Imagining the Perfect Music Reader

My vision for an iPad music reader

Let’s pretend we’ve decided to do for sheet music publishing what the iTunes store has done for the recorded music market: create a one-stop-shop of sheet music specially designed for the iPad.  What would be the ideal reader App for this music?  How would the music be formatted? What would the user interface look like, and what capabilities would it have? That’s what I’ve been pondering.  Let’s see what we can come up with.

First, I imagine the format of the music will be MIDI-capable and resolution independent.  MIDI capability would allow the user to playback the music at tempo, or slow it down for practice.  The ability to hear the music greatly aids in learning.  Simple tools to change tempo or key could also be easily implemented.  Resolution independence means the music can be scaled to a single system (in landscape mode, scrolling with performance) or as an entire page (scrolling vertically in portrait mode).  It also means users could see a score in very small type or make a difficult passage more easily readable with a quick tap.

Since we’re dreaming about this, why not integrate the iPad’s microphone into the experience, and have the computer evaluate the musician’s performance, ala Smartmusic Studio?  Feedback about pitch and rhythmic accuracy, as well as the ability to record ones’ self and play back with accompaniment would be an amazing rehearsal tool.

One main innovation I’d like to see in this ideal music reader is the integration of a virtual piano keyboard.  The keyboard could appear in landscape mode, after pressing a ‘button’.  The current system is displayed on top, as the keyboard is displayed below it.   The keyboard could be used in one of two ways: First, music scroll playback could show the keys being ‘depressed’ as the music plays, showing the notes to play the entire piece or just one or two parts.  Second, the keyboard could be playable, so the process could be reversed, playing notes on the keyboard rather than having them played for you, perhaps even evaluating your performance for accuracy.

An integrated music store could instantly deliver new pieces to your iPad and allow for ratings and variable pricing (less for public domain and ‘chestnuts’, more for major works and new compositions or editions.

And here’s the ‘one more thing’: in my fantasy world, the ability to sync iPad music readers among a group of musicians using bluetooth or WiFi would make this the ultimate rehearsal tool: Instead of just counting 122 measures, the triangle player can watch the entire score as the performance nears his part, scrolling right in time.

What other features can you imagine?  Who do you think might pull this off?  Can you imagine a system that isn’t closed to only iPad music store files, but allows for Finale or Sibelius exporting?  Let your imagination run wild…