PlayScore App – FAQ

PlayScore App – FAQ2022-04-12T11:55:31+00:00

Managing or cancelling your subscription2023-03-12T16:32:39+00:00

Managing your subscription

PlayScore is sold by

  • iPhones and iPads – Apple App Store

  • Android devices – Google Play Store

  • Windows PCs – The Microsoft Store

To manage or cancel a subscription, go to the store for your platform.  You can reach the correct store through the Store button in the PlayScore app. Alternatively, you can go straight to the store from the AppStore or Google Play apps on your device.  On Windows, you can reach your account through the Start button.

Microsoft account from the Start button

Click the Start button.  You should then see your profile picture upper right.  Click there and then ‘Manage account’.  On the page that follows. click ‘Microsoft account’.

Refunds

  • Apple iOS – Type ‘Apple report a problem’ into your browser to find the page for your location.  You can apply for a refund there.

  • Google Play – For a purchase in the last week please email support@organumconsulting.com.

  • Windows – Microsoft does not offer refunds on Windows subscriptions.  However, if you cancel before the end of your free trial you won’t be charged.

PlayScore platforms and subscriptions2023-02-10T00:56:27+00:00

PlayScore is available on 3 platforms

Apple iOS

Android

Windows

These are separate apps available under subscriptions offered by Apple, Google and Microsoft. Because of this we are not able to offer a common subscription.

However, because the free version of PlayScore will play back any PlayScore document, you can scan music on one platform but play it back on all three, all using a single subscription.

Subscription pricing2023-03-12T16:36:44+00:00

How to find the price you would pay on your device

  • Download PlayScore free on your device, iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows PC

  • Tap or click the Store button on the main page

You will see the prices for your region right there.

You won’t have to log in to anything or share personal information to see the prices. 

Why don’t we show the prices here?

Because apps sell all over the world in many different currencies it is not possible for app developers to show a single price.

Play scores from sheet music sites2023-02-09T21:24:50+00:00

With PlayScore 2 you can play any good quality PDF score and export the results as MusicXML or MIDI.

To listen to any score from a free sheet music site or one you have purchased, view the score in Safari. Once you are looking at your score, all you have to do is tap the export icon. You will see:

Copy to PlayScore 2

as an option. That’s it. As long as you have a Professional subscription PlayScore 2 will show you all the scores pages as thumbnails. Tap on any of the thumbnails to see it full size below.

Now select the pages you want to play: tap just above the first and just below the last. Then tap done.

Tip – Any purchased score will be fine, but not every score from every free sheet music site is good enough quality for optical recognition. So try selecting a single page at first so that you can listen to the results quickly. You can always tap the button upper right to make a new page selection.

If there are mistakes, try adjusting the speed/quality slider on the document settings (cogwheel).

If the score has transposing instruments turn on Auto Transposition (cogwheel).

Free sheet music sites

International Music Score Library Project

Mutopia

The Gutenberg Sheet Music Project

Choral Music Public Domain

Band Music PDF Library

SheetMusicEden

Free-scores.com

8notes

Play an IMSLP score2023-02-09T21:27:07+00:00

Play a score from the IMSLP site

With PlayScore 2 you can play any good quality PDF score and export the results as MusicXML or MIDI.

To listen to one of the scores on the IMSLP site go to the IMSLP as you usually would in Safari, and find the score you want. Once you are looking at your score, all you have to do is tap the export icon. You will see:

Copy to PlayScore 2

as an option. That’s it. PlayScore 2 will show you all the scores pages as thumbnails. Tap on any of the thumbnails to see it full size below.

Now select the pages you want to play: tap just above the first and just below the last. Then tap done.

Tip – not all IMSLP scores are good enough quality for optical recognition. So try selecting a single page at first so that you can listen to the results quickly. You can always tap the button upper right to make a new page selection.

For many works IMSLP has several scores. In these cases, try the bottom one first. If that one is poor quality try another.

If there are mistakes, try adjusting the speed/quality slider on the document settings (cogwheel).

If the score has transposing instruments turn on Auto Transposition (cogwheel).

How can I hear musical examples from a book?2022-05-02T13:51:34+00:00

PlayScore 2 can find and play short pieces of music in a page of text as well as whole pages of music.  The music has to be reasonably clear, but PlayScore can find them itself; you don’t need to mask out the text in any way.   To give PlayScore a good view of a particular music example you can snap that area rather than the whole page.  But photograph the whole example,  never clip the music.

NB It is not a good idea to cut out a little section of with a photo editor.  This doesn’t improve the resolution and will never be better that using the whole image as it is.  If you do this, PlayScore may simply interpret it as a low resolution image.

Can I use PlayScore 2 MIDI and MusicXML files commercially?2023-02-09T21:46:48+00:00

The MIDI and MusicXML files generated by PlayScore 2 are for noncommercial use only.  If you would like to make commercial use of PlayScore 2 files please contact us at support@organumconsulting.com.

Can I convert PDF music?2022-05-02T13:53:25+00:00

Yes, PlayScore 2 can convert, play and export PDF scores directly.  Just find the score in your browser and choose ‘send to PlayScore 2’ from the export menu.  You can also import PDF scores directly from Dropbox, iCloud etc.

Find Free Sheet Music Online2022-08-10T10:48:28+00:00

PlayScore 2 for iOS and Android devices can play PDF scores directly and export them as MusicXML.  On iPhones and iPads, just find them in Safari and chose ‘Send to PlayScore 2’.  On Android devices, open the PDF in your browser and export to PlayScore 2.

On both versions you can open a PDF score direct from the app.

To find free sheet music online try some of the sites below.

IMSLP – The International Music Score Library Project

8notes.com – Free Sheet Music & Lessons

Free-scores.com – Free music scores

The Mutopia Project – Open source Contemporary and Classical instrumental music

MuseScore – Download and print free sheet music for piano, guitar, flute and more

Can I create MIDI files from sheet music?2022-08-10T10:31:38+00:00

On iOS and Android devices, PlayScore 2 can create MIDI files from multi-page and PDF scores.

NB we recommend MusicXML rather than MIDI whenever possible.

See ‘MIDI and MusicXML files’ on the How to use page.

Privacy, music privacy and ads2022-11-15T09:11:31+00:00

PlayScore operates entirely on your device and does not send your music, or anything about your use of the app anywhere.

Some apps work by contacting a central server,  PlayScore is not one of those apps.

The only time your music will leave your device is when you deliberately export it.

We also do not require you to sign into the app or  collect any information about you.

PlayScore does not show any advertisements.

 

PlayScore and copyright music2022-11-15T09:11:39+00:00

Subject to some exceptions, it is against the law to make copies of music that is in copyright.  This could apply to some uses of PlayScore and PlayScore 2, just as it would if you photocopied an in-copyright piece.  Music copyright law is complex and varies between jurisdictions.

Can I change PlayScore 2’s playback instrument?2022-08-10T10:30:31+00:00

Yes, with PlayScore 2 you have 19 high quality instruments to choose from.  You can also have a different instrument on every staff.

Can I create MusicXML files from sheet music?2022-11-15T09:10:01+00:00

On iOS and Android devices, PlayScore 2 can create MusicXML files from multi-page and PDF scores.  The MusicXML exported by PlayScore 2 contains all the music but not text such as lyrics.  Dynamic symbols such as p, f and mf are supported.

See ‘MIDI and MusicXML files’ on the How to use page.

What is OMR?2022-11-15T09:10:46+00:00

Optical Music Recognition (OMR) is the application of machine vision and other techniques to convert music notation into an electronic form.  Once so converted the music can be played, edited, printed and analysed.

OMR has been an active research topic for several decades but only now has it reached the point where it can be used by anyone in an app.

At Organum we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of OMR.  In his keynote address at the WoRMS 2021 conference, our founder Anthony Wilkes talked about some new OMR techniques being built into PlayScore 2.  You can read an Interview with Anthony Wilkes.

If you would like to know more about PlayScore and how it works see Anthony’s paper The Design of ReadScoreLib

Can PlayScore 2 convert multiple pages?2022-05-02T14:01:55+00:00

Yes, PlayScore 2 can create multiple-page playing scores and can play PDF scores too.

Can I scan sheet music into Dorico?2022-05-24T18:14:35+00:00

With PlayScore 2 you can scan sheet music straight into Dorico. Just scan the music using PlayScore on your phone, or import a PDF score and export the MusicXML into Dorico.

If you have an iOS device and you want to export text such as lyrics and guitar chords as well as the music, tap the cogwheel and then Lyrics and text.

See our video Scanning Music into Dorico.

Can I scan sheet music into Sibelius2022-05-02T14:04:47+00:00

With PlayScore 2 you can scan sheet music straight into Sibelius.  Just scan the music using PlayScore on your phone, or import a PDF score and export the MusicXML into Sibelius.

If you have an iOS device and you want to export text such as lyrics and guitar chords as well as the music, tap the cogwheel and then Lyrics and text.

See our video Scanning Music into Sibelius.

Can PlayScore play with a metronome2023-05-10T08:50:30+00:00

Yes, on iOS devices.  Just tap the clock symbol lower right and set the ‘tick’ button.  You can also adjust the tick volume.

PlayScore’s metronome is more musical than a regular one.  Because PlayScore knows the time signature, it can tap strong and weak beats according to where you are in the measure.  And if the music changes time, the metronome changes with it.

Can PlayScore 2 count me in?2022-05-02T14:05:03+00:00

Yes, on iOS devices, tap the clock symbol second from the left at the bottom of the play screen.

Will PlayScore work for full score as well as piano music and songs?2022-05-02T14:05:41+00:00

Yes. But if it’s a photo and the more staffs there are, the harder it is to get a good picture. PlayScore works well using the device camera for music up to five or 6 staves, often more. But in difficult cases, you can always import a picture downloaded or captured using a scanner.

There is no limit to the number of staves in a system if the image is good, for example, in a good quality PDF score.  However playback quality may deteriorate above 12 staves or so.  MusicXML export is not affected.

If your score has transposing instruments, remember to set auto-transpose (cogwheel).  Please read the section on transposing instruments.

Can I share my PlayScore 2 scans for others to play back?2022-05-02T14:05:57+00:00

Yes, you can share PlayScore 2 documents that you have created.  Anyone can play and interact with them free just by downloading the free PlayScore 2 app.  No subscription needed.

Can I play music image files?2022-05-02T14:06:37+00:00

Yes, you can process photos, PDF scores, and JPG or TIF images.  But remember that a high quality image is essential.  If a JPG image is less than 1 megabyte, it is probably low resolution and may play poorly.

Can I photograph a whole page of sheet music at a time?2022-08-10T10:36:11+00:00

Yes. In portrait orientation, you can easily photograph any page of sheet music – always snap the whole paper page, not part of it.  Use landscape for very wide music.  If you have a subscription, you can create documents with many pages.

Which kind of device is best phone of tablet?2022-05-02T14:07:13+00:00

Phones nearly always have better cameras than tablets so, if you have a phone and a tablet of similar quality, try the phone first.  If you have an iPhone 5 upwards or above, a S4 or above or equivalent, you should get excellent results as long as you follow the instructions.  If you are using a high end phone and you are not getting excellent results, look above or on the ‘How to use’ page where there is lots of advice.

On the camera screen, tap the ‘?’ button and swipe through the tips for taking a perfect sheet music photo.

We are always ready to help at support@organumconsulting.com.

Note that most recognition failures are due to insufficient light, poor focus or an image not square on the screen.  Photograph the music vertical, but make sure its flat.  Daylight is ideal.

How do I add a new page2022-05-02T14:07:54+00:00

In PlayScore 2, you can create playable documents with many pages.  But you can only do this if you have a subscription.  If you don’t have a subscription, every photo you take on the Play Screen replaces the last photo you took.

Assuming you have a subscription, tap the camera on the Documents screen to take the first picture.  When you have captured the picture, PlayScore 2 will take you to the Play Screen.  There, you will find a camera button bottom right.  The picture you take when you tap this button is added on to the end of your PlayScore 2 Playable Document.

Recapture or delete the page in view by swiping left.

Rearrange pages by tapping the button top right.

Rotate a page by twisting with two fingers.

PlayScore is not playing or exporting multi-measure rests2022-05-02T14:08:26+00:00

On iOS devices, to play and export multi-measure rests, tap the cogwheel, and then Lyrics and text.

The music exports, but text such as lyrics is missing2022-05-02T14:09:04+00:00

On iOS devices, to export text such as lyrics and guitar chords, tap the cogwheel, and then Lyrics and text.

You also need Lyrics and text to recognise multi-measure rests,

My music won’t save as MusicXML2022-05-02T14:09:26+00:00

If when you tap the export icon, the MusicXML option is greyed, the reason is one of the following:

  • You don’t have the Professional level subscription.  Without a subscription or with the Productivity subscription, MusicXML export is not available

  • The music you are trying to export as MusicXML was scanned before you took out a Productivity subscription.  To remedy this, tap the gearwheel and then tap the recycle symbol.  Once your music is rebuilt, you will be able to export as MusicXML

I took the photo but the music plays poorly or not at all2022-05-02T14:11:09+00:00

PlayScore is very accurate so long as you have a good camera and as long as the photo is good!  If you have a good camera but are getting poor results, the answer is something to do with the photo. Try the following:

  • Use lots of light – Daylight is ideal. A flash is often counterproductive because the illumination is patchy.
  • Stand the page up vertically – not on a horizontal surface.
  • Make sure the music is not curled up – the flatter the better.
  • Make sure the image is square on the screen – line the sides of the music up with the sides of the screen – make sure measure lines are vertical.
  • Don’t cut off parts of the music – the left edge where the clefs are is especially important
  • Make sure the focus is crisp – some cameras take a little time to focus.

NB Use a phone if possible – phones have better cameras than tablets.

If one shot isn’t very good take another.  It can take a little trial and error to learn a good technique.

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