Last night I watched a Harry Connick Xmas speacial show on NBC Television....
He brough his whole New Orleans band with him to New York City for the show. Everyime they would show a shot of the band, every musician had a Laptop notebook on their music stands which they were reading off to play....I didn't see any Charts, sheets etc, at all.
I was glad to see that Laptops are making their way into profesional mainstream music for performance. I love using mine on stage and couldnt even think of using anythng else vs books,sheets, lyrics, etc etc... !!
It's definitly a versatile MUST for a musician in todays day and age!!!

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-28-2003).]

Donny, as much as I agree that laptops are finding their place on stage, I think what you saw was a Free Hand MusicPad Pro. I've seen Connick's band use these before. http://www.freehandsystems.com/musicpad_pro.html

Donny,
Would you display lyrics and chord symbols for a song on your LT?
The Pro,
Since you play instrumental music, would you have the sheet music, or just the chord symbols and lyrics (playing by ear). If you don't have the sheet music, do you have a hint, start note?
Starkeeper

I use my lap top for everything I am even using it now to send messages to you keyboard buddies.I dont have a desk top dont need one,

regards,
daz

I saw a guitar player/singer perform a few months ago, using a laptop, and displayed on the screen were the lyrics and guitar tabs. He also had a small footswitch that scrolled the sheets for him as well. It was a neat, compact operation, and in addition, he was an excellent performer/entertainer. As for me personally, after using a laptop for the past six months, I would be lost without it.

Cheers from an old man,

Gary

I watched the video presentation of the Free Hand MusicPad Pro. Although it is a very innovative product and could be quite useful; I wonder how it performs under direct sunlight? Also, I feel that they are asking $500 too 'much' for that thing. Thank you very much but I'll just stick with my Tyros for reading sheet music with its large LCD screen and all.

Best regards,
Mike

Mike,
I seriously doubt if it performs in sunlight any better than your computer screen would perform--lousy. The only industry that currently uses super-twist technology is the marine industry. They have developed GPS and depth finder (fathometer) screens that actually get brighter in direct sunlight, and they're in vivid color as well. Too bad no one else has taken advantage of this new technology, which is now five years old.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary, I agree that Keyboard Manufacturers should take the Marine Industries use of Super Twist and use it on their LCD Screens on Keyboards. I have both a Ray-Marine Fish Finder and a Garmin GPS that have the Super Twist technology. It's amazing that Yamaha and its cohorts don't use this technology since it has been out for quite a few years. Maybe their waiting for the price of Super Twist implementation into their Keyboards to drop so they can incorporate it at a nominal fee but most likey they'll still charge the consumer an arm & leg for 'em to make a decent profit. Shrewd cookies those CFO's.

Best regards,
Mike

If you have a keyboard like the PSR740 you need a laptop to go with it on a gig in order to get to all those goodies tucked away in the synth that you can't access from the keyboard.

Bryan