as sometimes paper is still easier for me, but especially on those gigs where there is a big fat folder stuffed with music, I find it to be a huge time saver.

    I currently use the 12.9" ipad pro which is really nice. If you crop very carefully you can get away with the smaller screen without making it a whole lot smaller than the original paper copy, but it's so much easier with the larger screen. The apple pencil is also really nice.

    Tips - I don't like putting a bunch of other apps on the ipad I'm using for music. I don't want notifications or battery drain or instability from anything else while I am trying to play a concert. Airplane mode and then re-enable bluetooth so you don't have any wifi or cellular connection but you do have bluetooth connected for the pedal. I also turn off automatic updates. Forscore is great but it has had a number of bugs over the years which have been showstoppers. You don't want it updating right before a concert and either changing the behavior or introducing a new bug. Only update when you have a chance to test before you actually have to use it.

    I used 3 or 4 different variants of the airturn pedal before I settled on the firefly pedal from pageflip. I like the feel of the pageflip pedal better and it seems to be more reliable about connecting to bluetooth.
    --
    Barry

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Sacramento, CA area
    Posts
    309
    So Mike, a further question if I may. I have not sprung for the tablet yet. But I did get a brand spankin' new smart phone. I was wondering if you (or anyone else on the forum, for that matter) could recommend a metronome app, a tuner app, or any other "good to have app" for the hobby-ist musician's smart phone.
    - Sara
    Baritone - 3 Valve, Compensating, JinBao JBBR1240

  3. #13
    My go to tuner is Tunable: https://tunable.affinityblue.com/

    It displays pitch as a graph, rather than just using a needle. It's enlightening to see how pitch can change over the life of a note.

    The metronome in Tunable is good enough if you just need something to provide a steady click. If you're looking for something more advanced, Tempo is fantastic: http://www.frozenape.com/tempo-metronome.html

    My favorite feature of Tempo is the ability to have complex meters (5/8, 7/8, etc) click the correct subdivisions.

    Both apps are available on iOS and Android.
    Adrian L. Quince
    Composer, Conductor, Euphoniumist
    www.adrianquince.com

    Kanstul 976 - SM4U

  4. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Sara Hood View Post
    So Mike, a further question if I may. I have not sprung for the tablet yet. But I did get a brand spankin' new smart phone. I was wondering if you (or anyone else on the forum, for that matter) could recommend a metronome app, a tuner app, or any other "good to have app" for the hobby-ist musician's smart phone.
    - Sara
    I use Tonal Energy as a tuner - it's nice because it will allows for both equal temperament and just intonation. For playing with drones, that can be helpful.

    As a metronome, I use "Tempo", although there are a million apps. I also use a Dr. Beat (DB88) when I can to avoid using the phone.
    Mike Taylor

    Illinois Brass Band
    Fox Valley Brass Band

  5. #15
    Tonal energy has a bug which makes it difficult to use in just intonation (or meantone, or anything other than equal). It calculates all the frequencies from where "C" is rather than from where "A" is. So, for example - if you set the calibration at A440 and then you try to tune an "A" in a C just scale, that A will be actually 436hz rather than 440. It should really calculate everything based off your calibration note rather than where C in equal temperament would be relative to the calibration note. You can compensate by shifting your calibration note, but it requires you understand what's happening.
    --
    Barry

  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by bbocaner View Post
    Tonal energy has a bug which makes it difficult to use in just intonation (or meantone, or anything other than equal). It calculates all the frequencies from where "C" is rather than from where "A" is. So, for example - if you set the calibration at A440 and then you try to tune an "A" in a C just scale, that A will be actually 436hz rather than 440. It should really calculate everything based off your calibration note rather than where C in equal temperament would be relative to the calibration note. You can compensate by shifting your calibration note, but it requires you understand what's happening.
    That's very interesting - I was not aware of that.
    Mike Taylor

    Illinois Brass Band
    Fox Valley Brass Band

  7. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by bbocaner View Post
    Tonal energy has a bug which makes it difficult to use in just intonation (or meantone, or anything other than equal). It calculates all the frequencies from where "C" is rather than from where "A" is. So, for example - if you set the calibration at A440 and then you try to tune an "A" in a C just scale, that A will be actually 436hz rather than 440. It should really calculate everything based off your calibration note rather than where C in equal temperament would be relative to the calibration note. You can compensate by shifting your calibration note, but it requires you understand what's happening.
    I'm not sure if that's a bug or a deliberate design decision on their part. Tunable actually works the same way, though they are a little more explicit about stating what key the temperament is centered on.
    Adrian L. Quince
    Composer, Conductor, Euphoniumist
    www.adrianquince.com

    Kanstul 976 - SM4U

  8. #18
    Well, I know it's a deliberate design decision on their part, but I don't see how it's useful at all the way they designed it. Tonal Energy does let you change the key the temperament is centered on (you have to go to the "sound" tab and then double tap the note you want it centered on) but that's really a different issue than from what point of reference the frequencies are calculated. TE always uses an offset from the equal tempered scale which is fine, but when you use an equal tempered scale to find "C" based on the value you gave it to calibrate A, and then calculate everything based on a fixed C, that's just bizarre and I can't imagine anyone expecting that behavior.
    --
    Barry

  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by bbocaner View Post
    Well, I know it's a deliberate design decision on their part, but I don't see how it's useful at all the way they designed it. Tonal Energy does let you change the key the temperament is centered on (you have to go to the "sound" tab and then double tap the note you want it centered on) but that's really a different issue than from what point of reference the frequencies are calculated. TE always uses an offset from the equal tempered scale which is fine, but when you use an equal tempered scale to find "C" based on the value you gave it to calibrate A, and then calculate everything based on a fixed C, that's just bizarre and I can't imagine anyone expecting that behavior.
    It seems like a simplification designed to make Just less complex for a wider user base. Yes, in a perfect world Just would be calibrated to a specified pitch in Hz, rather than calibrating A and then using the ET scale note as the base of the just scale. However, I would bet that the majority of the user base for any tuner app would be impeded by having to provide an exact starting pitch in Hz for their Just scale. I would also bet they designed for that majority.

    As a software developer, I just get annoyed when people call a deliberate decision a bug. It might be a bad decision, but there were probably reasons for and against it.
    Adrian L. Quince
    Composer, Conductor, Euphoniumist
    www.adrianquince.com

    Kanstul 976 - SM4U

  10. #20
    fair enough! Let's agree to call it a poor design decision. But it's a simplification for their programmers, it does nothing to make things simpler for their user base. It actually makes things much much more complex for their user base. Bottom line, when you tell the tuner that a=440hz, the note a should stay there and everything else should revolve around that. Yes, the exact interval between A and any other note will change based on the temperament and the temperament base you select, but the A should stay put because you calibrated the whole thing to that A. It's the way that practically every other tuner works, meaning if you are collaborating with any other musicians you are getting different results than they are.

    setting a tuner to a=440 and then having the tuner tell you your A at 436hz is bang on in tune is just wrong.
    --
    Barry

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