Great advice Chet, Jeff and CityFolk.
Regarding iPads, which programs are you using? I've begun with Bandhelper but having a difficult time convincing everyone to change from the old binders/folders. Any input I would appreciate.
BandHelper for us. You get 5 users for the minimal annual price but we just use one for all. You can do custom layouts based on what you use (we use iPad Air, iPad Mini, Galaxy phone and Galaxy Tablet so all are different sizes). You can also customize smart lists in addition to regular Setlists. I like the pre-made “All Songs Alphabetical”, which makes it very easy to find that off-Setlist request. Syncing across all devices is also very easy.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. The issue we are having with BandHelper is the timing I guess. I have quite a few songs imported and have only looked at the default page timing. Haven't had a lot of time to spend with it so far.
I have also realized if you are just playing music at a venue and not perform sing it’s important not to Forget keeping those small but adaptors handy, to connect with your mixers .. 1/4 to 3.5 mm jack for connecting computer , iPhone lighting to 3.5 mm jack (folks often want to play ) .. I am super newbie so if these are not such a big deal excuse me for posting here ..
I use OnSong on my iPad.
I got a few hundred songs from one of my band mates.
I got another hundred songs or so from another partner I gig with.
Those songs have been in OnSong Format, standard text files, PDF and Word files. Warning: the last two take WAY more storage than text files.
For the songs I didn't already have on my computer in text files and which I could directly import into OnSong (zip them ALL up and OnSong will extract zipfile), I scanned my old notebooks using my printer/scanner -- those songs were typed out - then edited them for the mistakes that the software made and imported them into OnSong.
Then I've added about a hundred more during practices -- go on-line, copy lyrics in the browser, paste into a new song in OnSong -- and viola!
I also find the OnSong Console a valuable addition. It's only about $10 and it allow me to connect the iPad OnSong to the browser on my computer (via my WiFi) and I can use the full computer keyboard and mouse to enter, add and cleanup/edit songs.
Another cool feature when playing with my partners is that we can beam songs to one another if the other guy doesn't have 'em in the pad. Then the other guy can save that copy, change the key (for different capo positions), etc.
Bad news is that it ONLY runs under IOS operating system (iPads)...but where I live, we all have at least one of those.
And I have two pads (the old one and the newer larger one) so that I can ghost the song collection onto both of them -- one as backup if necessary.
No Way could I be hauling around the 400 songs or so my bands frequently play (at least once a month) in my old paper based notebooks.
PS: Another great thing about OnSong is that you pay ONCE and own it. I have an intense dislike for "subscription" software...especially software that just WORKS as needed and doesn't need any "updates"!
Yendor posted:Thanks Jeff. The issue we are having with BandHelper is the timing I guess. I have quite a few songs imported and have only looked at the default page timing. Haven't had a lot of time to spend with it so far.
Yeah, I haven't tried the auto advance timing (assuming that's what you're referring to). Most of the band uses their finger to swipe down (or you can tap at the bottom or top of the screen to page down / up). I have an iRig BlueTurn bluetooth page turner that works like a charm (since my hands are busy on the guitar). You can also link all of your devices together over Wi-Fi (I've used my iPhone as a hotspot for that) so you can have someone with a master tablet doing the page downs and all the rest will follow.
Jeff
We use SetList Maker as it predated OnSong. That’s how long we’ve been using it. It is by the same developer as BandHelper. While BandHelper has some more sophisticated technology than SetList, SetList isn’t a subscription. You buy it you own it.
If going into an app now I would definitely consider OnSong though. I think the interface looks nicer among other things. We’ve so much entered into SetList it isn’t worth changing.
Yendor posted:Great advice Chet, Jeff and CityFolk.
Regarding iPads, which programs are you using? I've begun with Bandhelper but having a difficult time convincing everyone to change from the old binders/folders. Any input I would appreciate.
@Yendor My 2 cents ... when I tired of a binder, I switched to an iPad (1st gen). I have all my songs in one file - created in Word, saved as a PDF. I got a bracket from Monoprice and have been using this for a few years now.
I did try BandHelper but it didn't work well on my old iPad and I chose not to junk the iPad since it does the job. Also I didn't like the page layout on my iPad since the app chewed up a lot of screen real estate. Also, in my Word/PDF files I can adjust fonts to suit myself which I can't do in BandHelper.
When I add songs to my Lyrics file, I update the iPad with the new file and I'm all set to go. I do use two columns for longer songs. And I have a few songs that just won't fit on a page but I've found that a quick tap on the iPad and the page turns (I'm a solo singer/guitarist).
If I need to create specific set lists, I create a new Word file, copy/paste into that (from my 'Master'), save as a PDF and drop it into my iPad.
This works for me -- everyone has a system that works and I found that this does it for me.
troubador posted:I did try BandHelper but it didn't work well on my old iPad and I chose not to junk the iPad since it does the job. Also I didn't like the page layout on my iPad since the app chewed up a lot of screen real estate. Also, in my Word/PDF files I can adjust fonts to suit myself which I can't do in BandHelper.
Just an FYI, you can create completely customized layouts in Bandhelper and many other similar apps. I have mine set so that the song text is most of the screen with a thin bar along the left and bottom for song info and functions (metronome, etc). If I tap with 2 fingers, the set list comes up and when I click on a song it disappears (if I'm going sequential I just swipe right or left for next or previous song).
You can also resize the font size in the song on the fly by pinching and zooming in/out, and then save that as the standard. Set list and other font sizes are configured in settings, so not on the fly but don't really need to be.
Hope that helps,
Jeff
troubador posted:Yendor posted:Great advice Chet, Jeff and CityFolk.
Regarding iPads, which programs are you using? I've begun with Bandhelper but having a difficult time convincing everyone to change from the old binders/folders. Any input I would appreciate.@Yendor My 2 cents ... when I tired of a binder, I switched to an iPad (1st gen). I have all my songs in one file - created in Word, saved as a PDF. I got a bracket from Monoprice and have been using this for a few years now.
I did try BandHelper but it didn't work well on my old iPad and I chose not to junk the iPad since it does the job. Also I didn't like the page layout on my iPad since the app chewed up a lot of screen real estate. Also, in my Word/PDF files I can adjust fonts to suit myself which I can't do in BandHelper.
When I add songs to my Lyrics file, I update the iPad with the new file and I'm all set to go. I do use two columns for longer songs. And I have a few songs that just won't fit on a page but I've found that a quick tap on the iPad and the page turns (I'm a solo singer/guitarist).
If I need to create specific set lists, I create a new Word file, copy/paste into that (from my 'Master'), save as a PDF and drop it into my iPad.
This works for me -- everyone has a system that works and I found that this does it for me.
What app reads the pdfs? Ibook?
I went "on the cheap" with a pad with minimum of memory and a PDF that could hold my 800 songs would be too large for my pad. 🙂
Plus I love being able to quickly put together separate, smaller lists of songs (books and setlists) for the various band combinations that I play in - at least 6 over the last 6 months and different gig lengths so I don't have to wade through an index of 800 songs to find what we want to play next...
Yendor posted:What app reads the pdfs? Ibook?
Yes. iBook is what I use to read the PDFs.
I use Onsong on an iPad - and a iPhone (when busking) - with an AirTurn scroller pedal. I really can’t fault Onsong.
One very useful feature is that you can change keys in an instant by simple menu choice if the file is in the Onsong format. I think I’ve tried ‘Its all over now baby blue’ in every key. The enigmatic Dylan.
Also, Onsong is now (since Jan 2020) a two tier purchase offer - a basic once only purchase or a monthly subscription which includes more powerful features.
@troubador why did you select iBook vs using the Adobe Acrobat reader app? Just curious.
@Yendor Adobe Acrobat reader is available on the iPad and it’s free. I use it to read my large PDF music books.
SetList Maker allows you to enter a song/chord chart/lyrics in plain text or attach any number of other file formats such as PDFs, Word etc. to a song. It also has the ability to set a song’s duration which allows you to auto scroll through a song (be it PDF, text...) that is more than a page in performance mode without needing extra pedals. It only goes forward though not back so it acts like a teleprompter.
Again, I’m not pushing SetList, just making folks aware of its features as it’s feature set (as well as other apps) can be a bit overwhelming.
I was in the IT industry for my career and I would caution everyone who uses any of these music apps to have a backup/restore plan in case the app gets corrupted or your iPad crashes or you update your iOS which could cause the app to have glitches.
I never update to a major new iOS version like 13.0. I wait for bug fix releases like 13.1, 13.2, or 13.1.2 etc. before upgrading. It also gives the app developers time to find the various glitches that will surface despite their best efforts in testing leading up to the new release.
NEVER update your iPAd or your app before a gig! Give yourself time to test the update first.
I religiously use the backup features of the app and store its database along with all my individual song files in various formats on Dropbox (which is being backed up by the vendor). I keep a couple of backup iterations on file as well in case a backup failed. I can restore from that backup scheme very quickly. Happily, its been a rare occasion where I had to do this in the years I’ve been using. But it WILL happen.
Perhaps someone (Bose Admin, @ST) can start a new topic on the iPAd music apps as we’re getting further afield from the theme of the original post.
CityFolk posted:Perhaps someone (Bose Admin, @ST) can start a new topic on the iPAd music apps as we’re getting further afield from the theme of the original post.
Good idea CityFolk,
for me the thread hasn't got much to do with the original post from ST. I would also suggest that ST starts a new thread for the iPad etc. things and moves the computer/app based posts to that new thread. The ideas can definitely be helpful to many users but I don't really see how they fit in here.
Hi CityFolk, Seagullman.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Seagullman posted:CityFolk posted:Perhaps someone (Bose Admin, @ST) can start a new topic on the iPAd music apps as we’re getting further afield from the theme of the original post.
Good idea CityFolk,
for me the thread hasn't got much to do with the original post from ST. I would also suggest that ST starts a new thread for the iPad etc. things and moves the computer/app based posts to that new thread. The ideas can definitely be helpful to many users but I don't really see how they fit in here.
We now have this topic iPad Programs What Are You Using
and the original discussion is in a new thread Time Saving Tips
Have fun!
I was in the computer software business from 1965 on -- @cityfolk's warnings are CRITICAL. Backup, backup, backup. And NEVER trust a new release of ios until it's been tested in the field (Unlike the industry before them, Gates and Jobs made ALL customers Beta Testers!). Unless there's a critical feature (and in the last 8 years there hasn't been yet), I always wait at least a year and do a search for problems and issues with the next release number before "upgrading" my pad(s).
I was very grateful that when OnSong began a subscription version, they didn't kill or brick the basic, one-time license version that is more than enough for my needs! Very unusual consideration for their customers from a software company.
They also include a lot of flexible methods to extracting/exporting songs and sending them to others in various formats including OnSong files, text files and backups and a (sort of -- two step) restore feature (delete all, import all).
Sometimes it can be time consuming picking individual songs to back up/send elsewhere one at a time but it's nice to have the option along with the quicker backup of everything at once.