iPad on rehearsal!

I was rehearsing using my iPad. I've been taking full advantage of iPad in my everyday life and I am loving it, but I've been thinking maybe what I shouldn't be thinking.

For rehearsals and gigs, I think I should have gotten bigger 12.9-inch instead of this smaller 9.7-inch. Mmm, am I just seeing the greener grass on the other side of the fence?

Harwich Port, Massachusetts!

I came to Harwich Port in Cape Cod --- the big resort as well as big lobster fishing place! The view is spectacular as usual.

I have a bit of time before the gig today so I'm totally chilling at the pier reading manga on iPad! 😄😄😄 Life is good.

iPad mount & Bluetooth page turner.

I field-tested my iPad stand and the page turner for the first time for a rehearsal today. Both of them passed the test. Today’s rehearsal was extra long but the iPad stand was holding it to the end and the page turner was working beautifully. I am happy about that and I have no worries using it on real gigs now.

Maybe you have guessed already but I love this kind of gadgets. I was enjoying setting them up as if I was building something with Lego blocks. I’m loving my iPad too. After the rehearsal, I was having fun thinking of some apps that I can use for my music creation. iPad totally woke up the Japanese nerdy guy in me.

PageFlip Firefly Bluetooth Page Turner Pedal

Just got myself a Bluetooth page turner!! 😆😆😆

If you step on these pedals, you can turn the pages forward and back, so it's great when you have to read music while you are playing. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!! So far, it's working beautifully on every app that I want to use this page turner with. I got another weapon. Well, I don't really need to deploy this arsenal till this weekend so I am reading a Japanese novel with it. Well, to read a book, it's much easier and quicker to slide or just tap the screen with a finger, but that's not the point today! I'll step on to the pedals, and I'm gonna enjoy every time the page turns and laugh like a winner!

Apple Pencil!

I was at an Apple Store today. I got an Apple Pencil! 😆 I’ve read reviews on several web sites and it looks like Apple Pencil is the best stylus on the market right now. As the reputation, the response time of Apple pencil is quite good and it is really easy to use. I love that I can write something on the music files in PDF. Another big reason why I wanted this stylus is that, when I brainstorm for composing or arranging or just anything, the best ideas always come out when I physically write it down with pen and paper. I am hoping I’ll replace pen and paper with iPad and Apple Pencil.

Well, the down side is of course the not-struggling-musicians-friendly price tag which Apple is infamous for. Before I started using this 100-bucks Apple Pencil, I told this stylus “hey, I forbid you to break down for next 300 years or so.”

Well, it’s really useful so I'm okay with the price. I’ll use it day & night till it gets completely worn away.

iPad as the second display!!

I just downloaded an iPad app and got myself a second monitor! This is so useful! I should have had iPad long time ago if I knew I could do this.

I can be a really nerdy guy. I am going to download more apps and I am going to take full advantage of iPad!

iPad Mount!

I performed at a windy place in mountains on the other day.

When musicians have to read music in windy places, what we do is quite primitive; just put bunch of clothespins on music and a music stand. Unfortunately, even if we do that, sometimes the wind is just too strong and a sudden blow of a gust takes everything away from the music stand. I think every musician experiences this one way or another. I cannot even describe how I feel when it happens. “Feeling down” is too weak. I see the empty music stand with empty heart and think something like “my life is over,” and the cold wind sadly blows behind me.

This is another reason why I so wanted to put all the music on iPad and read from it. I brought it to the gig to try out in the real battlefield. Of course the major blander I made was that I forgot to put clothespins on my iPad and the music stand, and the wind was shaking my iPad while we were playing. Every time the iPad flapped in the wind even a little bit, I was screaming in my heart, “OH MY 700 BUCKS!” — I’m cheap. Anyway the first thing I did as soon as I came back to Boston was to order this sturdiest bulkiest looking iPad mount. I learnt the lesson. Now I have the right equipment for a professional musician!

iPad Pro 9.7-inch Model!

Ladies & Gents, it’s iPad Pro!! It took me six years to get one since the first generation iPad came out on the market in 2010. For the last six years, I had been thinking of getting one but I couldn’t really bring myself to actually buy one. I think I did need an iPad in several occasions especially when I was on the road all the time till last year, then I asked myself if it was absolutely necessary to have one. The answer was always “not really.” It is not cheap either. My aunt gave me a Sony Android tablet a few years ago. It is not a bad tablet at all but the connection between those Android tablets and my Apple MacBook is just horrible. I have been in need of carrying around the big folder of music nowadays so I finally made my mind to get it. I wanted the big 12.9-inch iPad Pro but couldn’t justify the 1000-buck price tag for what I use, so I got 700-buck 9.7-inch one.

It’s great. The connection between MacBook and iPad is of course so really smooth. I have transferred about 2000 music to my iPad already. I am so going to use it on tomorrow’s gig.

Oh boy, do I feel good or what. I’m gonna totally enjoy my iPad!

Checking out iPad Pro and the accessories

Came to Apple Store to check out iPad Pro! I have been waiting for this bigger-sized iPad for a long time because I wanted to read music on tablet on stage but the previous iPad was a bit too small for me. It's on the horizontal position on the pic but it's great to read music on the vertical position as well. This is just perfect size for me. Well, but I want to mention some (maybe a nerdy) stuff. First of all, the $800 basic model only has 32GB of memory which is really tiny. The next model up is souped up to 128GB but it costs $950 which goes over $1000 with tax. I don't know about a tablet for more than a grand. The smart keyboard on the pic works great but it is another $170 on top of the $950. You can buy a good MacBook Air with that money. The keyboard is really good so I wish they put not only iOS but OS X. That way, I would be able to use it on the road and leave my MacBook home. (BTW, I didn't even think about the Apple Pencil because it is another $100 for a pencil!). Conclusion: too expensive for a traveling musician. Apple, please bring it down to 90% off! Maybe I should go with iPad mini 4 just for now. Mmm, I have to sleep on it.