Simone Dinnerstein on performing with an iPad

Gombessa

I saw this pop up this morning on NPR, and after getting over a quick chuckle about the network's insatiable obsession with New York high musical culture, I thought it was a really interesting article:

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/02/nx-s1-5348896/simone-dinnerstein-performance-anxiety-complicite

First, that name is very recognizable. Dinnerstein had an AvantGrand N2 hybrid, which she spoke about often, and performed at the introduction of Casio's GP lineup of DP, so she's in a relatively slim cohort of concert pianists with something definitive to say about DPs and hybrids.

Second, I suspect a lot of people who have performed, whether on stage, for family or teaching recitals, have felt the same way about not having sheet music, even if the piece is well-prepared/practiced/rehearsed. Having the music there is just so much of a security blanket that I can totally see it affecting the performance.

Third, I've been using a tablet exclusively for sheet music for a while, and I think an increasing number of learning pianists are as well. There are so many benefits to having your repertoire on-device, from no longer needing a piano light, to hands-free page turning, to easy to carrying around wherever you go, to digital stylus annotations and fancy repeat/coda page-turn scripts. This is one of my absolute favorite uses of technology with the piano.

Last, I see a picture in the article with her using a tablet with a fully-prepped concert grand, no lid, no music desk:

Since I play exclusively with a tablet, I've also removed my music desk and store it under the piano. But how do you then prop up a the tablet? There are a few options out there, including basic easel-type stands, but I went a bit of the overboard route to fashion a nearly-invisible, integrated, setup that can stay on the piano and fold down even with the wallboard closed. And also not get in the way of tunings. In doing so, I discovered that the plate on my piano really has almost zero straight line edges, and for the aluminum clamping mechanism to work, I had to find a way to mold against a section of the iron frame for a flat, secure clamping surface. The end result was a really clean, minimalist look from the bench which I really liked:

Anyways, if it wasn't already clear, I'm a huge fan of migrating entirely to tablet, and have done so 100%. One of the things I'm looking into now is if I start taking lessons again and get 1-3 new pieces every few weeks, will I really want to keep up with digitizing all those sheets (and will it work with how a teacher wants to mark/annotate it while instructing)?

pianoloverus

Gombessa Second, I suspect a lot of people who have performed, whether on stage, for family or teaching recitals, have felt the same way about not having sheet music, even if the piece is well-prepared/practiced/rehearsed. Having the music there is just so much of a security blanket that I can totally see it affecting the performance.

I strongly agree with you and haven't played anything from memory for around six decades. There are some pianists who genuinely feel they perform better from memory but I think it's a fairly small percentage. And even if someone can perform from memory without that causing anxiety, they generally have to spend so much time memorizing the piece securely which I think could be more productively spent learning a lot more music. I think all the above applies especially to amateurs where the expectation of memorization is not as high as it is for professionals.

navindra

Gombessa https://www.npr.org/2025/06/02/nx-s1-5348896/simone-dinnerstein-performance-anxiety-complicite

Wow, wow, wow. I absolutely love this!

This is very timely for me as well. I have an upcoming recital and I've been debating whether I should play from memory or sheet music. Usually I go with memory, but lately I've been allowing myself to play from sheet music. My music is small potatoes compared to what Simone is doing, but still, I love the freedom she gained by changing this one constraint.

Still not sure what I'll do yet, but this is great food for thought.

I wonder which solution she's using to prop up the iPad. She seems to have a pencil as well.

Sgisela

Gombessa I saw Gabriela Montero perform her own concerto about a month ago, with the Baltimore symphony. She used a tablet! I was tickled.

About the possibility of lessons, I really don’t think it’s a big deal to scan things in. I find that for marking music, it’s far preferable to pencils, because it’s easy to modify things, you can have multiple layers, and then also hide the layers when you don’t need them. Also it’s much easier to transport 1 tablet than it is to lug around books!

My piano teacher also has a tablet and keeps all his students’ pieces organized in the tablet.

WieWaldi

Gombessa I never understand that obsession with replacing the music desk by a tablet holder. What's wrong with putting a tablet onto the normal music rest?

Are people afraid, a gust of wind could turn the pages and therefore a clamp must hold them tight inside the tablet? Or the tablet falls off because someone is playing too fast and the tablet needs somthing like a seat belt?🏎️

Seriously, I face only disadvantages with a tablet holder:

What happens, if someone uses a two sided sheet music display?

Or someone gives you book and asks if you can play from it? Yes - no problem: Bend over the piano, and unclamp the tablet. Go to a room with good light, make a picture, crop some borders, type in a name and add it to the library, sign a contract to delete your copy after using (we don't keep stolen sheet music 😇), go back to the piano clamp in the tablet again. Sh*t - the clamp was too lose, it fell down. Again - tighter - clamp it better! Ready to go: Wait? What did we want to do again ?!? 🤣

It feels like someone figured out smoothies and soups are the best way for nutrition. Let's go to the dentist and remove all teeth. 😬 Why? Because you don't need teeth for eating soup.

And as last point: The look. A piano with a tablet holder looks like... like a mouth without teeth. 😐

_{Disclaimer: This post contains a lot of exaggeration and is meant humorous.}

pseudonym58

@Gombessa
That seems like a very large tablet; what type is it? Also, what methods of virtual page turning do you feel are most reliable, and if it involves a pedal, what type do you use?

Gombessa

pseudonym58

Yep, it's the largest tablet I could find - Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra (14.4" or so). I really wanted something that was a 100% replacement for sheet music, including the size of the score/notes.

If I was starting from scratch today, I'd probably get a 13" iPad Pro or the same-sized iPad Air. The Samsung is definitely bigger, but very tall and I can't see over the tablet; add to that most of my sheet music is closer to US-letter sized than A4. The Samsung is better if you have taller sheets, the iPad if you have shorter ones.

For hands-free page turning, I had a spare bluetooth keyboard that I stuck on the floor (you can see it poking out just to the left of the pedals in the picture). I mapped regions of the keyboard to next/last page, return to start, return to index, start/stop metronome etc. For those looking for a less janky solution, I've heard good things about the Firefly and Airturn brands of foot pedals, but have never used them.

Gombessa

One detail that struck me...there's so much drama and angst about "a concert pianist performing with sheet music!"

But look at that picture above:

If anything, I'd say pianists are in good company, right? 🙂

raagamuffin

Gombessa
A piano is different, it's a large instrument being brought to play beautifully by a (small) person with just one's fingers and no external aids, akin to taming a mustang. Those little instruments like violins etc, are just too dimunitive to matter what their 'tamers' do 😉

twocats

Gombessa One detail that struck me...there's so much drama and angst about "a concert pianist performing with sheet music!"

I think it's about soloists being expected to memorize! If it was a violinist or a cellist playing a concerto there might be some drama about it, too.

Sgisela

twocats I think it’s interesting to consider that memorization, in the context of piano performance, seems to have really started because of Clara Schumann and Liszt; my understanding is that prior to this, using the sheet music was the norm for piano performance. Also, I understand that for solo organ performance, it has always been the norm to use sheet music. So expectations can change, and are different for distinct contexts. Personally, I don’t find it any less thrilling to listen to a performance that’s memorized or not. And if the performer can give a better performance with the sheet music, I’d rather they use the music. I’m not one of those people who’s on the edge of their seat, waiting for a mistake.

Seeker

twocats I think it's about soloists being expected to memorize!

It wasn't always that way. Blame Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt. As to playing "with the notes", it's something I've done after losing my way playing something I'd done successfully several times in public at a recital given at the end of the first master class I attended with Peter Feuchtwanger in Germany. I was so wrapped up in HOW it was that I was playing, having just had major work with him changing some of the basic things about my playing including but not limited to how high I sat, how far from the piano, releasing the "hold the ball" way that I'd learned from David Saperton many years previously, that I lost my way. I had no idea where I was in the piece; I thought I was playing one section, but I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere. So I improvised for a while until I could remember how the next section started, and continued from there without further incident to the end! Only Feuchtwanger knew, and he was quite congratulatory about how I'd done, proving my performer's chops. Me - I was exhausted. I dripped sweat from every pore of my body as if I had been in a sauna.

Since then, I play with the notes. First with paper. Now I'm on my second tablet device. The first was a Lenovo Yoga; the latest is a PadMu.

Like Dinnerstein, of course, I study the music and have it "memorized". Having the notes in front of you is no cure for not knowing the music.

I saw Leon Fleisher play a Mozart Concerto with the BSO using the score. It was beautiful playing.

Also, by way of reminisce and offering a slightly different perspective, one of my teachers, Bela Nagy, for whom I was his TA for several semesters, had a true eidetic memory. He could look at a score at the piano, or away from it, and after that it was available to him. I remember him, on occasion, playing some things (from memory of course) that sounded like, well, very good sight reading vs things that he REALLY KNEW, e.g., Bartok and Liszt pieces that he'd played for years.

twocats

Sgisela oh I agree with you, I'm just commenting on current audience expectations!

Gombessa

WieWaldi

Lol, this is actually a great question. For me, it's at least 50% needing something to tinker with (can't leave well enough alone).

But I don't think you're missing anything, objectively speaking, there are really only downsides. This is for me, just something suits what I'd consider very niche and idiosyncratic desires:

I'm (sadly) the only person in the family interested in playing the piano, so I don't have to worry what other people need.
I'm already using a tablet for 100% of my sheets. I have zero need for books, paper sheets, pencils, metronomes or other things a music desk could be used for.
The music desk is large and solid, and it absolutely blocks the sound of the piano coming to the bench. Having it removed is like the difference between closed lid and open lid.
I have a hidden power cable to charge the tablet 24/7 so I don't have to move it every few days to charge; routing that behind the music desk is a pain, especially when I have to unroute it to remove the desk for tunings.
The music desk adds a couple of inches of height to the display/sheets, and I think it's already just a tad higher than I'd like. This lets me set the tablet right where the top of the front board/lock sits.
I fashioned this to be non-destructive and easily reversible. It doesn't get in the way of tuning, and you can remove the tablet, swing the arm down, and the music desk slides over it.

Now 100% these are not great reasons for anyone to do what I did, except maybe #3. And you're absolutely right, if there is any occasion for someone else to play and they bring their own tablet, dual-tablet, free sheets or songbook, they're plain out of luck. But this goes back to #1, I don't have to deal with any of that, at least not for now 🙂

L-M

Using a tablet for sheet music has been a great experience — it's so convenient, and I no longer have to carry around heavy books. But sometimes I find it hard to stay focused when using the tablet. I often get distracted and end up wanting to open other apps or do something else. Do you have any tips on how to stay more focused while practicing with a tablet?

Animisha

L-M Do you have any tips on how to stay more focused while practicing with a tablet?

When you buy a new tablet, keep your old tablet. Delete all other apps except for your sheet music. Then when you practise, make sure that your new tablet and your phone are in another room.

WieWaldi

L-M This is why I don't want to use a tablet. I already get distracted if I use my smartphone as a better metronome 😁...
I agree, it has a lot of advantages. But as long as my score has only two or three pages, I prefer to have them laid out on my music rest with no need to turn a single page. When I step away from my piano, the printed pages stay on the music rest. When I come back, the first thing I look at, is the sheet music of my last session. I like to keep stuff simple.

Gombessa

L-M Using a tablet for sheet music has been a great experience — it's so convenient, and I no longer have to carry around heavy books. But sometimes I find it hard to stay focused when using the tablet. I often get distracted and end up wanting to open other apps or do something else. Do you have any tips on how to stay more focused while practicing with a tablet?

I get distracted too, but I have zero desire to pull up anything on the tablet while I'm at the piano, it's kind of a pain to navigate it while it's vertical, and since I have a BT keyboard connected as a foot pedal, you can't easily input text because the on-screen keyboard doesn't pop up, and I can't type with my feet. So that...helps? 🙂

But I do have my phone sitting next to me when I practice, and I will admit there are lots of practice sessions when I'm sitting at the bench doomscrolling for 20 minutes and actually playing for only 15.

WieWaldi When I step away from my piano, the printed pages stay on the music rest. When I come back, the first thing I look at, is the sheet music of my last session. I like to keep stuff simple.

I...have a home automation routine that turns the tablet on and loads up the sheet music as soon as I sit down at the bench (it also turns off the air conditioning and dehumidifier, and turns on the piano lights); and resets everything/turns off the tablet when I'm done and get up from the bench. I've been told it's a bit overkill...but it also gives me an accurate log of my practice times/durations 🙂

iternabe

L-M Lookup “Guided Access” for iPadOS. It‘s a built-in feature that lock access to a single app. Of course you can unlock it knowing the pin, but hopefully that‘s enough hassle to deter you during piano practice.

WieWaldi

Gombessa The music desk is large and solid, and it absolutely blocks the sound of the piano coming to the bench. Having it removed is like the difference between closed lid and open lid.

Actually, I have been thinking about this as well. But I would have screwed my comment.

Didn't think about the advantage of the lowered tablet position. Myself sitting in front of a cheapo digital don't have this problem as the piano isn't that big and the rest is quite low. Last time I tried a Kawai CA-701 in the store, I liked everything on this instrument, except the high rest position.

Nice bonus to have a fixed power cable. 👍 That's good compensation for the look. 😉

hebele

Gombessa I...have a home automation routine that turns the tablet on and loads up the sheet music as soon as I sit down at the bench (it also turns off the air conditioning and dehumidifier, and turns on the piano lights); and resets everything/turns off the tablet when I'm done and get up from the bench.

That's so nerdy. I love it.

WieWaldi

Gombessa I...have a home automation routine that turns the tablet on and loads up the sheet music as soon as I sit down at the bench (it also turns off the air conditioning and dehumidifier, and turns on the piano lights); and resets everything/turns off the tablet when I'm done and get up from the bench. I've been told it's a bit overkill...but it also gives me an accurate log of my practice times/durations 🙂

We are the exacpt opposites:
Me having a digital piano with analog sheet music and you have an analog piano with digital sheet music.
Can we nevertheless be friends?

pseudonym58

I have found it too difficult to get used to using a Bluetooth pedal with my 12.9" iPad.
However I do have a PDF viewer application which allows me to shuttle my mouth (!) slightly to the right to turn virtual pages. This initially feels a little strange as well, but it doesn't involve any kind of major shift of balance, which was the problem using a Bluetooth pedal with my left foot. YMMV, of course.

Gombessa

pseudonym58

It does take getting used to. But it makes me think of organists, who play a whole keyboard with their feet! If they can do that, I MUST be able to hit a single button once a page, right? Especially with zero timing pressure 😅

The blink/face trigger feature is great. ForScore for the iPad had it for a while, and I was really morally opposed to it being behind a subscription paywall (is it still?). But now it seems like it's on a lot of sheet music apps, including MobileSheets Pro, which I use. I can't use that function though, because I'm usually practicing in the dark and the camera isn't very good at capturing the winks or tongue-out gestures in the dark.

twocats

pseudonym58 However I do have a PDF viewer application which allows me to shuttle my mouth (!) slightly to the right to turn virtual pages.

I thought this was great, until it wasn't consistent and would turn pages when I didn't intend to or not turn when I wanted them to! Hopefully you have better luck.

Seeker

pseudonym58 I use a PadMu (musician specific Android image on a Boox device with ePaper). It took me about two months practicing with an AirTurn pedal before I felt that I could perform with it. Now, one the few occasions I read from paper, I find myself stepping down with my left foot and wondering why the paper page hasn't moved! There is also an option in PadMu to turn pages forward or back by a simple touch (not even a swipe) on the RH side (forward) of the page or LH side (backward). It was, for me, worth learning how to deal with the pedal. It's particularly tricky, because in addition to using the damper pedal, I do make regular use of the soft pedal and on much rarer occasions, the sostenuto pedals - keeps my left foot busy.

ShiroKuro

I switched to digital scores on an iPad not long after I got my first iPad, like in 2011 I think. I used to just reach up and tap the screen to turn, but a few years after switching to iPad scores, I started using an AirTurn PED (which was buggy) and I later switched to a PageFlip. Now I have my second PageFlip, I don't have any complaints. And like @Seeker mentioned above, the times I do use a paper score, I find myself trying to turn the page with my foot!

L-M I often get distracted and end up wanting to open other apps or do something else. Do you have any tips on how to stay more focused while practicing with a tablet?

I have my iPad in airplane mode/wifi off so I don't get any notifications and that seems to be enough friction (usually). Also it's funny how it feels like a hassle to pull it off the music desk if I wanted to google something, so I generally don't get distracted by the tablet. I like to use a metronome app on my phone, but if I am feeling distractable, I put my phone in another room.

pseudonym58 I have found it too difficult to get used to using a Bluetooth pedal with my 12.9" iPad.

As I said above, I've been using a foot pedal for page turns for close to 10 years now, but I will say that it does carry a slight cognitive burden, in that I'll notice that sometimes a habitual mistake will coincide with a page turn. But I suspect that would be the same for me whether it was a hand-turn, facial gesture or whatever.

Sgisela I think one of the key things is positioning the pedal in a place that is very close to where you rest your left foot, so that the movement is small and doesn’t require a big change in your center of gravity.

This is super important! I have my PageFlip just to the left of the una corda pedal, and I'm very particular about where the PageFlip is. If I get up from the bench and sit back down again, one of the first things I do is turn a page with the bluetooth pedal to make sure my foot can find it without me looking. I barely have to move my foot at all to hit it.

I also never go backward, only forwards. If I have a score with a repeat or coda etc, I generally double up the pages and arrange them so I'm always going forward.

Gombessa Maybe you could do something similar with the page flip?

I'm pretty sure the resting block wouldn't work on my PageFlip because of how it's designed... I'll go grab a photo...
My PageFlip Firefly:

pseudonym58

Gombessa It did occur to me that it must be possible to get used to it, considering what organists have to do. But they do it from practically day one, whereas for me it shifts my balance in a way that is disconcerting.