ForScore experts - bluetooth & Macs problem

[Reezekeys]

I have a gig coming up where I"m gonna use ForScore on my iPad. I thought I would program two pads on my Roland controller to turn pages forward & back. I don"t want to buy the page-turning pedal - I hardly ever need this capability. Reaching up on my controller to tap a pad to turn a page is all I need, and I"m fine with doing it like that.

 

I've configured the CC #s on the pads and assigned them to page turning commands on ForScore and it's all working great â but only through my home wifi network. On the gig, I"ll need to use bluetooth. After a few minutes of searching the google, it looks like I can"t do this. ForScore can use the bluetooth page turning products, but I can"t use Audio MIDI Setup to connect using the normal AMS midi-over-bluetooth protocols, like I can with every other iPad midi app I have. Somebody please tell me I"m wrong. A program as feature-rich as this can"t possibly be deficient in this regard!

 

I do not want to have a cable from my iPad to my laptop when I'm on the gig. I suppose I could investigate setting up an ad-hoc wifi network from my laptop, but thought I"d ask about the bluetooth issue here first. Maybe, just maybe, someone else has been down this road before. TIA for any help.

[Rodan88]

Just a thought -

 

If you're planning to reach up and tap the controller to turn pages, why not just reach up and tap the iPad screen itself?

 

I do it all the time when paying both solo and in bands!

[Reezekeys]

I know, I thought of that. My wire music stand is rather flimsy â one hard tap could send it (and the iPad) tumbling. The main reason is that there are many times that, for whatever reason (and it might be pilot error), I don't hit or swipe at the right spots and find myself having to repeat the gestures a few times. A total PITA I'd rather avoid, especially when in the "heat of battle" so to speak, and needing that quick page turn. It's much quicker, easier and closer to tap on the big pads that are two inches from the keyboard I'm playing.

 

[edit - OK, I'm messing around and see how a tap on the lower left & right quadrants of the screen seems to work for advancing through score files. This is all in the comfort of my dining room and not outside where things are gonna be windy. I still would like to get the control from my keyboard happening, for the ergonomic reasons I mentioned.]

[Reezekeys]

OK I got it working, but I honestly don't think my inability to do it was my fault. I ran another iOS music app (Pure Piano), connected to it using bluetooth midi (which was easy), and then ForScore was able to connect via bluetooth! Not sure who's at fault here - all my efforts to connect to ForScore by itself, using bluetooth, failed until I ran Pure Piano. That should not be the way to make this work, but I'll take it.

[mcgoo]

A different approach... Couldn't you use your phone to setup a hotspot so you could replicate the way you had it working at home with the home network?

[MathOfInsects]

Also, though it's exactly the thing you said you didn't find worth it....my bluetooth page-turner pedal comes in handy a lot more often than I ever thought it would. Small investment for reasonable return.

[Reezekeys]

I'm already dealing with a sustain pedal and expression pedal (there's gonna be organ on this gig). I have set up extra foot pedals in the past to turn pages and it was actually disorienting and took extra concentration to get my foot off the sustain or expression pedal to tap the page turning pedals while I was concentrating on reading the chart. Not saying I couldn't eventually get used to it â but right now I'm choosing to go with the tap-a-pad solution, I just think it's gonna be much more intuitive and easier.

 

All this is moot since I slept my computer, went out to do some shopping, then got back and now I cannot make my page-turning setup work at all. I've never been a big bluetooth user but whatever Apple and midi software devs have cooked up to make bluetooth happen have me firmly by the short hairs. It's extremely frustrating. My Mac's Bluetooth prefs panel says I'm connected to the iPad. My iPad's bluetooth pref panel says I'm connected to my Mac. Pure Piano's bluetooth pref sees my Mac but it's "offline" with nothing to tap to try and make it online. Audio MIDI Setup shows the iPad active (not greyed out). I've quit & restarted software, "forgotten" then re-connected things, etc... nothing is working right now.

[MathOfInsects]

Though you could always put the page-turning pedal up in hand's reach instead of down by your feet. I actually do this sometimes. Way easier to pound my ape-fist on a big footplate than press a button or pad in a rush. I only mention it because I've never had trouble with it, foot or hand, and it might be worth it as an alternative to annoying-ass idiosyncracies of Jobs' spawn.

[Groove On]

You"ll need an app that specifically enables the MIDI Bluetooth connection (vs just audio over Bluetooth). Pure Piano will do it, but I usually use Korg"s 'Bluetooth MIDI Connect' app - it"s a free one-trick utility that works immediately, no fussing around.

[Reezekeys]

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate anyone taking the time to try and help. I did get things working again, but since I was throwing the kitchen sink at this, doing everything I could think of, I'm not sure I can reliably reproduce the exact steps to make sure this will work every time. I have a little more work ahead of me but I believe I'll have it figured out soon.

 

As far as using a page-turning pedal with my hands, again I appreciate the tip but after a few minutes working with the pads, I'm sticking with that plan. They're only inches from my playing position, so very easy to reach quickly. I found myself able to play and maneuver through the music without any trouble. It also helps that the charts are relatively simple as you can see from the video. I un-assigned all the other pads to lessen the chances of accidents too.

 

I wish there was a definitive guide or explanatory text somewhere regarding how BT midi is implemented on the Mac and iOS devices, and what exact parameters have to be set and in what order. Maybe that's not practical given all the different flavors of macOS and iOS.

 

[Reezekeys]

You"ll need an app that specifically enables the MIDI Bluetooth connection (vs just audio over Bluetooth). Pure Piano will do it, but I usually use Korg"s 'Bluetooth MIDI Connect' app - it"s a free one-trick utility that works immediately, no fussing around.

Thanks! I just grabbed this. Hopefully this will solve my issue. You would think that forScore would do this, but I guess not.

[Groove On]

Cool - that looks like a nice setup!

** one useful feature to check out is sending program changes when a score loads.

 

[zephonic]

Redundant because it's already solved, but for me 'swipe' works perfectly for turning pages, much better than tap or whatever, and page transition set to 'slide'. Only two-finger swipes work, and accidental page turns are rare. Just my $0.02 YMMV etc.

 

But i have a clip and mount, I don't use a wire music stand.

[Rodan88]

Interesting thread!

 

Your current solution looks great, Reezekeys, but if I might continue to play devil's advocate........

 

I've been a heavy iPad/ForScore user for 10 years, and have thought frequently of buying a Bluetooth page-turner pedal, or using another solution.

 

However, the drawbacks have always prevented me from doing so:

 

1) Another item to carry, set up/break down and maintain. And to keep charged!

 

2) Something I'd definitely not want to use in outdoor/inclement weather situations - unless there was a covered stage.

 

3) Another opportunity to introduce Bluetooth/other tech issues into the situation.

 

Etc.

 

What I've found is that for MOST gigs - including when playing solo, tapping the screen to turn pages in either direction works very well. Of course, I tap the "wrong" spot now and then, but it's barely an issue. My right hand is only leaving the keyboard briefly, even if needing to tap a couple of extra times. While it's doing so, I'm playing with my left hand, laying out briefly or faking till the next page is visible - all depending on the situation - how well I know the music, whether the music will be compromised by laying out, etc. Often, using ForScore, I'll write in the next page's first couple of chord changes in the bottom right corner of the current page, so I can see what's coming up in case I tap on the spot.

 

In consideration of all of the above - on gigs where the stakes are high (typically with a high-profile act, or a show) and where I (and more importantly, the WHOLE PERFORMANCE) would be be really screwed if page turns became problematic - I take the time to put together a binder. (I put all the pages in plastic sheet protectors, which allow for VERY fast page turns.)

 

iPads/ForScore themselves pose an inherent risk - freezing/other tech weirdness, forgetting to charge, etc. The worst trainwreck that'll happen with a binder is that you momentarily turn an extra page, etc. Of course, you have to remember to bring the binder! ;-D

 

2 stories:

 

1) All of my preaching notwithstanding, I saw Yuja Wang playing Ligeti etudes while using a Bluetooth page-turning pedal. In solo recital at Carnegie Hall. While wearing her usual ridiculous (5" or 6") stiletto heels. As usual, she was beyond flawless. So, go figure. All of her countless other death-defying feats that night were performed from memory, as usual.

 

2) I recently spoke with Bill Mays, who was looking to get an iPad/ForScore rig together for live performances. He's been doing a lot of classical playing, including a performing 4-handed piano music with another pianist. He was hoping to use his laptop if at all possible, but I discouraged him from doing so, as placing a laptop on top of the closed piano lid - or on a stand mounted to the side, which would entail turning one's head to read - might pose some awkward logistics. So, I was heavily pushing using an iPad/ForScore. I went through all of the models of iPad/pedals, sent him lots of links, etc. He ending up buying a pedal and ForScore and loves both. But.....he's continuing to use his trusty laptop - propped up on the acoustic piano music desk (i.e., the built-in rack). Just watched my son doing the same last night - with the laptop precariously balanced on the little flip-up desk of his upright piano. Uh, no thanks. Different strokes!

 

Sometimes, lower-tech is better. Here's a sturdy music stand (the RATstands "Jazz" model) that I've used for years. I've owned a couple, as the model has continued to introduce improvements. Works beautifully for iPad and hard copies. Expensive, but very light/portable. Used to be harder to find (British company), but it's now available through Amazon, etc. They make many other amazing and unique products, too : https://www.ratstands.com/product/the-jazz-stand/

[octa]

I"ve used Airturn DUO BT-200 pedal for a couple years now and it works well, tho it took some getting used to. It only requires recharge every couple months.

 

If you"re a $10/yr 'pro user' you can turn pages with head gesture or sticking tongue out left & right. Works better than I imagined it would, but tis not for me

 

Emailed ForScore support about midi issue recently. Response took a day or 2 & was helpful.

[Reezekeys]

This is all great info, thanks everybody. I'm far from a power user when it comes to forScore, especially since there have been almost zero gigs for me the last year & a half.

 

To answer/elaborate on a few points brought up in this thread: I plan on getting the IK Multimedia "iKlip" mount for my iPad, however I won't have it for this upcoming gig. It's gonna be outdoors and I'll have my flimsy wire stand holding the iPad mini. I'm going to assume it's harder for wind to blow an iPad off a stand than paper charts. I guess I'll find out!

 

What I've found is that for MOST gigs - including when playing solo, tapping the screen to turn pages in either direction works very well. Of course, I tap the "wrong" spot now and then, but it's barely an issue.

I'm sure I could get by with tapping, especially on this gig which is not as demanding as others in terms of the reading. It's just by the nature of it being outdoors and on my wire stand that I'm wanting to use my controller's pads to turn pages. And, I'm a little techno-nerdy â I want to see if this can work! I can always reach up and tap if something goes wrong on the gig.

 

The idea of not reaching up to tap started when I did a 'bandemic' video last year for a UK-based sax player (I think I posted it here). Since the video is showing me 'in action', I didn"t want to make it obvious I was reading! I laid the iPad flat on my KX88 (so as not to make it too noticeable in the video) and wired up foot pedals to turn pages back & forth. It took quite a few run-throughs to get semi-comfortable using the pedals. Of course the upcoming gig doesn"t have the 'look cool for the video' consideration, but I noticed my Roland"s set of 8 pads directly in front of me as I played and thought 'why not'? This is a small, local & informal gig that would make a good 'test bed' for me. That"s how I got confident using my laptop rig on the road - by first using it on every local gig I did, no matter how insignificant.

 

In consideration of all of the above - on gigs where the stakes are high (typically with a high-profile act, or a show) and where I (and more importantly, the WHOLE PERFORMANCE) would be be really screwed if page turns became problematic - I take the time to put together a binder. (I put all the pages in plastic sheet protectors, which allow for VERY fast page turns.)

I'm not going as far as you, but I am definitely bringing hardcopies of the charts along with clips to attach them to my stand. I've been doing laptop-based gigs for a long time so I know to have some kind of backup, even if it's not optimal.

 

1) All of my preaching notwithstanding, I saw Yuja Wang playing Ligeti etudes while using a Bluetooth page-turning pedal. In solo recital at Carnegie Hall. While wearing her usual ridiculous (5" or 6") stiletto heels. As usual, she was beyond flawless. So, go figure. All of her countless other death-defying feats that night were performed from memory, as usual.

Telling me that Yuja Wang can handle normal pedaling along with turning pages via pedal... why am I not shocked?!

 

2) I recently spoke with Bill Mays, [.....] He ending up buying a pedal and ForScore and loves both. But.....he's continuing to use his trusty laptop - propped up on the acoustic piano music desk (i.e., the built-in rack). Just watched my son doing the same last night - with the laptop precariously balanced on the little flip-up desk of his upright piano. Uh, no thanks. Different strokes!

I don't get it! IMO an iPad is more secure than a laptop when propped up on a music desk. Anyway, my laptop is my sound source for gigs and always in back of me so I will never do this. However, if I was gonna use my laptop on a grand piano, why have the rack propped up? Leave it flat, put the laptop on top of that and raise the screen, right? Something doesn't make sense.

 

Sometimes, lower-tech is better. Here's a sturdy music stand (the RATstands "Jazz" model) that I've used for years. I've owned a couple, as the model has continued to introduce improvements. Works beautifully for iPad and hard copies. Expensive, but very light/portable. Used to be harder to find (British company), but it's now available through Amazon, etc. They make many other amazing and unique products, too : https://www.ratstands.com/product/the-jazz-stand/

Thanks, that's interesting but my situation is such that the gigs I do where I need to read charts are pretty few and far between now. My small & light K&M wire stand works for almost all of them. It's very rare I have multi-page monstrocities to deal with, which is why I'm hoping to get the iKlip/iPad/forScore scene tamed (mostly by me learning how to use forScore!) to handle those few situations.

[Reezekeys]

And... I'm back, again not able to connect bluetooth from my Mac to my iPad. I'm starting to suspect corruption in my system software. I am looking at youtubes and following the instructions exactly. I cannot get the iPad to see the Mac over bluetooth. On the Mac side I can do the "regular" bluetooth connection - it sees the iPad and says I'm connected, but I'll be damned if I can get midi going. What a f-ed up time sink! We rehearse for the gig tomorrow, I'll probably go with paper for the rehearsal and hopefully solve this before the gig, or just give up.

[jarrell]

All of my preaching notwithstanding, I saw Yuja Wang playing Ligeti etudes while using a Bluetooth page-turning pedal. In solo recital at Carnegie Hall. While wearing her usual ridiculous (5" or 6") stiletto heels. As usual, she was beyond flawless. So, go figure. All of her countless other death-defying feats that night were performed from memory, as usual.

 

I saw her playing the Ravel Concerto for Left Hand, and she turned pages with... wait for it... her right hand. Maybe not as much concentration breaking potential as a BT foot pedal, but still...

[obxa]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but this is a side feature that may make you want to center on the Forscore interface rather than your keyboard.

 

Forscore does Midi Program change and can do it by the page, and/or by the section with screen buttons you can program.

 

All the pages in my typical show/pit band set list will pull up the patch for either a whole song, or if there are multiple changes for sections, I'll do it from the ipad screen with those buttons. Typically using this with a Nord Stage2 and Mainstage. I connect the Nord's midi in to Ipad with a Midi Bluetooth interface, and the Mac Mainstage via it's bluetooth midi as well. (pic enclosed -not visible is the laptop rig).

 

This obviously takes some programming, but Forscore allows you to store your midi buttons for recall if you tend to re-use them. My eyes are mostly on the charts anyway, so it works better for personally to control things from there.

 

 

I use a combination of both bluetooth page turner, or hand swipes to move through pages. Strictly out of habit, I tend to swipe on the ipad, but the foot pedal comes in handy if I remember to use it.

 

RE wire music stand: there are a ton of Ipad holders on Amazon. that mount on a dedicated mic stand and make for a sturdier . A cheap investment and looks better too....

[Reezekeys]

Most of what you posted has been mentioned but thanks for taking the time to contribute. Nice setup you have there! I don't need program changing, at least for the upcoming gig I want to use forScore for â it's all just four bread & butter sounds (acoustic piano, organ, wurly & rhodes) I'll switch between manually. I also mentioned that I plan to buy the IK Multimedia "iKlip" stand for the iPad but won't have it for this gig. I've said that I could probably get by with swiping, but for now I'm going with my pad-tapping since it's a little better ergonomically and I won't have to touch the iPad, which will be on a small wire music stand outdoors with possible wind gusting - the less physical interaction with it the better, for now. Once I have it clipped to my keyboard stand I'll work on being an expert swiper!

 

Since my last post complaining about bluetooth midi being broken, I've gotten things working again and I believe I solved my problem: bluetooth LE does not like the iPad's name to have an apostrophe in it â at least not on my system! Of all the whacky things to deal with. I'm still confirming this. I also have to "re" advertise the iPad to my Mac if I sleep the Mac at all. Lots of funkyness with bluetooth connections, it seems.

 

One thing I'm wondering about in forScore (which I'll investigate on my own but if someone already knows the answer it would help): can I program a "DS" location to skip to? Right now I can only turn pages forward & back. On some charts, I'll get to the end on page 5 then see a DS - and the segno is back on page 2 or 3. It would be hip to be able to program a pad I could tap to immediately go back to that page. I guess a "skip to the coda" function would be cool too.

[obxa]

Glad you got it working- don't hesitate to reach out to the developers. I had some other stuff going on with getting all my stuff to communicate, and some back up issues . I think it's only two guys, but they responded promptly and were keen on making sure all my issues were resolved.

[MathOfInsects]

One thing I'm wondering about in forScore (which I'll investigate on my own but if someone already knows the answer it would help): can I program a "DS" location to skip to? Right now I can only turn pages forward & back. On some charts, I'll get to the end on page 5 then see a DS - and the segno is back on page 2 or 3. It would be hip to be able to program a pad I could tap to immediately go back to that page. I guess a "skip to the coda" function would be cool too.

 

Easy peasy, it"s the second option under the toolkit: Links. You just tell the 'from' and 'to' points and it gives you a nice blue splotch to touch when you get to where you want DS (or DC or jump forward to a Coda etc).

[octa]

Usually I 'Rearrange' and just add extra pages when there"s a DS, so I can stay on forward position of BT pedal. Not necessary for this, but if you"re a pro user PDF layer options are available, where you can cut/copy/paste sections easily. MathOfInsect"s option works well too.

[Reezekeys]

One thing I'm wondering about in forScore (which I'll investigate on my own but if someone already knows the answer it would help): can I program a "DS" location to skip to? Right now I can only turn pages forward & back. On some charts, I'll get to the end on page 5 then see a DS - and the segno is back on page 2 or 3. It would be hip to be able to program a pad I could tap to immediately go back to that page. I guess a "skip to the coda" function would be cool too.

 

Easy peasy, it"s the second option under the toolkit: Links. You just tell the 'from' and 'to' points and it gives you a nice blue splotch to touch when you get to where you want DS (or DC or jump forward to a Coda etc).

Thanks! I'm about to fire things up and see if my earlier theory of bluetooth miscommunication was correct. I'll check out those locate points. If I can assign them to a pad on my controller like I did with the page-turning gestures, that's gonna be a good thing to know for the future. Looking at the charts for this upcoming gig, it seems I won't need to do much jumping around with DSs â I think I'll be able to get by with simple page turns. Rearranging a chart to make it continuous, without any skipping around, is also a good idea although it might depend on the format and how much manipulation is needed. I'm glad we have these tools even though they have the potential to confuse guys like me!

[MathOfInsects]

One of the great things about this place is the exposure to so many people's preferences/routines. So many elements of that set-up--shaky music stand, having to use the pads on my Roland to turn pages instead of the screen itself, having to use my hands at all if my feet were an option--make me quasi-OCD for my own set-up. And conversely, those are the exact elements that make the set-up comfortable for you, and "my" approach would be made of suck for you. It's like watching someone and realizing they finger chords or runs completely different from you. I love that about the exchanges here.

[Rodan88]

As others have mentioned, it's easy to set up hot spots (even multiple ones, using different colors, I believe) for D.S./Coda, etc. I think you'll still have to tap the right spots on the iPad screen at the right times, though. I'm not sure if you can control this feature with your controller or a foot pedal.

 

And, rearranging pages is a great tool for keeping things on an "advance pages only" plan. (Along with rearranging, you can also easily "white-out" bars that you won't need to be playing on a particular page.)

 

Your planned purchase of a clip (with perhaps a sturdier stand to mount it on) is an excellent idea, too.

 

Depending on the situation, I'll often create Sibelius charts to condense an original chart to a minimum of pages, eliminating the need for any backtracking to a D.S., etc. It's amazing how you can condense a 10-page chart to a couple of pages containing all of the essential info in many (but not all) cases.

 

By the way, looks like you're using a "small" iPad in landscape orientation in your video. Landscape is more legible, but means more page turns, of course.

 

I can't recommend highly enough using an iPad Pro. In vertical mode, it's like reading a page from a full-sized fake book. And in landscape mode, you can view 2 adjacent pages legibly! Thus, reducing the number of............(wait for it)........... necessary page turns!

 

Of course, I'm still in the caveman-era "just tap the screen" camp for your current situation! ;-D

 

I know, I know, now you're wanting to solve the gear challenge, and bask in the glow of man's triumph over machines!

 

Much respect for that! But - who needs the stress of wondering when/if a problem will occur? Unless of course, you're in a situation where it's someone's job to handle the tech issues, freeing you up to concentrate on the music! May we all be so fortunate.

 

Good luck, and keep us posted on the gig!

[Reezekeys]

One of the great things about this place is the exposure to so many people's preferences/routines. So many elements of that set-up--shaky music stand, having to use the pads on my Roland to turn pages instead of the screen itself, having to use my hands at all if my feet were an option--make me quasi-OCD for my own set-up. And conversely, those are the exact elements that make the set-up comfortable for you, and "my" approach would be made of suck for you. It's like watching someone and realizing they finger chords or runs completely different from you. I love that about the exchanges here.

Spot on, I agree completely! For me, I like the challenge of getting as much utility out of these tools as possible to help make the final result - playing music at the gig - easier. I'm gonna have my tech issues tamed by hit time, or it will be me swiping on the iPad or just going with paper. What had me by the short hairs this whole time was not any issue with forScore, or the pads I wanted to use to control the page turning â it was solely me having to uncover the mysteries of using bluetooth LE for midi communication. It turns out I needed to change the NAME of the iPad I was using â and that wasn't as straightforward as I imagined it would be. But it does look like things are under control now. I've been running through the charts, tapping away on my Roland, and it's all groovy. Thanks for your input, it's always good to hear every viewpoint on these topics!

[Reezekeys]

As others have mentioned, it's easy to set up hot spots (even multiple ones, using different colors, I believe) for D.S./Coda, etc. I think you'll still have to tap the right spots on the iPad screen at the right times, though. I'm not sure if you can control this feature with your controller or a foot pedal.

I'm gonna leave this part for another day â I"ve had my fill of tech issues the last two! The music for this upcoming gig are simple charts where I don"t need to DS or jump to codas with anything but one tap forward or back on my 'page turning pads.'

 

Depending on the situation, I'll often create Sibelius charts to condense an original chart to a minimum of pages, eliminating the need for any backtracking to a D.S., etc. It's amazing how you can condense a 10-page chart to a couple of pages containing all of the essential info in many (but not all) cases.

I did this a few years back when I first got the gig with AWB - I used Set List Maker on my original iPhone SE to display PDFs of charts I did (the boss didn"t want a music stand on stage)! Rearranging and condensing works fine for my own charts, but most of the time I"m getting finished PDFs from others, so in that case I"d either have to use them to create new charts, or load them into a graphics app to cut & paste pieces of them.

 

By the way, looks like you're using a "small" iPad in landscape orientation in your video. Landscape is more legible, but means more page turns, of course.

 

I can't recommend highly enough using an iPad Pro. In vertical mode, it's like reading a page from a full-sized fake book. And in landscape mode, you can view 2 adjacent pages legibly! Thus, reducing the number of............(wait for it)........... necessary page turns!

That"s an Air 2, and yes for the video I had it in landscape mode. I"m undecided whether to keep it like that or go portrait, but wanted to see if the extra page-turn taps would bother me or not - and they didn"t. I definitely see the advantage of that iPad Pro but I"m afraid the budget is not there!

 

Good luck, and keep us posted on the gig!

Thanks and I will! It"s with a singer I"ve known for many years but haven"t seen or worked with in a very long time - Rufus Thomas"s daughter Vaneese (Carla"s sis), one of the greats!

[Rodan88]

You know, I thought it might have been a gig with Vaneese - one of the charts in your video referred to the singer as "VT," and I know you're in the NYC area (I live in Manhattan).

 

I've played a few times with Vaneese when we were both side-people, but I've also filled in on one of her own gigs. Just went through old emails - it was in 2015, when she had just put out a CD called "Blues For My Father" - we did material from that record.

 

She's such a killer singer! And, having that DNA sure doesn't hurt!

 

You and I have a lot of mutual friends, but for some reason, we've never met. Hope we do, one of these days!

[Reezekeys]

Small world here, it seems! I've known Van since we worked together in a band called Nitesprite, back in the mid 1980s. I also was responsible for her getting her first record deal as a solo artist (and she still talks to me! It's a complicated tale). Of course, her talent had something to do with her getting that deal, but I kinda started the process by introducing her to the production company I was already involved with â they had not known of her before. She was always very active on the NY jingle scene. This upcoming gig is indeed playing blues, so the material is from the album you mention. She has another one in the works I got to hear at the rehearsal last night, it's gonna be killer.

 

And, to get a little back on topic, since I had a keyboard to use at the rehearsal I only brought my iPad and used my fingers to tap & swipe for turning pages. I think I must be missing something and doing it wrong, because half the time the page turns didn't happen â I'm swiping like a madman as the music keeps going, and finally I must have swiped or tapped in exactly the right place because the page turns. Not ideal for a real gigging situation, and this makes me like my "tap-a-pad" solution even more. I'm gonna crack the manual and read up on this app because I have to assume I'm getting something wrong, or maybe need to set a pref in a different way.