Best Tablets for Reading Digital Sheet Music and Chord Charts
What Are The Best Tablets for Reading Sheet Music and Chord Charts Digitally?
So you finally gotten tired of the massive collection of paper sheet music and chord charts stuffing up your gig bag. We’re way past medieval times, and if you’re fed up with papers flying around at every hint of wind, it's time to consider a quality tablet.
But where should you start and what features are most important for a gigging musician? We’re here to recommend several models which we're confident you'll like as much as Coltrane likes Bb.
iPad Pro 12.9
In our opinion, if you’re looking for the best of the best; best size, quality, speed, and visibility, the iPad Pro 12.9 is your obvious choice. It’s very big (12.9” to be exact) so reading sheet music and chord charts won’t be a problem, regardless of how far you’ve placed it. It's also compatible with the best Bluetooth 4.0 iPad page turner pedal on the market.
What’s more, the iPad Pro 12.9 boasts incredible speed, and the screen is brighter when compared to the older version, making it even more suitable for musicians. On the downside, carrying it around might prove to be difficult since it’s huge alright, and it’s just slightly more expensive than iPad Pro 11.
Overall, it’s great for the buck, and it will help you achieve plenty of other stuff apart from reading chord charts.
Pros:
- Huge size makes it perfect for sheet music
- Excellent performance and versatility
- Fast and reliable
- Ultra-bright retina screen
Cons:
- Heavy and tough to carry around
- Expensive but you can find often them and older models refurbished.
iPad 10.9"
If you don’t need a full 12.9” then the latest iPad is next best choice for reading digital sheet music and chord charts. It’s reliable, powerful, and the retina screen is absolutely amazing.
The “thin” design cuts back on weight and makes it easier to carry around and there are literally hundreds of apps available for reading sheet music, chord charts, triggering metronomes and backing tracks. iOS kind of has it all.
Pros:
- Sleek design
- Lightweight and easy to carry around
- Very powerful performance
- Brightly-lit retina screen
Cons:
- Slightly smaller screen
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
If Android is more your style, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a great option. This little tech piece weighs less than a pound and comes pre-installed with Android 13 software. The screen is 11 inches, and you’ll be able to use 128 gigabytes of storage space which, frankly, is more than you'll need in most cases.
It’s got great battery life, solid performance, and excellent readability.
Pros:
- Lightweight and compact
- Decent storage space
- Great battery lifetime
- 100% quicker with the fast charging USB C port
- Pen can be included
Cons:
- Keyboard is sold separately
Asus ZenPad 3S 10
We’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend a solid budget option. Let’s face it, the average gigging musician needs to play a lot of late nights to save up for an iPad Pro. So we recommend checking out Asus’ ZenPad 3S 10.
It’s great tablet for reading sheet music as it features a nice sized 10.1” easily readable screen, plenty of storage space, and a decently high battery lifespan.
It weighs less than a pound and its battery can withstand some 10+ hours of usage – it should be enough to last for a gig, or even two...unless you’re playing jazz, those guys play some long gigs! The downside is – ZenPad 3S 10 isn’t quite durable as durable as the other options.
We recommend investing in a nice durable case.
Pros:
- High-resolution screen
- Plenty of storage space
- Great battery lifetime
- Affordable
Cons:
- Less road-worthy
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a solid tablet for storing your digital sheet music or chord charts, any of the above options will work great. It really boils down to which operating system you want (Apple, iOS, Android, Windows), what screen size you need, and what your budget is.
Hopefully this helps you on your journey towards paperless music and when you’re ready to take your performance to the next level by adding hands-free page turning, don’t forget to check out Coda's STOMP Bluetooth Page Turner.
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If you're new to digital sheet music and researching page turning options then you'll likely find this article interesting.
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