What is the best equipment to use for sight-reading at the piano? In this article, I show you what gear I use on a daily basis when sight-reading or playing the piano.

I often get asked about my sight-reading setup: what device are you using? How do you turn pages? Do you use an app?

That’s what I’m going to show you in this article.

iPad Pro 12.9″

For reading digital scores, I use an 12.9 inches iPad Pro. It’s a fairly big investment but it does end up saving you money and space, especially if you read new scores every day like I do!

The 12.9 inches is the perfect size for reading scores. I wouldn’t go smaller.

Firefly Page Turner

To turn pages, I use the Firefly page turner by PageFlip. It’s very easy to use. You simply connect the pedal to your device via Bluetooth the first time around and then you’re good to go.

Set it on the floor near your left foot and press the right pedal to turn the pages forward, and the left pedal to go backwards. The pedal has a material at the bottom which means the pedal doesn’t slip on wooden floors.

While this pedal is great for turning pages of a digital score, you can also use this pedal to turn slides of a presentation.

ForScore App

To store all of my digital scores, I use the ForScore app. It costs around $20. I use this app for a number of reasons:

• It allows me to flip pages from right to left
• You can add annotations such as fingering
• You can rearrange the pages
• You can search through your scores saving you a lot of time

The ForScore app has many other features that I haven’t used simply because I haven’t taken the time to learn how to use them.

I highly recommend this score-reading app.

Stylus Pen

To make annotations on the iPad, I use a stylus pen. Any model should work but it might be worth checking the compatibility with your device.

Yamaha CLP-635

For recording YouTube videos and when I don’t want to disturb my neighbours or them disturbing me, I use a digital piano which is a Yamaha CLP-635* along with headphones (see below).

This Yamaha has:

• Weighted keys
• 3 pedals
• 2 grand piano sounds (CFX Grand and Bösendorfer)
• Various audio settings including the position of the lid (full lid up, half lid up and lid closed), the brightness, the touch and the reverb (recital, concert hall, chamber, cathedral, club and plate)
• A recording function
• A metronome
• USB to host and USB to device
• 36 voices
• 20 rhythms
• 19 voice demo songs + 50 piano songs + 303 lesson songs

*Please note that this model has been discontinued and has been replaced with the new Yamaha CLP-735.

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones

I chose the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones as they are apparently the most comfortable headphones out there. And I agree! They are really comfortable. If you’re spending hours at the piano, I would go with a pair of these. And the sound is really good too.

Sheet Music Plus

Of course, I still use good old sheet music too. My go-to online store is Sheet Music Plus. I’ve purchased music from them for years and I’ve never had any problems.

That is my sight-reading equipment! What equipment do you use? Let me know in the comments.

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