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StaffPad?

I bought it and then asked for a refund. I understand the draw, but keyboards are incredibly efficient at entering music. I head the music at a fairly large Parrish and have to enter multiple pieces per week. At Christmas and Easter, that number goes up into the dozens, with full orchestrations. What would take me hours handwriting things in I can do, for free, in MuseScore in 15 or 20 minutes. This would be true even if StaffPad were a fully mature concept, but the software was incredibly finicky. Release early, release often should no longer be a thing. If they’re going to charge a hundred dollars for an app, companies need to get it right. It would be nice to have access to the great libraries on the iPad, but really, give me a keyboard and shortcuts. I suspect there is an efficient way to enter music with a pen, but it won’t be by drawing the music as you would on real staff paper. There needs to be some sort of dependable shorthand.

Just my 2-cents.
 
I bought it and then asked for a refund. I understand the draw, but keyboards are incredibly efficient at entering music. I head the music at a fairly large Parrish and have to enter multiple pieces per week. At Christmas and Easter, that number goes up into the dozens, with full orchestrations. What would take me hours handwriting things in I can do, for free, in MuseScore in 15 or 20 minutes. This would be true even if StaffPad were a fully mature concept, but the software was incredibly finicky. Release early, release often should no longer be a thing. If they’re going to charge a hundred dollars for an app, companies need to get it right. It would be nice to have access to the great libraries on the iPad, but really, give me a keyboard and shortcuts. I suspect there is an efficient way to enter music with a pen, but it won’t be by drawing the music as you would on real staff paper. There needs to be some sort of dependable shorthand.

Just my 2-cents.
Hmmm... Yes, I tend to agree. I only use it when I'm sitting at the piano sketching, when I need to go fast I move to a desktop with a MIDI keyboard and a StreamDeck. 20 times faster at least...
 
Hmmm... Yes, I tend to agree. I only use it when I'm sitting at the piano sketching, when I need to go fast I move to a desktop with a MIDI keyboard and a StreamDeck. 20 times faster at least...

Well I was actually talking about just a QWERTY keyboard, but I imagine a musical keyboard would be even faster.
 
Second off, how does StaffPad actually perform? I have the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9", and I've been having issues with apps clearing out of RAM all the time so I worry how it will fare with big orchestral libraries...
Just posted a thread to help with iPad RAM issues. ;)
 
Hey everyone, I'm really interested in StaffPad now that it is on iPadOS, but I had a few questions and concerns. If you have the app, please share your experiences.

First off, I'm curious about the size and pricing of the libraries. On the app store page it shows some of the expansions, but not all. How much does it cost for OT's and Spitfire's orchestras? (woods, brass, strings, and perc)

Second off, how does StaffPad actually perform? I have the 2018 iPad Pro 12.9", and I've been having issues with apps clearing out of RAM all the time so I worry how it will fare with big orchestral libraries - not to mention CPU power (though I've heard it has quite good CPU performance)

I'm also a lefty, so if you are too and have any experiences, please let me know.

Other than that, I'm curious about your general opinions around it. Is it worth it? Does it replace a proper notation app like Dorico, Sibelius or Finale? In what ways is it better/worse than the aforementioned apps? Does it perform well?

Thanks for any and all experiences/opinions you share!
On a 2015 iPad Pro, so far a disaster. Recognition is hit and miss, mostly miss. Wonder if the iPad is too old for this?
 
On a 2015 iPad Pro, so far a disaster. Recognition is hit and miss, mostly miss. Wonder if the iPad is too old for this?
Your iPad is fine at least for smaller scores. Recognition is what it is. Watch a lot of videos and do the tutorials.
 
Agreed, I had to completely relearn the way I wrote music, but to my surprise it didn't take me that long at all (around 3 months maybe). The only thing I still struggle with is complex tuplets and/or polyrhythms which I tend to use a lot.

The other very important tip, not mentioned above, is to write as little information as possible, then tap to validate, and then add extras such as articulations, dynamics, etc. Staffpad really struggles to process too much information.
 
Yep, that really makes a difference! Thanks for the pointers. I really like what StaffPad offers otherwise in terms of sketching out ideas. Although I wonder what it would sound like with NotePerformer ...
 
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