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🚀 Chapter 1: App Description, Installation & Prerequisites

1.1 General Overview & Philosophy

Music Score Manager is a cross-platform application built with .NET 10 MAUI, primarily designed for Android tablets and smartphones (as well as Windows workstations). Built by musicians for musicians, it meets the highest standards of musical practice: sectional rehearsals, personal practice, music lessons, dress rehearsals, and live concert stage performances.

The app completely replaces heavy physical sheet music binders and generic PDF viewers that are ill-suited for the stage:

  • 100% Offline & Network-Independent: The entire score library, database, metadata, annotations, and audio files are stored locally on the device. No internet access is ever required on stage.
  • Instant Responsiveness (< 50 ms): Optimized zero-copy architecture with offscreen double-buffered canvas rendering for smooth, stutter-free page turns without latency.
  • Stage-Optimized Dark Mode: Native dark interface (#121212) prevents stage glare and eliminates white flashes when loading scores.
  • Complete Hands-Free Control: Native support for wireless Bluetooth page-turner pedals (HID and keyboard profiles) as well as MIDI controllers (USB-OTG and Bluetooth MIDI).
  • Professional Annotation Suite: Stylus, freehand pencil, translucent chiseled highlighters, typed text, and over 100 built-in musical stickers.

1.2 Top 10 Highlights of Music Score Manager

  1. Secure & Immersive Stage Viewer: Strict editing lock during performance (🔒), screen keep-awake, and night color inversion (white notes on black background for pit orchestras).
  2. Powerful Setlist Management with Live Progress Drawer: Automatic seamless transition between songs, duplicate score support (encores, reprises), 1-tap duplication (⧉), and collapsible stage drawer with automatic centering on the current piece.
  3. P2P Wireless Sharing via Wi-Fi Direct & Hotspot (No Internet): Direct tablet-to-tablet transfers in backstage without a router, transferring complete packages including annotations and audio files, with Leader QR Code mode.
  4. Universal Bluetooth Page-Turner Pedal Support: Compatible with all major market pedals (AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner, CubeSuite...) with fully customizable physical key mapping.
  5. Musical Annotation Suite & 100+ Stickers: Translucent chiseled highlighter, fine/opaque pencil, free text, 100+ categorized musical symbols, and unlimited Undo/Redo.
  6. Zero-Drift High-Precision Metronome: Real-time thread-safe regulated clock (Stopwatch + SpinWait), low-latency Android audio (SoundPool), synchronized LED pulse, and on-the-fly sound mute while keeping the visual flash.
  7. Synchronized Audio Backing Track Player: Link multiple audio tracks (MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG) to each score, with compact player bar integrated into the viewer and adjustable pre-count.
  8. Smart Import & Multi-Image to PDF Fusion: Strict binary %PDF- verification, photo conversion with blocking progress modal, and automatic multi-photo merging into a single multi-page PDF document.
  9. Built-in PDF Assembler Studio: Touch drag-and-drop page reordering, individual page rotation (90°, 180°, 270°), blank page removal, and page insertion without external software.
  10. Dynamic Categorization & Multi-Tag Filtering (AND / OR Mode): Customizable colored tags, instant title/composer search, and multi-tag filtering with interactive switch between intersection and union.

1.3 System & Hardware Requirements

Component Minimum Requirement Recommended for Stage
Operating System Android 12.0 (API 31) or higher Android 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 (Target SDK 36)
Desktop Alternative Windows 10 (build 19041+) Windows 11 with touch screen or stylus
Display 8-inch touch screen 10.5 to 13.3-inch tablet (high-res, 4:3 or 16:10 ratio)
Storage 200 MB free space for the app 4 GB+ depending on your PDF and audio library size
RAM 3 GB RAM 4 GB to 8 GB RAM
Pedal Controllers Touch screen Bluetooth HID Pedal (AirTurn, PageFlip, Donner...) or MIDI Controller
Network No internet connection required Active Wi-Fi adapter only for direct P2P sharing between musicians

1.4 Installation & Deployment

📱 For Android

This is the easiest, fastest, and most secure way to install and keep Music Score Manager up to date:

  1. Open the Google Play Store on your Android tablet or smartphone.
  2. Search for Music Score Manager (by Audiothor) or click the direct store link:
    👉 Music Score Manager on Google Play Store
  3. Tap Install.
  4. The application will be installed within seconds and will automatically receive future official updates.

Method 2: Manual Installation via APK Package (Offline / Without Google Play)

For musicians without Google Play Services or those looking for an autonomous offline install:

  1. Download the latest signed APK file (MusicScoreManager-vX.Y.Z.apk) from official GitHub Releases.
  2. On your Android device, allow installing apps from unknown sources for your browser or file manager (Settings > Security > Install unknown apps).
  3. Open the downloaded APK file and confirm installation.
  4. On first launch, grant the required permissions for media storage, Bluetooth (for page turners), and local device discovery (for Wi-Fi Direct).

💻 For Windows (PC, Laptops & Surface Tablets)

Music Score Manager runs natively on Windows 10 (build 19041+) and Windows 11 with full support for touch screens, styluses, mouse, and keyboard shortcuts:

Method 1: Direct Download of the Windows Version

  1. Go to GitHub Releases and download the latest Windows package (e.g., MusicScoreManager-Windows-vX.Y.Z.zip or the installer).
  2. Extract the ZIP archive to your preferred directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\MusicScoreManager or your user folder).
  3. Double-click MusicScoreManager.exe to launch the application.
    (Optional: right-click the executable to create a Desktop shortcut or pin it to your Taskbar).
  4. Windows SmartScreen Note: If a blue screen appears stating "Windows protected your PC", click "More info" and then "Run anyway".

🛠️ For Developers: Building from Source (.NET MAUI)

For developers who want to compile and customize the application for Android or Windows:

  1. Install the .NET 10 SDK and .NET MAUI workloads: 
    dotnet workload install maui
dotnet workload install maui-android
dotnet workload install maui-windows
  2. Clone the official Git repository: 
    git clone https://github.com/Audiothor/MusicScoreManager.git
cd MusicScoreManager
  3. Build according to the desired target: 
    # For Android: deploy directly to USB-connected Android tablet
dotnet build -t:Run -f net10.0-android

# For Android: generate signed Release APK package
dotnet publish -f net10.0-android -c Release

# For Windows: compile Windows executable
dotnet build -f net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0 -c Release

# For Windows: publish standalone binary
dotnet publish -f net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0 -c Release