I have always loved music. I even took electric keyboard lessons for a short time when I was a boy. Of course, this does not qualify me as a musician but at least my love for music is there, right? ;-)
What about you my dear reader? Are you an amateur or experienced musician? Have you ever used the iPad to actually produce music?
A friend of mine who is a musician recently asked me if I knew any good sheet music Apps for iPad. I did not know much about the subject (and told him so), but I promised to do some research and see what I could find.
Keep reading below to see several great Apps I discovered!
If you need to refresh how to download and install iPad Apps, click here.
Sheet Music Direct
Sheet Music Direct is a very complete App. It is free to download but offers in-app purchases. A cool feature of Sheet Music Direct is that you can view the music sheets and on some of them, you can play the melody while viewing the music notes being highlighted on the screen.
Another interesting feature is that you can import scanned music sheets (PDF files) through iTunes and into the App library. I know this is one of the features that really interested my friend.
Other features include the possibility to change the paper type (cream, natural, wrinkled, Japanese rice, watercolor, white sparkles, and snow) as well as being able to group scores into lists.
Of course, the App allows you to buy scores from popular artists or bands, which include the lyrics and music.
Musicnotes Sheet Music Viewer
This App is also free and offers in-app purchases. The main distinction from the previous App is that you can add text comments, highlight sections, and scribble with a pen on top of the music sheets.
The new version of Musicnotes lets you import scanned PDF sheet music but the import function is only available as a paid add-on for $14.99.
The App can be linked to the musicnotes.com website which will allow you to import compatible sheet music files.
Tonara
The Tonara App listens to you when you play (using the iPad microphone), follows your playing on the sheet music, and flips the pages for you. This cool feature is only available on scores purchased through the Tonara music store. Unfortunately as I mentioned before, I am not an experienced musician myself, so I have not been able to try this functionality and comment about it.
You can also import PDF files and turn pages by swiping on the iPad or by using a bluetooth pedal.
Scores can be annotated using musical symbols such as Pianississimo, Piano, Mezzo piano, Mezzo forte, Crescendo, Diminuendo, etc.
The Tonara App can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Questions? Comments?
Do you know any other sheet music Apps that you would like to recommend? Have you tried other music Apps such as GarageBand on your iPad?
I would like to hear from you! Leave me your comment below :)