Sheet Music: In with the Tablet, out with the Page?

Conducting Business

When Frank Music Company, the last store in New York City dedicated to selling classical sheet music, closed its doors last Friday, there was much dismay about its significance: yet another brick-and-mortar store was bowing to the pressure of online competition. So without a shop where one can browse and get advice, what digital options are there for the classical musician?

On this week's episode we put this question to two digital sheet music converts: Todd Reynolds, a violinist and composer in New York who performs almost exclusively using digital formats; and Ron Regev, a pianist and head of Tonara, an "interactive" sheet music app for iPads.

Segment Highlights:

Sheet music is now accessible in a variety of digital ways, including through retail websites and online apps or free catalogs like the Internet Music Score Library Project. Downloads are instantaneous, which means touring artists are no longer forced to stuff their suitcases with fraying scores – their entire library fits onto a hard drive or the cloud.

Turning pages isn't a problem when performing from an iPad either. Some programs involve foot pedals; Tonara can detect your position on the page via the microphone on your tablet, and flip the page automatically at the right moment.

At the same time, traditional music publishers face a host of piracy concerns as scores can be downloaded and easily shared among musicians.

"The question of ownership is changing," said Reynolds. "We don't have the infrastructure in place now to really serve composers and performers well enough in terms of protecting and having the music paid for."

Regev agreed, adding: "There are a few publishers that understand the problem and are adjusting in the way that recording companies adjusted to the MP3 revolution. The problem is that many of them are trying to cling to their old models as they see their income dwindling. This is a tragedy because no one will produce this high-quality type of musical research that their editions will produce."

Listen to the full segment above and tell us in the comments box below: Are you sad to see traditional sheet music stores disappear? What is lost or gained with digital formats?