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Tonara for iPad Listens and Turns Musical Score Pages Automatically

Wednesday September 14, 2011 12:40 pm PDT by Jordan Golson
Tonara, introduced this week at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, is a digital sheet music app and store for the iPad. The app doesn't just display sheet music, but it listens to users as they play, and automatically turns pages as the song advances.

It also records performances so users can review and share their performances. From Tonara's website:

Tonara enables you to download digital sheet music to your iPad, and is the first interactive sheet music app which listens to you playing and follows along by itself, whatever speed you play at. It indicates your current position on the score and turns the pages for you automatically. You can also record your performances and share with your friends. So whether you enjoy playing classical or popular music, the Tonara app will change the way you play music!


Tonara works with any acoustic or electronic instrument, and the Tonara store currently includes pieces for piano, violin, cello and flute. The company says it is talking with a number of music publishers regarding licensing content and hopes to have many more songs for sale soon.

Tonara is free on the App Store and additional songs are available for $0.99 via in-app purchase. [iTunes]
[ 27 comments ]

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gmcalpin
Posted: 9 months ago

I suspect this won't work very well if you're playing with an entire band or orchestra, because the sound of the other instruments will confuse it.

I suspect you didn't watch the whole video, because they cover that in it.
Rating: 5 Positives / 0 Negatives
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ArtOfWarfare
Posted: 9 months ago
Why not just realize that the concept of "pages" is dated and instead make it just scroll along with you? Like, as you finish one line it scrolls another onto the screen?
Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives
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powaking
Posted: 9 months ago
This was the first thing that popped into my mind when the first iPad was released. Just brilliant.
Rating: 3 Positives / 0 Negatives
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scades
Posted: 9 months ago
I don't disagree with jbaker, but a display that scrolled up line by line (or system by system for pianists or choral singers)would work quite well.
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
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JBaker122586
Posted: 9 months ago

Why not just realize that the concept of "pages" is dated and instead make it just scroll along with you? Like, as you finish one line it scrolls another onto the screen?


I'd guess because it's the way hundreds of millions of people are used to reading music.
One super long running staff might be confusing.
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
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MacFly123
Posted: 9 months ago

That would be a nice feature, the change is pretty abrupt. I think people subconsciously look ahead on sheet music as they're playing so it would be an important addition.
While they're at it, they should use Wifi or Bluetooth to manage 2 sheets of music across 2 iPads. ;)


Nice. That is a good idea too :) I went to their site and emailed them my idea as a feature request in an update. You should email them too!
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
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justinfreid
Posted: 9 months ago

This is really cool! It would have been a really nice refinement though if they made it so when you approach then end of a page, it slides over slightly a little bit slowly, and gives you a peak at the next page, and then once on the next page it finishes the slide over to the next full page. I think that would be even nice than just a harsh cut to the next page. It would make it more seamless as if the music were arranged in layout book form instead of one page at a time. :cool:


That would be a nice feature, the change is pretty abrupt. I think people subconsciously look ahead on sheet music as they're playing so it would be an important addition.
While they're at it, they should use Wifi or Bluetooth to manage 2 sheets of music across 2 iPads. ;)
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
Avatar
MacFly123
Posted: 9 months ago
This is really cool! It would have been a really nice refinement though if they made it so when you approach then end of a page, it slides over slightly a little bit slowly, and gives you a peak at the next page, and then once on the next page it finishes the slide over to the next full page. I think that would be even nice than just a harsh cut to the next page. It would make it more seamless as if the music were arranged in layout book form instead of one page at a time. :cool:
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
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cshearer
Posted: 9 months ago
This is awesome. I would have killed for an automatic page turner when I still played piano.
Rating: 1 Positives / 0 Negatives
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accessoriesguy
Posted: 9 months ago
wow thats just awesome, and I don't even know how to play any instrument fully!
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives

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