I recently purchased for myself an Apple iPad. I’ve had people ask me “What did you buy it for?” and my answer is always “You don’t know why you buy an iPad until you’ve bought it.” I mean, if you buy an iPad, you have to have a computer to activate it and manage it (through iTunes), which means you already have a device that can handle everything the iPad does… but not with the class of an iPad.
There’s just something about rifling through email with your fingers or showing your friend a website like it’s a newspaper article. It’s almost like we’ve taken a step back towards the primitive by gaining manual control (RIP rotary telephones) but combined it with something so cutting edge like the internet that the marriage of the two hurled us towards a new level of seamless integration of technology and daily life. I have a Pages document titled “Captain’s Log”. I felt it was necessary.
Now, with iOS 4.2 out and multitasking, folders, and AirPrint implemented, the iPad is really a viable option for those looking for mobile computing power comparable to netbooks and laptops.
“How is he going to tie this in to music?” you ask. Well, a couple weeks ago (11/5/10) an app called M7CL StageMix hit the app store. Some of you sound engineers might recognize that model number as belonging to a popular Yamaha digital mixing console. Put simply, this app is a remote control for the M7CL, which at first mention might not seem too earth-shattering until you start to think of the possible implementations.
First off, you have to have the console on a wireless network and have the iPad connected to that same network. Then you can connect to the console and make adjustments to faders, EQs, etc. in real time. It doesn’t control every feature on the console but enough to be practical.
I was on stage the other night playing piano and the other keyboardist was just a touch too loud in my monitor wedge. In the middle of the song I pulled up my monitor mix on this app, located the other keyboard’s channel, and turned the fader down a couple decibels. I noticed the change immediately and knew exactly when to stop turning it down when it hit the perfect listening level. No waiting to make eye contact with the front of house engineer and playing Charades to get him to realize that I want the other keyboard turned down in my monitor, not my own. It was a beautiful thing really. No one would even know that I had control of monitor mixes from a device that was sitting on my stand next to my sheet music.
There are even apps that would display my chord charts (OnSong) for me so I can just swipe my finger to turn the page rather than fumbling with physical pages. This new portable computing power is just changing everything, I tell ya!
Karina-BBY
on:
A Gift for my Wife
on:
How To Gift A Mobile Phone
