 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-09-23 05:22
So I go to take my clarinet bag to the practice room to do some, well, practicing. And it's heavy. Due to the number of books and solos that I like to carry around to practice out of.
I remembered a product I saw a few times in WWBW magazines that was a 'digital sheet music' displayer. Scan your songs and carry them around digitally and (probably) much easier. Heres what I found. . .
http://www.freehandsystems.com/products.html
Now I'd say that's a wee bit much for what I would like to spend, but I understand and like the concept. I can scan the solos that I like to 'practice' (aka 'butcher') throughout the day and some other studies that I run through every day, as well as duets that I like to have around in case I find another clarinetist who's up for playing them.
Two things . . . Would it be more affordable if I kept my receipts for all musical related purchases and paid someone to itemize deductions (I'm an Army clarinetist so music is now literally my profession so I think I'd qualify for deductions as it's how I make the majority of my income each year)?
Or does anyone know of something similar that's out there? i've scanned my music into my computer in PDF format (mainly so I can print out whatever parts I need) but trying to read it from my small computer screen is dificult to say the least, plus theres the added convenience of notating your music on the screen.
Thank you. Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2007-09-23 06:03
(IANAA)
Depends on how much "affordable" is and how much you're paying in taxes. If something costs $1000, you deduct $1000 from the amount you pay taxes on, rather than deducting the full $1000 itself. So if you make $30,000 a year, you're only paying taxes on $29,000. So, if the top end of your tax bracket is at 20%, you'll only save 20% of the purchase price in taxes. There's also a certain threshold below which it doesn't make much sense to itemize, as the savings are negligible. That is, there's a "standard deduction"... an amount that you can deduct if you don't itemize.
Essentially, it depends on how much you spend on musically-related things.
As for devices like those, the technology is still pretty new. I'd wait at least a few years for newer versions of the hardware. Personally, I'd just be more selective in what I carry to the practice room on any given day, cycling through a larger selection. Also, I haven't checked, but I don't know if the MusicPad displays PDFs. (that is, you might have to re-scan)
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2009-04-26 12:32
Bumping this topic to see if there are any new, cheaper solutions to a digital music portfolio (way to display my PDFs) instead of hauling around the music. Anyone know of anything from this year and a half?
Alexi
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-04-26 12:53
Well, you can buy a used laptop for ~100$ which is still pretty good enough to display PDFs, even if it's only an old 300MHz POS.
The problem might be the weight or the tripod attachment....
--
Ben
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2009-04-26 15:39
Get your band to buy them. When I was in 1st Infantry Division Band, we bought a bunch of them. Some significant officer went to an outdoor job that one of the groups did, and it was very windy that day (like Kansas-style windy). After that engagement, getting the request approved was pretty easy.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
Post Edited (2009-04-26 15:45)
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Author: Pappy
Date: 2009-04-27 12:45
I use the MusicReader software and an Airturn foot pedal page turner on my laptop. I can store all my sheet music on my hard drive - set the resolution for use by "old eyes" and use the MusicReader software (about $100 I think) to "mark up the parts" if needed. Works great and a lot cheaper. I can download music from Freehandmusic.com or elsewhere and convert it to PDF's or what have you and it works great at a fraction of the price. My son can use the same system on his tablet PC to even greater effect as he is able to more easily turn the screen "vertical".
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2009-04-27 15:32
pappy,
if I were to have this music reader software, does it automatically scroll the page if it won't fit on the screen (to get the notes bigger, the entire page won't fit on the screen)? That sounds like it would be a good solution if I can ensure that it'll display more than half a page. Thanks.
Alexi
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Author: Pappy
Date: 2009-04-29 14:26
sfalexi wrote:
> pappy,
>
> if I were to have this music reader software, does it
> automatically scroll the page if it won't fit on the screen (to
> get the notes bigger, the entire page won't fit on the screen)?
> That sounds like it would be a good solution if I can ensure
> that it'll display more than half a page. Thanks.
>
> Alexi
Sorry for the delayed reply. Yes it does. You can set it to display half a page at a time or a whole page - or even two pages. With the foot switch "page turner" it works well to display half the page at a time at the larger resolution and then the foot switch will turn just "half a page". Great solution and economical.
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The Clarinet Pages
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