Sony reveals prototype 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus

[Kumabjorn]

Forgive a dilettante but wouldn't it be more efficient in a music sheet application to have it listen for the ending notes on a page and then automatically turn the page when it reaches that section?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Forgive a dilettante but wouldn't it be more efficient in a music sheet application to have it listen for the ending notes on a page and then automatically turn the page when it reaches that section?

That could conceivably work in the case where you're playing music alone, but most people who play "seriously" will be in a band or orchestral setting, where the music part that you have in front of you is not the same as the music that the people around you are playing.

And what would you do with rests at the end of a page?

[Ansileran]

Rests wouldn't be such a problem if the page would turn at the last note which isn't a rest. You usually use rests to turn pages anyway.

Even if pages do not turn automatically, it would still be great. Just touch one half (press a button, whatever) and it goes to the next page to be displayed there (20 -> 22) while you play what's on the second half. No more awkward turns, sheets falling from the stand...

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That could conceivably work in the case where you're playing music alone, but most people who play "seriously" will be in a band or orchestral setting, where the music part that you have in front of you is not the same as the music that the people around you are playing.

And what would you do with rests at the end of a page?

Ahh, I see. I envisaged it more as a practice tool. Changing pages for a piano player is probably fairly non-intrusive, but a violinist, at least to me, seems to have a more cumbersome task ahead of her. Hence the mic in the device listening for the fifteen last notes with some algorithm correlating it to the time the page has been displayed.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Ahh, I see. I envisaged it more as a practice tool. Changing pages for a piano player is probably fairly non-intrusive, but a violinist, at least to me, seems to have a more cumbersome task ahead of her. Hence the mic in the device listening for the fifteen last notes with some algorithm correlating it to the time the page has been displayed.

Something like a foot pedal is probably a better and much more reliable way to do it.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

literally have tabs open right now to paste in here info about that ^^^ thanks for saving me the typing etc here's one more image

No problem. The concepts are interesting.

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Forgive a dilettante but wouldn't it be more efficient in a music sheet application to have it listen for the ending notes on a page and then automatically turn the page when it reaches that section?

The concept by Continuum that I posted about does just that.

Originally Posted by HarryT

That could conceivably work in the case where you're playing music alone, but most people who play "seriously" will be in a band or orchestral setting, where the music part that you have in front of you is not the same as the music that the people around you are playing.

And what would you do with rests at the end of a page?

Even if the notes are different, everybody is working on the same timing. More than that, a device like this can keep perfect tempo.

What this can do is make the conductor obsolete, which might have something to do with the Continuum concept not reaching the market.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

What this can do is make the conductor obsolete, which might have something to do with the Continuum concept not reaching the market.

A conductor does a hell of a lot more than "keep the tempo"!

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Even if the notes are different, everybody is working on the same timing.

With orchestral sheet music, each part would have different pagination, the entire orchestra will not all be on the same page at the same time, or be changing pages at the same time. (If a tuba doesn't play for 20 bars, they don't print 20 blank bars for that part.)

[ApK]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

With orchestral sheet music, each part would have different pagination, the entire orchestra will not all be on the same page at the same time, or be changing pages at the same time. (If a tuba doesn't play for 20 bars, they don't print 20 blank bars for that part.)

Hmm. But software could keep track of every beat of all parts, turning pages of each when appropriate, perhaps using a mic to listen to the actual performance and adjusting dynamically.

Man, I give away some great ideas in this forum!

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by ApK

Hmm. But software could keep track of every beat of all parts, turning pages of each when appropriate, perhaps using a mic to listen to the actual performance and adjusting dynamically.

I think if you were doing this, the players' music displays would just be slave units linked up to a conductor master unit, which controls position.

[Rizla]

I wonder if they would include the ability to plug in a USB keyboard?

Even though Sony have adopted Android as their new e-reader OS, that user interface doesn't look like Android, though it could be heavily modded.

This strikes me as an interesting word-processing device, but without a keyboard and the ability to run 3rd-party software, it would lack necessary functionality.

I think we'll see Sony rolling out the underlying light-weight, increased-flexibility screen tech on multiple devices, including smaller devices. Sony and E-ink didn't spend 10 years developing this just for limited academic use. Once again, Sony is the most innovative of all the big e-ink players. Kudos to them, though I doubt it will be 'flexible' enough for my needs.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A conductor does a hell of a lot more than "keep the tempo"!

Is there any part of a conductor's job that can't be done better by a device?

Originally Posted by murraypaul

With orchestral sheet music, each part would have different pagination, the entire orchestra will not all be on the same page at the same time, or be changing pages at the same time. (If a tuba doesn't play for 20 bars, they don't print 20 blank bars for that part.)

And if you waste paper printing, that makes sense, but in the digital world an empty page is not a waste.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Is there any part of a conductor's job that can't be done better by a device?

Virtually all of it . It's the conductor who puts the artistic feeling into a piece. Which parts to play loudly or softly; which parts to play more slowly or more quickly. That's why great conductors are great artists in their own right. The composer composes, but the conductor brings the piece to life.

And if you waste paper printing, that makes sense, but in the digital world an empty page is not a waste.

And it would be completely unplayable. I'm sorry, but music has its conventions, and no musician could play a piece written out as you describe. Musicians are a conservative lot. Getting them to change the way they do things is not easy .

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Musicians are a conservative lot. Getting them to change the way they do things is not easy .

Tell that to Jimi Hendrix.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Tell that to Jimi Hendrix.

I deal with orchestral musicians. They are a bunch of hide-bound conservatives on the whole .