Page turning and image size in a digital music stand

Abstract

This paper investigates attributes of the electronic display of sheet music necessary for the development of a digital music stand. We explore the two conflicting goals of minimising page turning effort and maximising the readability of images by conducting two user experiments. In our first experiment participants trialed various page turning methods through a sight-reading exercise, and filled out a questionnaire upon completion. In the second experiment participants viewed music at different sizes while listening to an audio rendition of the piece, and were asked to note any mistakes that occured in the played audio. Results from our experimentations showed that scrolling techniques did not work as well as page replacement methods, and that some reduction in the size of the music displayed is possible without significantly degrading reader accuracy.