Staffpad on sale $30 off

[GovernorSilver]

...the IOS version anyway. I'm sure the Surface version is also on sale.

 

Word on the street is the IAPs are also on sale, although the stock sample library, aside from strings, is rumored to be actually good.

 

Look for the applicable button for your platform of choice

 

https://www.staffpad.net/

[miden]

oooh, good heads-up, thanks GS

[Docbop]

I looked around and very interesting app, but it doesn't say anything about printing so I assume it doesn't support printing? It would be cool for transposing if it would print or save to a PDF that I can print with other apps.

[GovernorSilver]

There's a Print/PDF command that appears when you tap the "share" icon between the clock and house icons at the top of the screen.

 

My first impression though is, there's no point in printing if the app is too fiddly or difficult to use.

 

I somehow managed to enter two half notes, have them be recognized as such, and played back. No luck with whole notes. Tried to enter two more half notes in a different measure and I can't do it.

 

So in the early going, I don't see an improvement over Notion in ease of use, contrary to what was promised. I'm going to have to do a lot of reading and video watching to get some use out of this app.

[Docbop]

I just like the freehand idea versus learning a boatload of commands. I think I just have to set time aside and learn MuseScore it's more than I need, but will do the job done.

[GovernorSilver]

I like the freehand idea too. I will periodically revisit this app.

 

I just feel a little discouraged that the note entry process is not as intuitive as the Getting Started video suggests. There is a lot of critical information that is left out - info that is needed to be productive on this app.

[ElmerJFudd]

This is where we are at with computers recognizing hand written music notation and taking hand written input. There really isn't an app that is as effective as a human being looking at a hand written copy and creating the digital version using notation software. Most of these apps are still based on OCR. Staffpad reminds be of the Palm Pilot - where you had to learn a proprietary alphabet to get the device to accurately convert to text. I believe in the future AI will be better at this. But it's a long time coming. Even scans of digitally printed music into Photoscore ultimate require a lot of human editing to make them useable.

 

Side topic.

 

Playscore 2

https://www.playscore.co

 

Does at times does a reasonably decent job of conversion from a photo of a good clean score.

They suggest -

Use lots of light â Daylight is ideal. A flash is often counterproductive because the illumination is patchy.

Stand the page up vertically â not on a horizontal surface.

Make sure the music is not curled up â the flatter the better.

Make sure the image is square on the screen â line the sides of the music up with the sides of the screen â make sure measure lines are vertical.

Don"t cut off parts of the music â the left edge where the clefs are is especially important

Make sure the focus is crisp â some cameras take a little time to focus.

Use a phone if possible â phones have better cameras than tablets.

[b3plyr]

There's a Print/PDF command that appears when you tap the "share" icon between the clock and house icons at the top of the screen.

 

My first impression though is, there's no point in printing if the app is too fiddly or difficult to use.

 

I somehow managed to enter two half notes, have them be recognized as such, and played back. No luck with whole notes. Tried to enter two more half notes in a different measure and I can't do it.

 

So in the early going, I don't see an improvement over Notion in ease of use, contrary to what was promised. I'm going to have to do a lot of reading and video watching to get some use out of this app.

 

Try a quicker motion with the whole notes. It takes some practice, but does work.

[b3plyr]

This is where we are at with computers recognizing hand written music notation and taking hand written input. There really isn't an app that is as effective as a human being looking at a hand written copy and creating the digital version using notation software. Most of these apps are still based on OCR. Staffpad reminds be of the Palm Pilot - where you had to learn a proprietary alphabet to get the device to accurately convert to text. I believe in the future AI will be better at this. But it's a long time coming. Even scans of digitally printed music into Photoscore ultimate require a lot of human editing to make them useable.

 

Staffpad is no where near as difficult as learning 26 unique stroke based letters for the Palm Pilot. However, I do agree there needs to be improvement. With StaffPad it comes down to practice. You only need to learn a few rules, but you have to practice. Entry of notes, etc., is sensitive, but does work. As an example, quick motions are key to getting the correct recognition. If you stay on the note, etc., too long, you will not get the proper entry. As I mentioned in another post, this is key to entering whole notes. I'm not using this app as my go to yet, but with a few improvement, will. For now Finale or even Notion.

 

This is a good awareness thread.

[ElmerJFudd]

This is where we are at with computers recognizing hand written music notation and taking hand written input. There really isn't an app that is as effective as a human being looking at a hand written copy and creating the digital version using notation software. Most of these apps are still based on OCR. Staffpad reminds be of the Palm Pilot - where you had to learn a proprietary alphabet to get the device to accurately convert to text. I believe in the future AI will be better at this. But it's a long time coming. Even scans of digitally printed music into Photoscore ultimate require a lot of human editing to make them useable.

 

Staffpad is no where near as difficult as learning 26 unique stroke based letters for the Palm Pilot. However, I do agree there needs to be improvement. With StaffPad it comes down to practice. You only need to learn a few rules, but you have to practice. Entry of notes, etc., is sensitive, but does work. As an example, quick motions are key to getting the correct recognition. If you stay on the note, etc., too long, you will not get the proper entry. As I mentioned in another post, this is key to entering whole notes. I'm not using this app as my go to yet, but with a few improvement, will. For now Finale or even Notion.

 

This is a good awareness thread.

 

I totally understand that. I was just making a comparison to the tech being similar. It"s still not write as you would with paper and pencil and see it magically convert to digital. There"s some years to go yet.