ForScore experts - bluetooth & Macs problem

[MathOfInsects]

I 'tap' instead of 'swipe.' One small complaint I have about ForScore is that if you have zoomed at all, even 1%, the first tap brings you to the 'bottom' of the current page, and the NEXT one turns the page. Swiping bugs me a bit since I so often seem to 'lose' the page halfway through the swipe. In the heat of the moment in a multi-page score it is not always clear then if you"re on the correct next page or still on the current one. That can be a bummer if something happens right on the downbeat of the new page.

 

I think there is an option to 'slide.' That reveals the beginning of the next page so at least you can peep the first chords or parts. In all cases, IMO it"s inferior to setting a pdf reader to 'continuous scroll' that organizes the pages top to bottom instead of left to right. I love being able to look down the screen and see what"s coming on the next page.

[Rodan88]

Sure, I remember Nitesprite - don't think I ever saw the band, but I know most of the guys that were in that band; some are close friends! Since we play the same instrument, there's been less of an opportunity for us to meet over the years, I guess.

 

Back to the iPad - I agree 1000% with what Math of Insects just posted. I always tap, NEVER swipe. Swiping is a slower, herky-jerky motion, and more prone to sloppiness. Tapping is quicker, more focused, and is all about economy of motion. Mis-taps can happen, but I think it's the way to go. Try it! Other options include "half-page turns," etc.

 

As MOI pointed out, if a page is at all zoomed, any of the gestures don't work until the page is un-zoomed, so I never mess around with that live. Using the "crop" feature, you CAN re-crop any or all pages of a chart so that it's a little bit enlarged, and then save the re-cropped version. This is especially handy when a PDF has significant empty white borders around the perimeter of the music.

 

Various newer iPad models/versions of iOS support facial gestures, but I haven't messed around with that yet. I'm strange-looking enough as it is! ;-D

[Baggypants]

Regarding a stand for iPad I used an iPad bicycle mount, presumably for exercise bikes, and attached it to the bottom of an old chunky aluminium music stand I have.

[Reezekeys]

I wouldn't have thought there'd be bicycle mounts for iPads - I was envisioning people riding down the street looking at movies while they cycled! Now of course I see they're for exercise bikes.

 

I've looked on Amazon and some of them are way cheaper than the iKlip, but I'm not sure by looking that they'll work for me. I don't want to have to bring anything extra beyond the iPad clip since from what I've seen of the iKlip, it would attach to the arm of my existing X-brace stand and allow me to swivel & tilt it to get the angle I need. One of the perks of using a small and light 61-key controller is that even my small X-brace stand can handle its weight with ease and give me a decent length of exposed tubing on an arm to attach the clip stand. It would be nice to be able to use an exercise bike clip, thanks for the tip!

 

[Reezekeys]

Guys, I plan to dive into the documentation for forScore and get it together with my tapping. My issue might be that I didn't tap perfectly, and my finger moved a bit after contacting the iPad's screen so was interpreted as a swipe. I'll be looking at the prefs and seeing how to get this together. I accidentally wound up activating the half-page turns at some point this morning, and was completely flummoxed until I went to Google and found out where to tap to disable it! Thanks for the suggestions and sharing what works for you.

[Rodan88]

By the way - ForScore's tech support is pretty good, and the built-in User Guides (under the "Support" tab) are pretty thorough.

[Reezekeys]

I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting for the report on my first experience with the "tap-a-pad" bluetooth page-turning technique I pioneered... (!)

 

Anyway... it was a very tight stage and it turned out the whole band was going through the PA so my speakers became my personal monitors. I heard myself great - everyone else got the right side of my stereo feed! This was an outdoor gig at a small community arts organization's venue, so the PA system did not rank among the best I have ever experienced - but the folks running it did the most with what they had and the sound man had good skills, so the right side of my stereo feed never sounded better!

 

As far as the bluetooth - it worked perfectly, and I know it was definitely easier for me to reach a few inches to tap a pad on my controller than reach a foot or more to tap the iPad screen. Getting bluetooth to connect & work still took me a few tries. I know I'm probably doing something wrong; I'm not sure if I need to pair the iPad from both the main bluetooth pref panel and from the panel in Audio Midi Setup, or just from AMS. I seem to always wind up with my iPad showing up twice in the AMS bluetooth window. It connects, then disconnects, so I have to delete the iPad entirely & reopen the BT window & advertise from the iPad again (using an app called Midimittr). Once it connects and I see that it stays connected for a short length of time, I know I'm good to go. Bluetooth midi worked all night, even after I slept the iPad between sets.