Why is an iPad a good music stand?
An iPad has the screen size of a score, a long battery and a pencil. Musicians have used it as a stand for years, and the one thing it could not do is turn its own page without a tap or a pedal.
SheetScroll adds the missing part: it listens and turns the page when you reach the end.
What does SheetScroll do on iPad?
- Reads your music as printed: PDFs and scans look exactly like the paper. Scan pages with the camera, or share a file from Files, Mail or a browser.
- Marks with Apple Pencil or a finger: pencil, highlighter, fingerings and symbols. Every marking stays with its bar, in every view.
- Turns pages: two beats before the end, in one page, two pages, half-page or line-by-line view.
- Waits when unsure: it holds the page and outlines the places it is choosing between.
- Syncs through iCloud Drive: optional, and end-to-end encrypted. Your library stays on the device otherwise.
It works offline, in airplane mode too. Sound is analyzed on the device and never recorded.
Does it work on an iPhone?
Yes. It is the same app. An iPhone is a good second stand for a chord chart, a lead sheet or a short piece, and it syncs the library with the iPad. Line-by-line and half-page views suit the smaller screen.
Pro bought from the App Store works on every iPhone and iPad signed in with your Apple Account. On a new device, tap Restore Purchases.
How do I set up an iPad on a music stand?
- Use a stand or clamp that holds the iPad level at eye height. A case with a stand leg works on a piano but not on a flimsy folding stand.
- Pair a Bluetooth page-turn pedal in the Settings app, then open a score. Most pedals work as they are.
- Connect a digital piano over USB or Bluetooth MIDI and choose it in Settings > Listening, or just play and let it hear you.
- Allow the microphone when asked. If you said no, open Settings, tap SheetScroll and turn on Microphone.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb before a performance.
How do iPad players use it day to day?
- Pianists: a digital piano over MIDI needs no microphone. An acoustic piano needs the iPad on the desk.
- Guitarists and singers: chord charts transpose, take a capo or show Nashville numbers.
- Players leaving another reader: Add, then From another app, brings a library across with its titles, tags and setlists.
- Groups: one device listens and others follow over Wi-Fi with Play together, which is part of Pro.
What is free, and what is Pro?
The reader is free forever, with every format, every view, annotations, setlists, pedal or tap turns and eight courses. Pro adds listening and automatic turns, and starts with a 2-week free trial on the yearly plan ($29.99 a year). Monthly is $5.99, and lifetime is $79.99.
Cancel in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. When Pro ends, the free reader and your library stay.
Questions
What iOS version does SheetScroll need?
iOS or iPadOS 15 or later, on iPhone and iPad.
Does it work with Apple Pencil?
Yes. You can mark up music with Apple Pencil or a finger: pencil, highlighter, fingerings and symbols.
Does Pro work on both my iPad and my iPhone?
Yes. Pro from the App Store works on every iPhone and iPad with your Apple Account.
Can I use a Bluetooth page-turn pedal with an iPad?
Yes. Pair it in the Settings app, then open a score.
Does the iPad need Wi-Fi to turn pages?
No. Reading, listening and page turns run on the device.
Related
- AndroidA sheet music reader for Samsung and other Android tablets and phones, Android 9 or later. It listens and turns the page, never early. Free reader.
- MacA sheet music reader for Mac (macOS 12 or later, Apple silicon and Intel). It listens and turns the page, never early. Free reader; Pro by license key.
- PianistsA sheet music app for pianists: it listens through the mic or a digital piano over MIDI and turns the page two beats early, never early. Free reader.
- Performers and accompanistsA page turner that is never early, with half-page turns, nothing over the music, a pedal and a swipe, and no network needed. Free reader.
- Bluetooth page turn pedalsHow a Bluetooth page-turn pedal works, how to pair it with iPad, Android, Windows or Mac, which mode to pick, and notes on AirTurn, PageFlip and Donner.
- Automatic page turnersEvery way to turn sheet music pages hands-free, from pedals to apps that listen, with the pros and cons of each and how a listening page turner decides.
- Opening music filesSheetScroll opens PDFs, photos, MusicXML, MuseScore, Guitar Pro, MIDI, ABC, chord charts and more. How to add them, and pair a scan with a digital copy.
- Digital pianos over MIDIConnect a digital piano by USB or Bluetooth MIDI and SheetScroll follows the notes themselves, with no microphone. Here is how to set it up.
- Page turning appsSheet music apps that turn pages by listening (SheetScroll, Newzik, Smartleggio) or by face and eye gestures (forScore, MobileSheets, SightTune).
- forScore alternativeforScore runs on Apple devices only. SheetScroll runs on Android, Windows, Linux, the web, iPad, iPhone and Mac, and brings a forScore library across.