Music on the iPad

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If you are an Apple device user, prepare to laugh at me. Popular opinion says Apple products are easy to use. Lise bought me this refurbished pad, and I’ve played with it every day since it arrived. It must be several weeks now, and I am no nearer mastering it than the day I started. If Apples are intuitive, then I have no intuition worth speaking of. Neighbor Shawn took pity on me when I was bumbling about and showed me how to close sites I had open. I might never have found that on my own.

I did learn how to scan my own music with forScore, an app I installed on the iPad. I’ve practiced four pieces that I had started playing several years ago. After my retina leaked (Age related Macular Degeneration), I could no longer see the notes of regular music. Now, with the music backlit and expanded, I can see fairly well.

One super day I stumbled into an online store and was able to download one free piece of music that I had never seen before. That was really exciting. I kept looking for that store and could not find it. David was sitting in the room with me when I began to grumble. He offered to look at it, even though he has no experience with Apple things. He bumbled around, too, but at warp speed. He found the store, which was accessed through the music app. I THINK I can get back to that place again.

I downloaded a free set of pieces by Handel and found there were 13 in all. Most are one page long. What a delight! I sat down and sight read seven of them, finishing the rest the next day. Perhaps a second grader would be challenged by them. I am going to have to look at them closely, because I found I couldn’t see the little dots under the notes indicating staccatos. Meanwhile, I am so grateful to David for unlocking this music for me.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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39 thoughts on “Music on the iPad”

  1. Interesting you share your iPad music. You played music on Apple device. You playing several years ago. After your retina leaked you couldn’t longer see the notes of regular music..Tack care!
    God blessing!

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  2. I love my iPad. It’s the first thing I pick up in the morning. Before even getting up I sit with my first cup of tea and read emails. I am sure you will get used to it. Just keep using it

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  3. I don’t think computers are intuitive. Not to someone who didn’t grow up with them. However, like you, I bumble around and do okay most of the time. I have found YouTube videos to be helpful when I get stuck. Glad you could get back to playing piano.

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  4. Anne, I am so excited for you to be able to play again! There is a pedal that can be attached to your iPad to turn pages for you. A colleague has one on her large iPad, and she uses it exclusively now for accompaniment. If you are interested in that or in a specific piece I would be happy to search the free data base I use and send you the file. I believe anything over 120 years old is public domain.

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    1. I love your enthusiasm, Kathy. I have a foot page turner, but I can’t get it to work. The instructions say to install the app, but I can’t find the proper app. proScore already has one installed. I’d like to delete that and try to get mine there instead. If all else fails, perhaps daughter Lise will be able to use her iPhone to connect it when she comes in November.

      Thank you very much for the offer of help finding music. I plan to play these new pieces until I’m tired of them. I’ve been away from piano music for so long that I hardly remember things I wanted to learn. There are still several books I have — collections by Bach and. Brahms are two that come to mind. I would like to play “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair”, a piece my mom had

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        1. I haven’t found it, so I would love a copy of “Girl”. I think a stack of music got put away when daughter Lise was dismantling a bookcase. I had no idea she hated that brick and board thing. The living room does look a whole lot better without it.

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  5. I work and play almost exclusively on my iPad. I don’t remember what model I’m using, but I can try to help you. If our models are close, it should work. Didn’t you use an iPhone? Or was yours an android?

    Also, the user guide can be found at Apple.com I believe, or just Google “find user guide for iPads” and pull it up. There’s also an app that comes standard on the iPad called hints, and those can be helpful for 1st time users. ☺️ Hope that helps!

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  6. Oh wonderful…Us “old” dogs can learn new tricks..It just takes a little longer..You might think about downloading some Healing music..there are several on utube with good healing Hrz .

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  9. Team work for the win! So glad you and David figured that out. I’m looking forward to a concert my next visit….

    Also, as an aside, there is a nice Libby app for the iPad if you have an interest in reading on a larger screen…. I think you are the person who introduced me to Libby.

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    1. I still have Libby on a computer. Several months ago I read a book!! I intended to make it a regular habit, but now I’m using free time to play the piano. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do all i’d like to do.

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  10. I’m horrible at learning technology so won’t laugh at you but that second graded who might be challenged by the music probably wouldn’t be challenged by the technology. 🙂

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  11. I’m not so swift at learning new techy things and when I’m comfortable with old things (like the Windows 7 laptop versus the Windows 10 laptop), I prefer the Windows 7. I use Windows 10 at work but I am still remoting in with this Windows 7 laptop. The other goes unused except for virus updates.

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      1. There was a critical update to iPhone and iPad … heard that on the news today. I don’t know if it affects you or not. I will send you the link in a separate comment. Hope it is not difficult to interpret. I have never used an Apple products so they are foreign to me as well.

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          1. I agree – that’s why I stick with my Window 7 laptop. I find the Windows 10 laptop has too many bells and whistles for me and I am used to HP laptops – that one is a Dell. I do use Windows 10 at work though. I don’t even text so I am behind the 8-ball bigtime.

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        1. My iPad is included in this thing. I’m guessing I should find out how to get an update for the operating system. If I can’t find it easily, I’ll ask Lise. Thank you for sending this to me. I wouldn’t have heard about it on my own.

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          1. You’re welcome Anne. I heard it on the early news, then never heard about it again. I didn’t want a virus to wipe out this great app/program you have to enjoy playing piano again.

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  14. I am an Apple user but I would NEVER laugh at you for bumbling around. I don’t think technology – whoever made it – is intuitive. So I completely understand your confusion. Hope you get it figured out and end up enjoying it.
    All the best!

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  15. That must be nice to make music again😃and if it is if any consolation my teenager daughter finds my iPhone impossible to use, I on the other end lose my nerves when operating her Samsung 😉

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  16. 💚 Interesting

    👋🫂I started following your blog. I hope you also follow mine and so we grow together. Interacting with likes and comments.

    Thank you. Greetings from the south of Spain 🇪🇸

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