r/chambermusic • u/Suitable_Mess_3940 • Jun 24 '25
Tablet recommendations for reading sheet music?
Hello! I'm going to a chamber music conference, and I'd like to get a tablet so that I can hopefully sight read chamber music with other players.
The Apple IPad Pro is too pricey for me. From what I've read online, that's the best tablet for reading music? Because of its 13 inch screen? For those of you that use tablets for reading sheet music, do you think a 12.1 inch screen would work? Walmart makes a tablet that has a 12.1 inch screen that is only $217.
Thank you for your advice!
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u/pikatrushka Jun 24 '25
It really depends on your eyes. I played off a tiny old school iPad for years, but I finally got sick of having to squint on smaller scores. So I splurged on a Boox A4-sized e-ink tablet. It doesn’t have the full functionality of an iPad, but I love it for reading and writing music. (It’s honestly almost exactly like writing on paper.) Plus my eyes are much happier with e-ink than an illuminated screen, because I’m not staring into a light source the whole time I’m practicing.
I’d suggest printing out the same page of music scaled to the sizes of your proposed tablets. Spend 15-20 minutes practicing with each and see how much you appreciate the larger score. If you’re fine with the smaller one, go for it.
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u/viberat Jun 24 '25 edited Jun 24 '25
Just dropping some info here: if you have a good credit score, apply for an Apple Card and anything you buy from Apple gets put on a 0 interest one year payment plan. The catch is they’ll only do that for the first year you have your apple card, so the move is to buy whatever it is right after getting approved for the card (which is a super quick process). I got the big ass ipad pro this way and paid it and a pencil off with 0 interest over a year. Payments were $99 a month for the ipad and like $10 for the pencil.
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u/Caprichoso1 Jun 27 '25
0% interest for 1 year applies to any Apple purchase you make regardless of how long you have had the card.
You also get 3% back on Apple purchases using the card.
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u/viberat Jun 27 '25
Really? The guy at the apple store told me it was just for the first year. I’ll keep that in mind.
Yes, I love the cashback! I set up my app store purchases and subscriptions (audible, etc) to go through the card.
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u/Zalenka Jun 24 '25
Spend the money on what other people are using. Even the budget iPad would be fine.
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u/tumbleweed_lingling Jun 24 '25
I got an ipad pro 5-gen 12.9 inch like 4 years ago, a bluetooth pedal, ForScore, the pencil and i've never looked back.
Be careful with ForScore, it's buggier than a Motel 6 and has bitten me a few times. Word of advise: DO NOT USE THE RE-ARRANGE FUNCTION IN FORSCORE! It'll flatten out all your page layers and merge 'em into one.
I haven't use my 3-ring binder in the 4 years i've had this.
My violin teacher also switched to ipad about a year ago. No more music stand with 6 pages taped together into one wiiiiiiide page for her. She got the 12.9 pro 2 generations newer than mine.
Whatever you get, you'll need a pencil / stylus, and PDF software that lets you scribble. Right now there's only two I know of - ForScore (already ranted enough about it) and MobileSheets.
I've been on ForScore for years now, their support is straight up hot garbage, even if you pay for it.. but MobileSheet's interface is inpenetrable, I can't make heads or tails of it, so I stay with ForScore.
Rickety wire music stands may have a problem with a heavy ipad.. at least they're getting lighter with each release. Mine's ancient so it's really heavy, and my wire stands sways a bit too much for my taste if someone bumps into it.
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u/momoontherun Jun 24 '25
Which Bluetooth pedal do you use? I’ve been looking for one!
OP - I’ve had friends go on back market to get an iPad for chamber music so maybe that could be an option!
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u/tumbleweed_lingling Jun 24 '25
I got this one called "STOMP" -- supposedly made in USA. Takes a 9V regular battery -- that's a requirement of mine, I don't like throw-away electronics with non-replaceable batteries. And yes I realize the irony of that statement, considering the ipad already is a throwaway piece of electronics with a non-replaceable battery XD
STOMP is built like a brick but it's loud when you trigger the buttons. I record with line-out from digital piano so that doesn't affect me.. but it will, if I have to record from the violin. You can be silent with it, but you have to practice (HA!) the motion before it becomes silent.
My teacher has a different with silent pedals but I forgot who made it. Hers has a non-replacable lithium battery. my STOMP takes 1 9V battery.
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u/Suitable_Mess_3940 Jun 24 '25
Thank you! I ended up getting a refurbished ipad Pro on Back Market for much cheaper. I appreciate all the advice!
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u/HNKahl Jun 24 '25
The iPad Air 13” is the way to go for piano players. It’s $500 cheaper than the Pro model and if you can get the education discount, the base model is only $799. Put it on a payment plan for like $65/month. You won’t miss the money. Get the ForScore app for reading, notating and organizing your music. $25
I’m using two iPad Pro 12.9” in dual page mode. One is 10 years old and the other is 5 years old. If the 13” air had been available at the time, I definitely would have gotten it and saved the money. Reading PDFs doesn’t take a lot of processing power or storage and the iPad Air has plenty of both.
I use mine with the AirTurn Duo page turner and the Apple Pencil. Best thing I ever did is going paperless back in 2015.
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u/AgeingMuso65 Jun 24 '25
I’m on second hand iPad Pro from Cash Converters and ForScore which is unbeatable as a score app., and absolutely justifies the iPad
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u/No_Parsnip1308 Jun 24 '25
I use Samsung Galaxy tab S10 ultra 14.6 po. and I am very satisfied. 1200$ app. with MobileSheet pro.
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u/Dbarach123 Jun 24 '25
Pianist here. Most professional pianists I know get refurbished iPad pros, as you do at least want the 12.9” screen, but most of us can’t afford a new iPad when we don’t particularly need those features for work (the 13” is only available on very new models). If you search Amazon for “refurb iPad Pro 12.9,” you’ll find many viable options under $400. I see a 2nd gen pro for $237 right now.
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u/justhangingaroud Jun 24 '25
Just print it and bring it. Bring your printer if you have to. More reliable, more readable, easy to annotate. It’s a winner
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u/the_aviatrixx Jun 25 '25
I bought an older iPad Pro (2018 version), a knockoff Apple Pen, and an off brand Bluetooth pedal last year and it was way cheaper. I have zero issues with any of it and I am so glad I made the jump.
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u/DailyCreative3373 Jun 27 '25
There aren’t many score reading programs better than forscore, which I believe is only an Apple product. You can also get a 13” ipad air.
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u/copious-portamento Jun 24 '25
Surface. You can get second hand ones with big screens for a very good price and it's a proper computer, not just a tablet, so you can run the full desktop version of anything you want.