User Guide
Everything you need to get the most out of Paginote — from importing your first score to performing on stage. This guide walks through each feature in the order you'll likely use them.
Importing scores
Bring your sheet music into Paginote as PDF files, from wherever it already lives:
- Files app — iCloud Drive, On My iPad, or any other storage connected to the Files app.
- Google Drive — browse your Drive folders and import directly.
- Dropbox — browse and import from your Dropbox.
- Camera scan — scan printed sheet music with your iPad's camera and turn it into a PDF.
- URL / link — paste a link to a PDF and Paginote downloads it for you.
Each score is copied into Paginote, so it stays available even when you're offline. PDF files only, up to 250 MB per file.
As you import, add details to make the score easy to find later:
- Title — defaults to the file name; edit it to anything you like.
- Artist, composer, and genre — pick from your existing tags or add new ones.
- BPM — set the tempo so the metronome is ready when you open the score.
- Instrument — tag which instrument the part is for.
Smart Score Library
The Scores tab is your whole library in one place. Switch between a list and a grid, and sort by title, recently viewed, most played, or the details you tagged on import. The subtitle under each score shows its artist, composer, genre, and BPM at a glance.
- Filter — narrow the library by artist, composer, genre, or instrument, or switch on Favorites only to see just your favorited scores. Filters combine across fields (an artist and a genre together match only scores with both), and you can pick multiple values within a single field. Choose "Not set" to find scores missing a particular tag.
- Group by — organize the library into sections by Artist, Composer, Genre, or Instrument. Tap a section header to collapse or expand it. Grouping composes with the active filter and sort: filtered scores are grouped, and each group keeps your chosen sort order.
Tap any score to open it for reading. Use the search, filter, sort, and group controls at the top to narrow a large library down fast.
Setlists
A setlist is an ordered group of scores for a rehearsal, gig, or recital. Create one from the Setlists tab, add scores, and drag them into the order you'll play them. During a performance you can advance from one score to the next without leaving the page.
Setlists can be scheduled for a single date, a recurring event, or several nights — handy for a run of shows or a weekly rehearsal.
Stage Mode
Open a score and switch to Stage Mode for distraction-free reading that fills the whole display. Your screen stays on the whole time, so the page never dims mid-piece.
Turn pages hands-free or with a light touch:
- Tap the right or left side of the screen.
- Swipe left or right across the page.
- Foot pedal — connect a Bluetooth page-turn pedal.
- Eye blink — turn the page with a deliberate blink, with an adjustable cooldown.
Annotations
Annotate your music without ever changing the original PDF. Draw fingerings, dynamics, and cues with Apple Pencil — Paginote captures pressure and tilt for natural, expressive strokes, and rejects your palm resting on the screen. Add music-symbol stamps and hairpins where you need them.
With Apple Pencil Pro, squeeze to instantly switch between your draw and highlight tools, right in the middle of a stroke. Double-tap (Apple Pencil 2nd generation or Pro) toggles the eraser.
Annotations are saved per page and stay with the score. Delete a score and its annotations go with it; the source PDF is never altered.
Metronome
Set a BPM on any score and Paginote's built-in metronome is ready the moment you open it — no separate app to reach for. It's a visual metronome only — a pulsing beat indicator, with no click sound — so it never competes with your instrument or a backing track. Keep the beat in view while you practice, and adjust the tempo on the fly.