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Large Big Band Folders

I feed my piano through the PA head and have a couple of powered cabinet monitors in the group to better spread the piano around without having his amp blaring above all. A little extra trouble, but it does give everyone a common reference point.

As I understand the Connick setup (a friend has viewed it up close and personal), each of the flatscreens is an actual computer (Macs, from what little he could see). Very expensive and (of course) hard to transport.

The flat screen music "displays" (which are probably just dumb Pentium computers) that I have seen (my same friend owns one) are of the type seen at this link:

http://books-videos-music.musicians...usic-Display?sku=241190&src=3WWRWXGB&ZYXSEM=0

They are anything but "musician friendly", even if they do a good job with a single page of music. As mentioned above, the size of the sheet is less than 8 1/2 by 11 (which itself is smaller than the standard chart page), the page turning mechanism did not seem to work as well as they would have you think (and the provisions for Da Capo returns to the first page were even more cumbersome), and they are expensive. They do provide a carrying case (for a fee), and I think that there is a multiple display carrying case available.

Both these and the Connick computer screens are self illuminating. But, if the computer hangs, you've got real problems.
 
Basically you could build-your-own using an old laptop, a minimalistic operating system and a PDF viewer. Page turning can be achieved with an old (computer) mouse under your foot.

There are tons of recipes for electronic picture frames made from old laptops; should be easy enough to adapt these ideas to musicians' needs...
 
I feed my piano through the PA head and have a couple of powered cabinet monitors in the group to better spread the piano around without having his amp blaring above all. A little extra trouble, but it does give everyone a common reference point.
But nothing beats the visual of having that grand piano out front off to the side. With the lid open, of course, so the audience can hear it. Hiding a piano behind the band is a criminal offense in several northeastern states.
As I understand the Connick setup (a friend has viewed it up close and personal), each of the flatscreens is an actual computer (Macs, from what little he could see). Very expensive and (of course) hard to transport.
I don't think that was a consideration. Harry has the money and the people to schlep it. I'll have to ask my pal the next time I see him how it all worked.
Both these and the Connick computer screens are self illuminating. But, if the computer hangs, you've got real problems.
A Mac? Hang? Byte your tongue.
 
Basically you could build-your-own using an old laptop, a minimalistic operating system and a PDF viewer. Page turning can be achieved with an old (computer) mouse under your foot.
Or with a simple LAN protocol driven from an offstage server. With an operator, of course, keeping up with the score. Hope that guy doesn't go to sleep.

Let's see. Beat recognition technology could sense the meter, apply it to the tempo, and automate all page turns. Eliminate the operator.

Widescreen laptops for screen size and resolution. And a wireless LAN to eliminate cables. MusicXML files instead of PDFs to make chart navigation easier for software. It could even highlight the current measure to keep players from getting lost. Or the current note.

Don't get me started. I retired from all this a while ago...

Sorry for the hijack.
 
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