Je voudrais voir la mer by Michel Rivard

[Caroline Morin]

I know, it is not trad dulcimer but I love the song! I am starting on it and after fumbling to set the sound right it is something like AADD. It really help that I kmow the song real well because a lot of note are tie. Some I just skip holding the previous a beat longer. So far it sound good and I am happy with my progress. The difficulty for me: turning the page without missing a beat. It is a 5 pages score...

How do you manage!?

[Ramona Orton]

Try making copies, trimming them, and taping the edges.  Accordian fold.  You might need and extender on your stand, maybe a yardstick.  You can leave one side wider so you can punch it for your binder if you put it in one.

[Ken Hulme]

Yeah.. the detection and "follow the bouncing ball" bit would be really tricksy.  A tablet/Kindle/Nook would be the ticket.  And even a physical remote foot switch would be pretty easy to cobble together to fit on any device.

[john p]

Great idea Duaty.

Not sure about the music detection, but something like a Kindle with foot switch wouldn't be too difficult.

john

[Ken Hulme]

Multiple page scores? I'm impressed.  And really glad I don't read music or tab! 

Dusty may be on to something there with his app idea.  Don't know what the market would be, but you never know.  I too have watched orchestra people struggle to flip pages. 

In the short term you could do what many a piano player I've seen does -- rent a kid or someone to turn pages for you.  Pay them in cookies or lessons, or something not cash intensive...

[Dusty Turtle]

How to play while following long scores?  How about invent an app.  I am serious about this suggestion.  There ought to be an iPod app that displays a musical score but also listens to you play and scrolls along with you.

 

A simple version could be sold to the public. A professional version would be sold to orchestras so that the conductor would see the full score and then each musician would only see the score for his or her instrument. I just took my daughter to the Sacramento Philharmonic a couple of weeks ago in part because her piano teacher is one of the cellists. Watching the musicians have to struggle turning pages while holding their instruments made me think how primitive that technology is.

 

Anyway, that's a beautiful song and I'm sure it sounds great on the dulcimer.  I think the low tech answer to your question is just to memorize the sections just before and after the page break and to turn the page while letting a long whole note ring out. Or find a really wide music stand to display all 5 pages at once.