Louise Trotter
Jan Jennings
Maryjean Zarick
Sharon Thormahlen
Throw away your gig-books
"So much great music... ... but so little time to memorize." Over the years, as your repertoire grows, so does the size of the gig book. Is this fate inevitable or is there another way? How can technology lighten the harpist's load, even just a little? A few years ago, online sheet music made shipping unecessary. You could purchase a piece of music on the internet and send it to your printer. You were buying a copy of the sheet music, but not the digital file. Being printed on paper, that copy may have allowed you to begin practicing immediately, but also contributed to the growth of your expansive music binder.
Welcome to 2011 and the age of the PDF: Portable Document File. Just as the name says, these handy little guys are indeed portable. In this format, a digital file can be moved from the internet web server to your computer hard drive within seconds. Once the file is on your hard drive, it is yours to do with as you see fit. You can print a PDF on your printer, sent it to someone else's computer or, with a suitable application, load the file to your iPad or Android touch pad, thus increasing the "portability." If you have already worked with PDF's you appreciate how uncomplicated they are. If you have not, you will be surprised at how smart a PDF can make you look. To download PDF sheet music from the HarpMusicNow, you must be logged in. Choose "Sheet Music" from the DOWNLOAD MENU. Select a catagory and look for the title of the piece. Just under the title and description of the pieces is a "DOWNLOAD" button. A pop-up box may ask you what you want to do with the file. Always choose "SAVE." The next pop-up window will ask you where you want to save it. Some people have a dedicated folder for their sheet music downloads. If you do not, just save the file to the DESKTOP. The file will be easy to locate and to recognize in that location. Within seconds, an AdobePDF icon, bearing the name of the piece, will show on your desktop. To print from the PDF, you can either "right click" on the icon and choose "print," or "double click" on the icon to open the file. You can choose "print" from the menu of the open file. Make sure your printer is plugged in, turned on and connected to your computer. Printing your PDF still leaves you with a stack of paper. If you are ready to step up to the next techno level, you can load this PDF to your iPad, Android or other touch pad device. You should consult your owner's manual on exactly how to load the PDF. You can edit and make rehearsal notes and even add fingerings right on your screen as long as you have the right application. Some apps will even transpose for you. Below, I have listed some of the better known apps with a web link. No matter how inexperienced you are in the digital world, you can do this. Become a member of HarpMusicNow and start working with PDF's. You won't be sorry. Music Notes - Organize, zoom, easy page turns, transposes. $5.00forScore - Organize, resize, half page turns, metronome, titles can be sorted by title, composer, special occasion, key, etc., rehearsal notes, control brightness and transparency $4.99 PDF Sheet Music Reader - allows you to download the PDF directly from the internet to the iPad, metronome, make rehearsal notes, create playlists, appears to be very user friendly $2.99Three reasons to become a website member
- Download and print sheet music
- Download sheet music to use on your touch pad
- Download the video and learn by watching
