E Z Play softyware sought

[ken horton]

I have a sight problem and as time has passed I find the normal music score too small to read even with my reading glasses so for the past few years I have got along with E Z Play as I use it as an aid memoir as much as for any other way as I can't play from memory , but I have a booklet of over 100 Latin tunes which I have never played because the notation is mini size even to normal !

I have several Latin EZ play books but they are very much duplicating one another in content but the 100 tune booklet has many not covered by my other books.

I have searched the web but cannot find any software available that I could use to print some of the selected tunes into EZ play, my only other option would be to hand write each tune which would be a daunting task, so has anyone any suggestions please ? or better still is there software available ? thanks in advance for any suggestions Ken

[orgfred65]

Hello Ken, my optician made me a pair of intermediate glasses which let me focus at a greater distance than reading glasses, and work well with sheet music on my EL500. Perhaps though you could try making enlarged photocopies of the pieces you are most interested in?

[andyg]

This topic has been raised before, so I'll recap on what was said - probably most of it by me!

There is software out there that can scan the small print versions (though you'd probably have to spend more than a little time tidying them up after scanning), then enlarge them into standard or extra large size notes. It can also add the note names, turning them into full E-Z play versions. Again, there would be some sorting out to do to get a decent result but I've done it many times. (I can actually input the notes faster manually than I can scan and tweak them, so that's what I do and I have a template that automates the rest of the process.) The downside is that the software that does this costs a heck of a lot. The freebies like Musescore and Sibelius First, and the low-cost entry level versions of Sibelius and Finale won't do the job.

Orgfred65 has it right. Your best option is to take the book somewhere that can photocopy and enlarge just the tunes you want from the approximately A5 size of a typical 'buskers' book up to A4 size, doubling the size of the notes. It won't add the letter names, of course, but if you used to read music before you had sight problems, you wouldn't need them anyway. And as music is usually an odd distance away, neither near or far, you may well benefit from music-specific specs. Measure the distance from your eyes to the music - I've had students take a piece of string into the opticians and show it to the consultant saying "I need to see this far!" The consultant has then replied "This is for music, isn't it!" They've taken along a book that they have had difficulty reading clearly. The optician has then done his/her job and the student has arrived a few days later with a new pair of glasses. Also worth noting that sometimes slightly tinted lenses can lessen the contrast between the page and the notes/staves/chords and that can also help.

[msgrillo]

hi

I have a hobby, that needs larger plans.....I make model airplanes from small plans.....I have many old model airplane books with small plans...I can take them to Office Depot and they will enlarge them to the specifications usually given in the plans....I cannot see any difference taking a ez play book and enlarging the songs that fit your eyes....Cost will not be prohibitive....

respectfully,
Marsh grillo

[Larrytow]

I agree with Andy regarding the music specific glasses. I finally got a pair about 8 years ago, and they really help. Mine however are not single vision glasses, they are upside down bifocals with the reading distance set to about 24" or so. The upside down part is so that the reading / music lens part is at the top, and the distance part is at the bottom.

I had them made that way because I play in church balconies often, and I can see the music nice though the top portion, and then just shift my eyes to the lower portion to see what is going on downstairs. That avoids the need to keep changing between two pairs during a service. The only thing I can't do with those on is go up / down stairs. The changeover area is too sharp to do that safely.

Next time I get glasses I will get a single vision pair at the right distance for music. Seems handy to have for both music and computer use. The places that have 2 for one glasses deals will do two different pairs like that for the sale price most times, but you sometimes have to see the manager to get the good price.

[ken horton]

Many thanks , orgfred65,andyg msgrillo, and larrytow, what a splendid response, I very naively expected someone to say "Oh yes i've done that ", but of course you are all correct in that I have to change my circumstances to suit the conditions.
I have tried varifocals etc but not been too successful so I use two pairs of glasses at present , so I shall review the options with enlarging being probably my better option. I was looking for an easy way out . many thanks again Ken (H)

[Max Green]

Have successfully scanned buskers with a A4 scanner and removed guitar blocks and replaced by enlarged chord letters and symbols using Adobe elements which I use
for my photography and then printed out at A4.

[KRG]

Ken, I think that the only real answer to the problem is to go digital. Have a touchscreen monitor (the larger the better) either wall mounted or sat on your organ. This is connected to a PC running software such as MusicReader. Yes there is an initial outlay but you can then view at any size millions of freely available sheets/books of music. You can annotate them and turn the page by tapping the screen. PM me for more details if you are interested.