Ever since the iPad hit the market, my visits to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Opera Colorado, and the Central City Opera have been frustrating. Why? I think about my iPad, and I see a great way to display sheet music. On stage, however, I see the same old paper sheet music that's been prevalent for hundreds of years.
Why not go digital, then? There's only one problem -- a musician would still need to use his or her hand to swipe at the sheet music and turn a page.
A company called Airturn has developed the BT-105, a Bluetooth foot switch for turning pages on the iPad forward and backward using a tap of a foot. As Hugh Sung explains in the video above, it allows instrumentalists who are busy with both hands to use a toe to tap one of the two switches to move through the score easily.
I'm not sure what Airturn is going to do with percussionists and pianists, who are often busy with both hands and at least one foot. Perhaps the next generation device will listen to the music and anticipate when to turn the page.
The BT-105 is still in the prototype stage, but should be available later this year.
[via Wired]
