Review: GigBook - Sheet Music Viewer for iPad

As a practicing musician the iPad has become an indispensable part of my work. When I open my iPad and have access to all of my sheet music, without the weight and bulk of carrying around all of those papers, I genuinely feel like I am living in the future. The sheet music reader space is becoming more and more competitive, and one of the newest additions is GigBook.

The Good

GigBook does what many other sheet music reader apps do, which is displaying and organizing your sheet music, but what sets GigBook apart are its features for performing musicians, and its sense of style. Performers will appreciate all of the organizational and performance features found in GigBook including:

1. extensive notes and metadata for each piece of music
2. several options for organizing music including binders, collections, and setlists
3. setlists can be displayed full screen for use during performances, almost like a keynote presentation for your music
4. enhanced built-in metronome with tap functionality and fade out delay settings for setting initial tempos during performance

An important improvement in the latest version of GigBook is the ability to send scores to GigBook from other apps on the iPad. Previously, all file management had to be done through iTunes. GigBook is designed for the musician who is using their iPad on stage for performances. The setlist and metronome features are particularly well suited for onstage usage. The large font makes moving through setlists a breeze. The metronome uses a unique design to allow for setting initial tempos without getting in the way of the performance. Lastly, the interface sports a polished iPad design. It feels as though you have a nice leather bound notebook to hold your sheet music.

The Bad

GigBook is lacking a few features that are available in other sheet music apps, these include: the ability to add annotations to scores, as well as hyperlinking to other pages for following repeat signs. These two features are planned for future updates. Additionally, I found that when turning pages there is a slight delay compared to other sheet music apps. While the page turning is a hair slower than I would like it to be, it is still fully functional and wouldn’t prevent me from using GigBook in performance. Last of all, it would be great to have a search function for finding scores. I have literally hundreds of pieces of sheet music in my library. GigBook’s organizational features, including filtering by composer and genre allow for quick browsing, but a search field would be a welcome addition.

Verdict

If you find yourself using your iPad not only in the practice room but also on stage, you should check out GigBook for its features specifically geared toward the performing musician. With a great setlist view, tap function metronome, and many organizational tools, GigBook is designed to get you through your next gig with ease.  

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