Playback depends on the picture you take.  If it doesn’t play well the reason is usually the picture

  • Use paper music.  Screenshots or pictures of a screen give poor results
  • Use good light and stand the music up to avoid shadows
  • Keep the page flat and avoid curl at the edges.  The left edge is the most important
  • Take the picture ‘square’.  To do this make sure the camera lens is in the centre of the page.  Measure lines should be vertical
  • Let the focus settle before taking the picture

The picture should look clean and square on the page.  The sides and the measure lines should look vertical.  The top and the bottom should be the same width.

When you first use the camera, tap the ? button to see some swipeable help illustrations on the camera screen.

Things to avoid

PlayScore 2 does not read handwritten music or music printed to look handwritten.  These scores or parts of them have a felt-tipped-pen look with thick clefs and accidentals.  RealBooks are in this style.

Old-style hand-held hymnbooks do not scan well.  There are a large number of hymns available free online in a normal font.  We recommend using these instead.

Screens do not photograph well.  Sometimes this works, but PlayScore 2 is designed for paper music, scans in high resolution or  PDF scores.