Guide to Bluetooth Page-Turner Pedals

A Bluetooth page-turner pedal lets the leader turn the pages of your sheet music hands-free on an iPad or tablet, so everyone's music moves without anyone letting go of their instrument.

What You Need

• A Bluetooth page-turner pedal that can act as a keyboard. Most can, including popular models from AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner, and others.
• The leader's tablet, phone, or computer. Only the leader needs a pedal. Everyone else's music follows automatically.

Popular Pedals

Any Bluetooth page turner with a keyboard mode should work. These are popular choices with musicians. Check each one's current details on Amazon before buying.

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• AirTurn DUO 500 on Amazon
  Two pedals and a rechargeable battery rated for 200+ hours. Fully customizable, and long a favorite with working musicians.
• PageFlip Firefly on Amazon
  Two programmable, illuminated pedals. Runs on two AA batteries or USB-C power.
• PageFlip Butterfly on Amazon
  PageFlip's simpler model, known for quick pairing and an easy setup.
• Donner Wireless Page Turner on Amazon
  A more affordable option with a USB-rechargeable battery and several page-turning modes.

1. Choose the Right Pedal Mode

Most pedals have several modes, usually chosen with a switch or a button combination when you turn them on. Your pedal's manual explains how. For Page Turner, pick a mode that sends one of these:

• Arrow keys: left/right or up/down
• Page Up / Page Down

Don't use a MIDI mode or a mode meant for one specific app. Page Turner listens for ordinary key presses, the same as a keyboard.

2. Pair the Pedal

iPad or iPhone

1. Turn the pedal on and put it in pairing mode (its light usually flashes).
2. Open Settings → Bluetooth and make sure Bluetooth is on.
3. Tap the pedal's name under Other Devices. When it moves to My Devices and says Connected, you're set.

Android, Mac, or Windows

Pair it the same way you'd pair a Bluetooth keyboard, from the Bluetooth section of your device's settings. Page Turner works in any modern browser, so the pedal works there too.

3. Turn Pages

1. Create a room by uploading a PDF, or open one you lead from Open Rooms on the home page. The badge in the menu should say Leading.
2. Tap the music once so the browser is ready for key presses.
3. Press the pedal. Every device in the room turns to the same page.

The pedal's presses work like these keys:

• Next page: → Right arrow, ↓ Down arrow, Page Down, or Space
• Previous page: ← Left arrow, ↑ Up arrow, or Page Up
• First or last page: Home or End, if your pedal can send them

Each press turns one page. Holding a pedal down still turns just one page, so a long press won't skip ahead.

Repeats and codas. A pedal only goes forward and back, so give the piece a play order (☰ → Repeats & Jumps) and each press follows the repeats, D.S., and codas for you. See repeats and codas in digital sheet music.

Tips

• Holding the tablet. A pedal works best with the tablet held firmly on its stand. See How to Hold a Tablet on a Music Stand.
• Typing while a pedal is connected. Your tablet may treat the pedal as a keyboard and hide the on-screen keyboard. If you need to type, for example a room code or a room name, turn the pedal off or disconnect it for a moment.
• Waking the pedal. Many pedals go to sleep to save battery, and the first press after a break may only wake them up. Give it a press before you start playing.
• Leading from two devices. If you lead from a second device using the leader link in Share, a pedal paired to either device can turn the pages.

Troubleshooting

Nothing happens when I press the pedal

• Check the badge in the menu says Leading. Pedals on viewers' devices don't turn pages.
• Close the Share, Set List, or Rename panel. Page turns are paused while one is open.
• Tap the music once, then try again.
• Check the pedal is still connected in your Bluetooth settings, and try a fresh battery.
• Check the pedal's mode sends arrow keys or Page Up/Page Down, not MIDI.

The pedal pressed a button instead of turning the page

If your pedal sends Space and a button on screen was the last thing you tapped, Space presses that button. Tap the music once to move away from the button, or switch the pedal to an arrow-key mode.

The pages go the wrong way

Switch the pedal to a different mode (for example, from up/down to left/right), or swap which pedal you use for forward and back. Some pedals let you reverse them in their settings.

It turns more than one page at a time

Release the pedal right after pressing it. Holding it down repeats the key. If one tap still turns two pages, check whether the pedal is paired to two devices you're leading from at the same time.

The screen goes to sleep while I play

Page Turner asks the screen to stay awake while a room is open, on browsers that support it. See the screen keeps going to sleep for older devices.

Still stuck? Contact us, and include your pedal's model and your device.