What does a string player need from a music stand?
A string player uses both hands, all the time. The bow arm cannot stop, and the left hand is holding a position. A page turn comes in the middle of a long phrase, and there is no good place to lift.
In a quartet or an orchestra you also read parts, not scores. A part is a long line of notes, often with many bars of rest, and a turn hides in the middle of a page you cannot see ahead.
You also need the page to be a page: the printed edition, with the bowings and fingerings someone wrote in.
How does SheetScroll turn pages for strings?
SheetScroll listens through the microphone and follows strings, along with keyboards, woodwinds, brass, voice and guitar. It turns two beats before the end of the page, as your eyes reach for the next line. It does not scroll at a set speed, so a held note or a slower tempo does not rush you.
- Your own parts: open a PDF, or photograph a paper part. SheetScroll shows it exactly as it looks on paper.
- Half-page turns: the next line shows before the last one is done, so no bar is hidden.
- Never early: if a theme comes back with a different ending, it holds the page and outlines the bars it is choosing between. Play on, or tap the bar.
- Repeats and jumps: repeat signs, first and second endings, D.S. and coda are followed.
Can I keep my bowings and fingerings?
Yes. Write on the music with the pencil, highlighter, fingerings and symbols. Each mark stays with its bar in every view.
Marks on a part are free, and so is every view.
What is the best setup for violin, viola or cello?
- Tablet size: a 10-inch or larger tablet shows a full page at a size a violinist can read at arm's length. A smaller one works in half-page view.
- Mounting: a tablet clamped to a music stand is steadier than one leaning on the stand's tray. For a cello, set the stand so the screen is level with your eyes, not your bow.
- Pedals: a Bluetooth page-turn pedal is a natural fit for a seated cellist. It works alongside listening, and a press always wins.
- Sound: place the device where it hears you, not behind the stand's lip. Test in the room you will play in.
- Open the part.
- Play. The page turns two beats before its end.
- If a turn is early or late, tap the page and choose Report a turn. The report holds what SheetScroll decided, never audio.
Is there a course for violin or cello?
Yes. Free violin and cello courses are built in, with public-domain pieces in teaching order, from the first notes. They listen and turn without Pro, so a beginner can try the whole idea before paying anything.
What is free, and what is Pro for string players?
The reader is free forever: every format and view, annotations, setlists, and turns by pedal or tap. Pro adds listening to your own parts and automatic turns: $5.99 a month, $29.99 a year with 2 weeks free, or $79.99 once.
Questions
Can SheetScroll hear a violin or a cello?
It follows strings through the microphone, along with piano, woodwinds, brass, voice and guitar.
Will it turn the page too early in a part with repeated figures?
It turns only when it is sure where you are. When two passages sound alike it holds the page, outlines the places it is choosing between, and waits for the music to tell them apart.
Can I use my own orchestra parts?
Yes. Open a PDF or scan the paper part. SheetScroll shows it exactly as printed and keeps your markings with their bars.
What if I use a pedal as well?
Pair a Bluetooth page-turn pedal. It works alongside listening, and each press tells SheetScroll where you are.
Does it work in a rehearsal hall with no Wi-Fi?
Yes. Listening and reading run on the device, in airplane mode too.
Related
- Wind and brassHands-free page turns for wind and brass players. SheetScroll listens through the mic, turns two beats early, never early, and shows your PDFs as printed.
- 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.
- StudentsFree courses, free sheet music, loops, hands-separately practice and tempo history. A sheet music app for students that listens and turns the page.
- TeachersMark up pieces, set up recitals, build a lesson library and give students practice that listens. A sheet music app for music teachers, with a free reader.
- ViolinSixteen free, public-domain violin pieces in teaching order, from the open D and A strings to Bach-era minuets. They listen and turn pages without Pro.
- CelloSixteen free, public-domain cello pieces in teaching order, from the four open strings to Bach-era minuets. They listen and turn pages without Pro.
- Bass, alto and tenor clefHow to read bass clef, alto clef (viola) and tenor clef (cello, bassoon, trombone), why each exists, and tricks for treble 8vb on guitar and tenor voice.
- Tuning your instrumentStandard tunings for guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, viola, cello and more, how to use a tuner or tune by ear, how winds and brass tune, and A440 vs 442.
- 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.
- 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.
- Page turning appsSheet music apps that turn pages by listening (SheetScroll, Newzik, Smartleggio) or by face and eye gestures (forScore, MobileSheets, SightTune).