At the 2016 music industry event Midem 2016 held in Cannes, France, the Japanese startup Terrada Music Score showcased the world’s first electronic paper dual-sided music score, Gvido, aiming to trigger a revolution in sheet music with its weight and thickness comparable to traditional hardcopy scores.

The manufacturer of Gvido, Vaio, is an independent entity that spun off from Sony, thus Gvido can be seen as a new music media system that carries the creative bloodline of Sony, similar to portable music players or CDs.

The president of Terrada Music Score, Fujio Noguchi, worked at Sony from 1982 to 2014, where he was responsible for the e-book hardware and software business. After leaving, he founded the venture company F55 Creative Design Studio and collaborated with Warehouse Terrada to establish Terrada Music Score, relying on personal connections to produce the Gvido prototype and related systems and display software.

Gvido features a dual-sided 13.3-inch foldable e-paper display screen, weighing about 650 grams, with dimensions and weight similar to internationally used hardcopy scores. The seams are flush with the screen, allowing it to be placed on existing music stands; although it cannot be touched with fingers, it can be turned or annotated using a specially designed electronic pen. For conductors, it can be controlled directly with a baton without changing conducting or playing habits.

The current design of the Gvido prototype is quite similar to an ordinary tablet computer, with 8GB of built-in memory capacity, and it can connect externally via microSD card or microUSB port, as well as featuring Bluetooth 4.0 wireless connectivity. Future hardware specifications may be modified based on feedback from the music industry.

Although tablet computers have flourished and nearly pushed e-book readers and e-paper out of the market, the music industry still cannot replace sheet music with tablets. This is because a sheet of music is approximately the size of a 13-14 inch display screen, typically arranged in pairs, and such a tablet weighs about 2 kilograms, which does not conform to the habits of music professionals.

Moreover, sheet music is only in black and white, and the ambient light conditions have been optimized for use. The power-saving e-paper is more suitable for this environment than the touch screens used in tablet computers. Fujio Noguchi had this understanding when developing the DPT-S1 e-book reader launched at the end of 2013, which prompted him to develop Gvido. The display effect when Gvido is opened is indeed very similar to sheet music, which is quite impressive.

Currently, Gvido is undergoing evaluation testing by musicians, and the price has not yet been determined. Fujio Noguchi stated that due to the use of two large displays, the price is still quite high. However, once it reaches mass production, consideration will be given to using next-generation displays to bring the price down to a reasonable range. Nevertheless, as a musical instrument, it cannot be viewed through the lens of general consumer electronics pricing.

The name Gvido comes from Guido Monaco, a Western music theorist who invented modern staff notation in the 11th century. In the past, it was spelled as Gvido Monaco in Italian, and the significance of using this name for the electronic score is akin to reinventing sheet music.

The call for high-caliber talent has been sounded!

Don’t look at the JD! As long as you are an elite in the panel industry, Xiao C will strive to help you secure a high-paying position for free.

Resume submissions to [email protected]

Click to view past exciting content: