Guides
How to read, turn and organize sheet music on a tablet, a phone or a computer.
Turning pages
- 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.
- How listening page turners workHow an app hears you play, keeps your place through repeats, restarts and rests, and picks the moment to turn the page. Score following, explained.
- Turning pages at the pianoPractical ways pianists turn pages without a break: layout tricks, half-page turns, pedals, memorizing the turn and apps that listen.
- 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.
Reading music
- How to read sheet musicLearn to read sheet music: the staff, treble and bass clef, note names, note values, rests, time signatures, key signatures and how to practice reading.
- 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.
- How to read guitar tabsRead guitar, bass and ukulele tab: what the lines and numbers mean, hammer-ons, slides and bends, why rhythm is missing, and how tab differs from notation.
- How to read drum notationHow to read drum sheet music: the drum notation key, noteheads and stems, a basic rock beat, counting, ghost notes, flams, rolls, charts and drum tabs.
- Repeats, D.S., D.C. and codaHow to read repeat signs, first and second endings, D.C., D.S., coda and fine in sheet music, with a worked example and how a page turner follows them.
- Chord charts and transposingHow to transpose a chord chart to a new key, work out capo shapes, read Nashville numbers and keep lyrics lined up over the chords. With worked examples.
- Transposing instrumentsWhat concert pitch is, why clarinets, trumpets, saxophones and horns are transposing instruments, and how to convert a part, with a table of intervals.
- ABC notationHow to read ABC notation: the header fields, letters and octaves, note lengths, bars and repeats, with a worked tune and how to open ABC as sheet music.
Practice and learning
- Sight-readingHow to get better at sight-reading: what to check first, keeping the pulse, reading ahead, reading patterns, and a daily practice plan with free music.
- How long to practiceHow long to practice piano, guitar or violin each day, how to practice well, and what to do when you stop improving, with the research behind it.
- 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.
- Learning as an adultIt is not too late. What to expect in the first months, which instrument is easiest to start, and whether you need a teacher, an app or videos.
- Where to find free sheet musicWhat public domain means for sheet music, how old a piece must be, why a new edition may not be free, and where to get free scores legally.
Your digital library
- Choosing a tabletHow to choose a tablet size for sheet music (12.9 to 13 inch or 11 inch), when a phone is enough, plus stands, glare, battery, and digital versus paper.
- Scanning sheet musicTurn paper sheet music into a clean PDF with a phone or tablet camera: lighting, flat pages, bound books and file tips, and how a reader app uses the scan.
- Organizing your libraryA simple system for a digital sheet music library: file names, tags, setlists, annotations and backups, so you find any piece fast and keep every marking.
- Moving from forScore or MobileSheetsHow to bring a forScore or MobileSheets library into SheetScroll with its titles, tags and setlists: what to export, where to put it, what comes across.