FreeHand Systems used embedded Linux to build an electronic music reader designed to replace paper-based sheet music in practice, lesson, and performance settings. The MusicPad Pro Plus supports annotations, turns pages with screen-taps or an optional footpedal, and can store “thousands” of music charts,… according to the company.

Music sources (Click to enlarge)

Users can scan their paper-based sheet music for download to the MusicPad. PDF, JPG, and any other file format that can be printed from a PC can be displayed on the MusicPad, FreeHand says, including scores created with popular music notation programs such as CakeWalk, Finale, Sibelius, Encore, and others.

Additionally, approximately 50,000 electronic scores suitable for use with the MusicPad are available for purchase through FreeHand's SunHawk.com online music store. SunHawk distributes music in a “solero” format said to support transposition (key changes) as well as “bouncing ball” midi playback at arbitrary tempos. The MusicPad comes with a midi player.

Once a chart has been transfered to the MusicPad, it can be displayed on the 12.1-inch (diagonal) backlit LCD display, in either horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait) modes. Horizontal mode supports either half-page or dual-page display.

Charts stored in the MusicPad can be annotated without affecting the original copy, using a library of symbols, a software keyboard, or by hand. Annotations can be made in a variety of colors and line weights, and a zoom feature can enlarge the score for easier annotation.

Horizontal, vertical, and annotation zoom modes
(Click any image to enlarge)

Footpedal

Pages are turned by touching the right side of the screen, or the left side to turn pages backward. Pages can be turned one at a time, or a half-page at a time, using a patented “look-ahead” feature aimed at ensuring that “you always see the next measure during your performance,” the company says. Alternatively, an optional footpedal can be used to turn pages.

The MusicPad comes with a file browser that includes search capabilities, as well with as a playlist editor. In addition to scores, the device can store and display set lists, appointment schedules, bowing and fingering charts, and other documents. An optional $50 “premium tools” add-on offers wireless networking, a metronome and pitchpitch, an audio player for MP3 files, and additional pen colors and annotation tools.

With stand (Click to enlarge)

The MusicPad measures 9.9 x 13.3 inches and weighs just over 4 pounds, without its optional adjustable-height music stand (pictured at right). Claimed battery life is four hours at medium screen brightness. The device can also be powered by an included adapter, which also charges its batteries. The device's nickel hydride batteries are not user-servicable.

FreeHand claims that many well-known recording artists use the MusicPad, including Herbie Hancock, the Dead, and Sting. The MusicPad won a “best of show” award at the 2005 NAMM music industry tradeshow, FreeHand says.

What's under the hood?

The MusicPad Pro is powered by a MIPS-based AMD Alchemy processor, clocked at 400MHz. It has 256MB of RAM, and 128MB of flash — including enough user storage room for “thousands” of scores, FreeHand claims.

I/O ports include USB host and device ports, video and audio out ports, and a “simple contact foot pedal” input. The USB host port can be used to attach USB storage devices, such as memory sticks, further expanding the device's music storage capacity. The device port can be used to connect the MusicPad to a host PC.

The MusicPad comes with application software for host PCs said to support Windows 98, 2000, ME, and XP, along with Macintosh OS versions “greater than 9.1 and OS X.” Windows 95 and NT4 are not supported.

For the core of its embedded operating system, the MusicPad runs a 2.4.20 Linux kernel. CTO Ted Schroeder says FreeHand started development with a MontaVista MIPS port, and subsequently was able to handle all porting work internally.

The MusicPad's graphics system is based on TinyX, along with Glib, atk, pango, and gtk+2. It also uses the WxWidgets (formerly WxWindows) library, and icewm window manager.

Schroeder says FreeHand chose Linux because, “It's free, and there is a ton of open source packages available for it. Whenever we wanted some new feature or capability that was not in our area of core competence, we have almost always been able to find at least an open source starting point. For example, we use xmms as our audio player.”

Other open source software in the MusicPad includes OpenSSL, TinyXML, Apple's mDNSResponder (Bonjour), libmad, busybox, and tinylogic, Schroeder says.

Schroeder says the biggest challenges FreeHand faced in developing the MusicPad was “having a problem in an area we didn't write, and not having anybody to 'blame' for it. [However], we always had the source to fall back on, and could always debug the problem ourselves.”

He adds, “We're glad we [chose Linux], and we would do it again. We see no reason for us to choose a different OS in the future. We will almost certainly change the underlying utilities (eg. X or glib/ atk/pango/gtk) in the future, but our base will almost certainly remain Linux.”

Availability

The MusicPad Pro Plus is available now, priced at $1,200. The “premium tools” add $50. The optional stand costs $100, while the footpedal costs $70. Standard and deluxe cases are priced at $70 and $100, respectively.

Educational discounts are available in the US and Canada to universities and K12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) schools. Discounts are also available to music instructors belonging to MTNA, MENC, or a MENC-allied association. Additionally, discounts are available to church or synagogue music ministers, or music representatives currently employed by a church or other religious institution in their music department, FreeHand says.

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