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rbeasley
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:47 pm    Post subject: PDF vs physical book Reply with quote

I’m working on finishing a duet book for intermediate trumpet and am debating whether to make it available on my site as a pdf or physical book. If you were to purchase a book such as this, which format would you prefer? Would you be willing to purchase it in one format but not the other? Feel free to provide your reasoning.
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multiphonic
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd be interested in such a book, but only as a physical book. I often pass on buying music available only as a .pdf or occasionally send to Office Max for printing, which is a hassle. I write notes on my music, thumb through sections at will, dog ear pages, view different pieces of music side-by-side etc. I've played around with music on a tablet. Physical copies work better for me. Same with academic research articles. Reading a book on a Kindle is fine as long as it's not a working document.

(Edit: Just purchased 20 Lyrical Etudes )


Last edited by multiphonic on Wed Jan 15, 2020 3:01 pm; edited 4 times in total
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm eager to move my sheet music from paper to a pad/tablet. But with the high and rising cost of pads/tablets, I'm unlikely to do so anytime soon. So for now, I'm preferring printed music. If the cost of devices suddenly comes into reach I can see switching to strongly preferring digital downloads.
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lexluther
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pdf. All-day long! I will not buy paper books.
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mdarnton
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I have the option to buy both for a couple of extra bucks, I do.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Honestly, think of your audience. How many intermediate trumpet players (who are most likely going to be in high school or something) have a dedicated tablet for music practice? I know that the youngest generations are the most computer/phone/tablet oriented ever, but tablets are very expensive for most families, and if they've already shelled out for a trumpet, I don't see a $1,000 tablet expenditure in their future.

Even if they do buy the PDF and print it out, 8.5x11 paper is really not a great format for music, you'd like a larger paper size, right?

I think for intermediate students, you're best off offering a book for the reasons above.

Maybe for pros, the norm is now to have a tablet, I can see that. But not for high schoolers - unless I'm mistaken!
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rbeasley
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cheiden wrote:
I'm eager to move my sheet music from paper to a pad/tablet. But with the high and rising cost of pads/tablets, I'm unlikely to do so anytime soon. So for now, I'm preferring printed music. If the cost of devices suddenly comes into reach I can see switching to strongly preferring digital downloads.


I was reluctant to drop the money on a tablet as well. I ended up purchasing a refurbished Samsung tablet on Amazon for much less than new and it's worked quite well for me. Might be an alternative avenue for you to check out if you haven't already.
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Richard III
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a desktop computer. I download the music to there. I play using that screen. No problem. If I want to take it with me, I'll just print out the page I need. I don't need any more physical books.
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cgaiii
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is really nice to have music in portable format (PDF). If I need a printed page, I can print it. But I would be good either way.
I saw the complaints about the cost of tablets, but older models can be had very cheaply. Personally, I use my retired 2 in 1 laptop as a tablet. Works fine for me.
I often scan paper music to have it in electronic format, but have to admit that I prefer playing from paper.
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MrOlds
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another vote for PDF.

It’s been a long time since paper was the preferred medium for anything.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MrOlds wrote:
Another vote for PDF.

It’s been a long time since paper was the preferred medium for anything.


Really, though? Even for intermediate-level high school students? I know that pros have dedicated tablets but do high-schoolers? It's an intermediate-level text, remember.

Perhaps I'm wrong! But I think for younger players paper is preferable...
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doitallman
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PDF all the way. But the option for both is nice.
Too much music to print if I dont use a tablet.
Too much music to carry around . Too much potential for losing or misplacing some parts etc. I rather take a SS and use the tablet than carry music from rehearsal back and forth. I always end up losing it or spilling oil on it.
Tablet makes it easier to remember what music to bring since I have all my music on one place.
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kozzicomma
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PDF please. If I want that in paper form, I can print the pages I need, when I need them, but I use an ipad pro with apple pencil for notes, and on forScore i can have several different layers of notes either for different styles or from different teachers, etc.
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Bb Bob
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with kozzicomma. I have the same set up and just started using the Forscore scan tool. Once you get comfortable with the app and foot pedal it’s hard to go back to paper.
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multiphonic
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 16, 2020 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
MrOlds wrote:
Another vote for PDF.

It’s been a long time since paper was the preferred medium for anything.


Really, though? Even for intermediate-level high school students? I know that pros have dedicated tablets but do high-schoolers? It's an intermediate-level text, remember.

Perhaps I'm wrong! But I think for younger players paper is preferable...


You are correct.
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GizB
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm with mdarnton - I'm willing to pay a little extra for both. For multiphonic, you might consider a Pro12:

LINK

I've had one for several years, and have been very happy with it. Thanks to Tim Quinlan's qPress publications, I just take my tablet to lessons instead of carrying a bag of books. I use Mobilesheets Pro, which allows you to make notes on the pdf documents, and is great software for organizing music and making set lists. On my Pro12 I have literally hundreds of horn parts which I've transcribed and arranged - no more lugging around tons of multiple binders.

For rbeasley - if you do this in pdf form, my preference would be a 2-staff format rather than separate parts, so both players can read from the same tablet.


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JGulyas
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Both!!

I like having the option of paper or pdf. Both my Arban and St Jacome books are falling apart and I'd love it if they were in pdf format. Seriously, think about how difficult is it to get those *stupid* books to stay open on your stand!!

Same goes for my OLLD copies of Charlier or solo lit that I pretty much have to handle with gloves so it doesn't disintegrate.

As far as whether it needs to be a "dedicated" music tablet... I don't think there's any need for a dedicated tablet; PDF files are pretty small and all tablets have enough storage to pretty much be able to fit all the rep you can think of. I use my iPad for damn near everything, anyway, from editing photos to reading music.

Cost wise, an Amazon Fire tablet can be had for $40, though the viewing area on it is a bit small. Older 9" iPads are cheap, too; just looked at one on eBay, 1st Gen 16GB WiFi only $49 with free shipping. Granted that iPad will probably only be good for PDF viewing, but it's an option.
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khedger
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:54 pm    Post subject: Re: PDF vs physical book Reply with quote

rbeasley wrote:
I’m working on finishing a duet book for intermediate trumpet and am debating whether to make it available on my site as a pdf or physical book. If you were to purchase a book such as this, which format would you prefer? Would you be willing to purchase it in one format but not the other? Feel free to provide your reasoning.


Why not both? I think a LOT of people use their desktop, laptop, and pads for music stuff, but there's still a need for books for some people. Once you have the book typeset, I can't imagine it would be that hard to make it into a PDF....

keith
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topazann
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Both. I actually like to have a nice PDF copy and sometimes print it. I do prefer cleaner versions though, so if I really care, I'd often rather buy a good edition from a respected publisher than try to deal with a poorly scanned PDF. However, when I can buy a crisp PDF version, I prefer that and will then just print it as much as I need to.

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Oncewasaplayer
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm a digital dinosaur in some ways but I've now switched to putting pdf files on an ipad using 4score. It will change your life. I like books but digital is the future.
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