Sheet Music Management Apps for Android

Tootler

Tootler

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I currently have an iPad with my music files on and use ForScore to organise them.

Unfortunately, the battery is starting to go - it's not holding charge as long - so it looks like I will be needing to replace it soon.

I'm thinking of replacing it with a 10" Android tablet and am looking for a suitable App that will enable me to do the same things as ForScore does on iPad.

I already have an 8" Android tablet and I've tried a few apps but not found anything that's quite right. I'm currently using Orpheus and it's sort of OK but it's not really all that flexible. It allows me to link folders but not to look inside folders. Individual files are just in a long list. You can set up set lists but not index your files by category.

ForScore lets you index by composer, genre and tags (where you can create your own categories).

I've looked at several Android apps but I've not been happy with what I've seen so far. One I tried simply did not work, another wouldn't read pdf files and all my music - both song chord charts and sheet music are in pdf format. The better looking ones were paid apps. I don't mind paying for an app if it does the job but I need to get a clear recommendation. Orpheus is a paid app but it had a trial version and after I found it OK I bought it but as I said above I find it limited and I need something more flexible.

Looking for recommendations.
 
I do not have any that are perfect.

For new chords/fingerpicking, I like Ultimate Guitar Tabs. It has a large library, and an autoscroll feature. It is available on the Amazon App store also, so I was able to buy it with coins.

I am looking for a PDF reader which will scroll at a set speed since I am downloading more and more PDF's of chordsheets also.
If you found a program which does all of that cataloging, I would also be interested.

I have no financial interest in this company, but have been very impressed with the DragonTouch Android Tablet which can be purchased on Amazon. $129 for a 10" tablet running Android 5 with an SD card slot for extra storage. I just wish they would put out a Marshmallow update for it.

I will look through this list this weekend to see if any of them are workable: http://www.bookrunch.com/top/organizer/
 
Last edited:
For the last couple of years I've been using a Hannspree 13.3" Android 800x1280 tablet with microSD slot that I got from Amazon for $150. I was using an iPad with OnSong and ForScore, but the screen was just too small for me. In searching for an Android app that was similar to the iPad apps, I found MobileSheets Pro. It does pretty much everything that ForScore and OnSong do.
 
Which iPad model is it? There are somewhat inexpensive replacement batteries from third party suppliers available.
 
kohanmike said:
...MobileSheets Pro. It does pretty much everything that ForScore and OnSong do.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know what MobileSheets Pro adds over MobileSheets? in quickly reading the description, I could not tell. Mobilesheets Free lists a few limitations.

Thanks
 
Mivo said:
Which iPad model is it? There are somewhat inexpensive replacement batteries from third party suppliers available.
Click to expand...

Mine is an iPad 2. Replacement batteries is an excellent idea but I didn't think you could get into the iPad. All these tablets seem to be made so that you can't open them up to replace the battery which is a typical modern marketing ploy to get you to buy a new tablet when you don' t really need to. Very annoying.
 
Tootler said:
Mine is an iPad 2. Replacement batteries is an excellent idea but I didn't think you could get into the iPad. All these tablets seem to be made so that you can't open them up to replace the battery which is a typical modern marketing ploy to get you to buy a new tablet when you don' t really need to. Very annoying.
Click to expand...

It's not something one would want to do oneself, I understand, but Apple will replace the battery (out of warranty) for $99 here. I am sure you can find information more specific to your area, and perhaps 3rd party solutions, as well. Good luck.
Dick
 
The forum is in my wheelhouse now...my professional focus (outside of daily teaching) is the intersection of technology and music education--and the easiest way to integrate technology into music is to replace paper with digital music. I understand if you like paper music, just as I understand those that like reading physical books. We will only see digital continue to grow (particularly with the parent company of SmartMusic acquiring Alfred Music this past week).

I'll be transparent and say that I am in favor of iPads over any other device in education, particularly because of their flexibility in things like music classes. That doesn't mean that I hate Chromebooks, Android tablets, Windows notebooks, or MacBooks--I just don't like how those devices work in music.

The question at hand is Android, and whereas there are at least 10 functional PDF sheet music readers on iPad, there are only 3 decent options on Android, and the best of these simply don't compare with the best on the iPad.

When I look at a PDF Music Reader, I am looking for a number of features...the primary features are speed, ability to handle large PDF documents (e.g. A book of solos or a fake book), the ability to write in your music, the ability to create a "hotspot" or "link" to be able to quickly jump to another place in a document, and the ability to add accompaniment tracks (audio) to a piece of music. iPad apps like forScore and unrealBook have these features (and a lot more). It also helps if you can turn pages with a foot pedal like the AirTurn PED. Not all apps have Bluetooth page turning ability.

Orpheus Music has already been mentioned; it had a great start, but then they recreated it from scratch and some things, such as annotation (Hand writing) are still not available.

MobileSheets was the first and is still the best PDF music reader for Android. It works, but it lacks many of the features of the iPad apps. Even annotation is a tricky issue as you don't actually write in the music but in an overlay. But if you use Android, this is your best bet for a pure "music" solution.

The other app to check out that used to work for my Android-using students is EZ PDF Reader. I haven't used it for a while, but it used to allow annotation on the screen and left-to-right page turns (a lot of PDF readers scroll up and down).

These are your best bets for music reading on Android. If anyone else has tripped upon better solutions, I will love to see them.
 
Tootler said:
Mine is an iPad 2. Replacement batteries is an excellent idea but I didn't think you could get into the iPad. All these tablets seem to be made so that you can't open them up to replace the battery which is a typical modern marketing ploy to get you to buy a new tablet when you don' t really need to. Very annoying.
Click to expand...

Yep, a lot of new electronics are designed to become obsolete so customers have to buy something new. Like Dick said, the easiest is to just take it to an Apple Store, or send it in, for a replacement battery. It's not cheap, but cheaper than a comparable tablet, and you won't need different apps (also a cost and time factor). It can be done by oneself, but it looks involved.
 
Choirguy said:
The forum is in my wheelhouse now...my professional focus (outside of daily teaching) is the intersection of technology and music education--and the easiest way to integrate technology into music is to replace paper with digital music. I understand if you like paper music, just as I understand those that like reading physical books. We will only see digital continue to grow (particularly with the parent company of SmartMusic acquiring Alfred Music this past week).

I'll be transparent and say that I am in favor of iPads over any other device in education, particularly because of their flexibility in things like music classes. That doesn't mean that I hate Chromebooks, Android tablets, Windows notebooks, or MacBooks--I just don't like how those devices work in music.

The question at hand is Android, and whereas there are at least 10 functional PDF sheet music readers on iPad, there are only 3 decent options on Android, and the best of these simply don't compare with the best on the iPad.

When I look at a PDF Music Reader, I am looking for a number of features...the primary features are speed, ability to handle large PDF documents (e.g. A book of solos or a fake book), the ability to write in your music, the ability to create a "hotspot" or "link" to be able to quickly jump to another place in a document, and the ability to add accompaniment tracks (audio) to a piece of music. iPad apps like forScore and unrealBook have these features (and a lot more). It also helps if you can turn pages with a foot pedal like the AirTurn PED. Not all apps have Bluetooth page turning ability.

Orpheus Music has already been mentioned; it had a great start, but then they recreated it from scratch and some things, such as annotation (Hand writing) are still not available.

MobileSheets was the first and is still the best PDF music reader for Android. It works, but it lacks many of the features of the iPad apps. Even annotation is a tricky issue as you don't actually write in the music but in an overlay. But if you use Android, this is your best bet for a pure "music" solution.

The other app to check out that used to work for my Android-using students is EZ PDF Reader. I haven't used it for a while, but it used to allow annotation on the screen and left-to-right page turns (a lot of PDF readers scroll up and down).

These are your best bets for music reading on Android. If anyone else has tripped upon better solutions, I will love to see them.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the great information - love it when someone with real experience contributes here!

I have been converting my lyric/chord sheets to PDFs as preparation for a move to either my iPad or Android. Looks like my old iPad 2 might take on a new life as my music book. But I have a couple of questions for you. Please let me know what you think based on my use case, which is lyrics and chords for ukulele - no sheet music per se at this time.

- Do you think you need to get a wireless page turner? They seem a bit pricey for this one application, so I would appreciate your advice on if you really need them.
- Do you think scrolling through chord/lyric sheets is a good feature? I've tried using it a bit with goChords, which I use on line for creating the sheets, but it's a bit tricky to get the scroll speed right. One product I used scrolled through the pages, but once it got to the bottom of one page, it jumped to the top of the next page immediately, so if you were following along and were not exactly at that place, you missed stuff.

Thanks for your help, and thanks for any further advice!
 
Lots of great experience here on UUl. Glad I found the ukulele and then this forum.

1) If you are going to be performing with your iPad and you have multi-page music, the foot turner is going to be a wonderful tool for you (provided it works with your app of choice). While there are a couple of different brands out there (I suggest the AirTurn products, although Firefly is out there, too), I think you can get into one for $60 (PED) which is a small investment for the usefulness and longevity of a device.

The other option is to turn pages with your hands...which can complicate things.

2) If a sdrolling app works for you, go for it. Even in apps that have scrolling features (forScore can ,too, in the Reflow mode), I tend to like to stay in control of the view...but that might be the music teacher in me.

As for your iPad, there are plenty of places that can replace a battery. I have had a number of good experiences and bad experiences having devices repaired, so it is tricky to make recommendations. I did have good service in the recent past from Dr. Phonez in San Antonio (I live in Wisconsin and teach in Minnesota), but there may be a repair store closer to you that is reliable. But for battery service, that is $90 from Dr. Phonez (http://drphonez.com) which gives you a comparison point.

(I had to have the charging port replaced on my wife's iPad mini, which they did cheaper than anyone else, and the device looks perfect and is still working. I sent in an iPhone that my son had destroyed and they were unable to repair it.)
 
Choirguy said:
...
The other app to check out that used to work for my Android-using students is EZ PDF Reader. I haven't used it for a while, but it used to allow annotation on the screen and left-to-right page turns (a lot of PDF readers scroll up and down).

These are your best bets for music reading on Android. If anyone else has tripped upon better solutions, I will love to see them.
Click to expand...

EZ PDF Reader is actually free through the Amazon Underground Appstore, so you can try it out for free to see if it meets your needs.
 
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