Using CDs and DVD Players

[admin]

I would like to put tabs and chord files on CD and display them on a television monitor at the same time a song is being played. Is this possible?

[ozover50]

I would suggest that it depends on the format they are saved in and the type of DVD player you have, Peter. If they can be saved as jpegs and your DVD player supports the display of those it could definitely be done.

The other possibility (and I've toyed with the idea) is to put them into a Powerpoint presentation and use a laptop, video projector and decent sized screen.

Individual Powerpoint slides can also be saved as jpegs, so they could be burnt onto CDs for viewing via the DVD player and TV monitor. This may in fact be the best option - provided you have Powerpoint. I could send you a sample presentation that Ron Viney put together and the jpegs created from it if would assist.

I use Excel spreadsheets with hyperlinks to the mp3s and tab sheets. That way I can access all my stuff from one application and can have the mp3s and tabs anywhere on the computer... I don't have to spend heaps of time hunting around for them.

A decent sized monitor and you're off and running.......

I'd be happy to help you in any way I can, Peter.

[wayang]

I've actually seen evidence of a flat-screen monitor replacing paper 'charts' on a grand piano being played by a classical accompanist on a recent PBS series...don't know how he's triggering the 'page turns', but he never has to take his hands off the keyboard. As a former symphonic percussionist, I can say this is a real boon to players...especially if the damn thing can start flashing right before your next entrance, as opposed to having to count hundreds of measures like in the 'old days'. I can only assume that entire symphonies and conductors will soon be equipped with this modern performanceday miracle.

Of course, they'll all be screwed if the software crashes...but that was the case in the past when the stage lights went out...

[admin]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments.

[jdogric12]

I got the Beatles Love CD/DVD. The DVD was some kind of enhanced surround sound thing with a basic splash image on screen. Perhaps it could work like that? Dunno much about this, sorry.

[bitzerguy]

Do you mean something like Beatles to a Tee, Peter? Where the song or video plays and the chords overlay on the screen?

...Dean

[bitzerguy]

Dane, here's one electronic sheet music system:
http://www.freehandsystems.com/products.html

Turn the pages with a footswitch. They work quite well, and you can store a lot of music on board. Even link to other screens and sync to one master screen.

...Dean

[jimbunch]

Peter,

A friend of mine has some home grown software that scrolls the words and chords on the television monitor as the song is played. Several of his guitar player friends get together from time to time and we all play the songs together. If you don't know or remember the song the monitor is always there for you. It does not display the tab but I suppose it could be modified to also do that. I sent the link to him and he told me he has registered for the forum. Once his registration is approved he will update this thread with more information.

Jim

[admin]

Thanks a bunch, Jim. This sounds like just the thing I am looking for.

[wayang]

Dean, that's cool...I played drum kit at a 'breezy' outdoor gig recently and had to read charts for the entire set. Not only could I have avoided the difficult page turning acrobatics, I could've left my clothespins at home too.

[gerryd]

I'm the guy in JimBunch's post.

I wrote a little program I call Guitar Night Player. It’s basically karaoke for guitar players. The problem was we had a group of players but not everybody knew all the chords and lyrics to all the songs we wanted to play on “Guitar Night” when we all got together and played.

The program runs on a PC connected to my big screen TV so everybody can see. It works fine on a regular monitor for just one or two players. The program uses WINAMP as its music player and when you play a song on your play list it looks for a matching tab/crd file and scrolls down it in time with the music displaying the chords and lyrics as it goes. It also has a button to display the chord shapes as well as their names in standard tab notation i.e. [xx2220] for those players that need a little extra help with some of the less common chords.

Unfortunately there is some work to do to get a song into the GNP. I’ve done about 60 for our group. It takes 10-20 minutes depending on the quality of the tab file you start with. First you start of with a tab/chord file. Make sure that all the chord changes line up above the lyrics at the right place. Most files are OK out of the box. Then you need to add some time markers so the program can scroll in sync with the song being played in WINAMP. This can be done manually but the program has a special mode where all you do is run through the song once and hit a special key occasionally and the program with add the time marks to the tab file automatically. The more time marks you have the more accurately the program with track the song playing. Lastly you need to add a special character to the front of each line in the file that has the chord names. This is so the program can do that neat displaying of the chord shapes.

I’d really like to get some other people using this program so we can share files. If you’re interested let me know.

[admin]

Gerry, for the sake of convenience and cost, have you explored running this from a stock CD/DVD player to a monitor. An interesting idea. Well done.