Automatic Music Stand is a device developed to help musicians who play instruments that require the use of both hands turn the pages of their sheet music. We created an initial prototype using simple mechanical, electronic, and control systems that can be easily modified, allowing us to explore the device’s potential.
The sheet music is placed inside a belt made up of a series of transparent A4 document sleeves. The belt is unwound from one roller and wound onto another. This creates a horizontal movement of the sheet music, somewhat similar to the mechanism used in old videotapes.
One roller is directly connected to the shaft of a DC motor with a moderate gear reduction, providing the system with enough torque to operate smoothly without sacrificing speed. In addition, a toothed belt transfers the rotation from the motor-driven roller to the non-powered roller, ensuring uniform and reversible movement.
The system is operated using two pedals, which allow movement in both directions. To prevent the belt from being completely unwound and placing excessive strain on the connection points, limit switches are installed on the rollers. These stop the movement if the user continues to press a pedal after the belt has reached its end position.
The system is controlled by a programmable ESP32 board, which also enables more advanced functionality. In particular, we developed software that recognizes musical notes and automatically advances the sheet music by following the melody being played.
This video demonstrates how the manually operated prototype works:
If you’re interested, you can click here to see more about this prototype.
