# Run a live Follow session

Start Follow from the reader toolbar, read the button states, correct the tracker with the anchor and pin, and stop cleanly.

> Type: How-to · Status: Beta · Platforms: iPadOS 17+ · Last reviewed: 2026-07-18

A live session is `Follow me live` mode: Page Turner listens through the microphone, tracks your position in the open score, and turns pages when you reach the turn point. This page takes you from a prepared score to a running session, through mid-session corrections, and back out. What each setting means is explained in the [Follow overview](/docs/follow/overview); getting a score ready is covered in [Prepare a score for Follow](/docs/follow/prepare).

## Before you start

- A Catalog piece is ready as soon as it opens — the `Follow` pill works with no preparation. A piece you imported yourself must be prepared in `Trainer` first: until every step is complete, its `Follow` pill stays greyed out, and tapping it opens `Trainer` instead of starting a session.
- The device needs a microphone input that picks up your instrument. iPadOS asks for microphone permission the first time you start a session.
- The device needs a network connection: a live session streams short segments of microphone audio to the alignment service and receives position updates back. The stream stops when the session stops.

> **Note** This live audio stream is what makes tracking work; it is separate from the optional `Share follow audio for model training` toggle, which is off by default. Both are described in [Data and audio](/docs/privacy/data-and-audio).

## Start the session

1. Open the piece and go to the passage where you will begin.
2. In the reader toolbar, tap `Calibrate` — the slider icon in the Follow widget, between `Trainer` and the `Follow` pill.
3. Under `WHAT PLAYS`, keep `Follow me live`, the default. (`Replay a take` plays a recorded take instead and turns the pill into `Play`; see [Record a training take](/docs/follow/record-take).)
4. Under `ON-SCREEN`, choose the overlay: `No tracker`, `Blue band`, or `Band + note dot`. With either band overlay, the `RECTANGLE` rows below set the band's grain — `By measure` or `By beat` — and `System pointer` toggles an extra coarse rectangle that marks the current line. The [Follow overview](/docs/follow/overview) describes what each one draws.
5. Under `PAGE TURN`, choose `Practice` for rehearsing or `Concert` for performing, and check the `Turn at` and `Confidence` gauges.
6. Close the pane and tap `Follow`. Grant microphone access if iPadOS asks.
7. Wait until the pill reads `Stop` with a pulsing waveform icon, then begin playing.

The pill keeps the single word `Stop` for the whole session; the pulsing waveform beside it confirms the microphone is picking you up. If the pill shows `Retry` instead, the session failed to start — see [If the session cannot start](#if-the-session-cannot-start).

## How the button reads

The `Follow` pill is also the session's status display:

| Pill reads | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `Follow` | Idle — tap to start. |
| `Mic…` | Waiting for microphone permission. |
| `Starting` | The session is opening. |
| `Stop` + pulsing waveform | Live — the engine is listening. |
| `Retry` | The session hit an error — tap to clear it and start again. |

## Correct the tracker mid-session

Two icon-only buttons sit near the pill during a session; neither carries a text label. A small `?` beneath them re-opens the in-app reminder of what they do.

- **The anchor** (line-drawn anchor glyph) — the marker drifted. Tap the anchor, then tap the note you are actually on: the marker snaps back, and the tracker uses that correction to align the rest of the session.
- **The pin** (map-pin icon) — you are deliberately moving. Tap the pin, then the spot where you will play next: a jump, not a correction.

The distinction matters: an anchor tap tells the tracker it was wrong; a pin tap tells it you moved on purpose.

If you are correcting often, hold the anchor instead of tapping it. It stays armed: every tap on the score re-anchors, and you turn pages with the on-screen arrows.

> **Note** When tracking confidence stays very low for several seconds, the session arms the anchor for you and asks where you are — you only tap the spot. This automatic prompt fires at most once every 45 seconds.

## Switch Practice and Concert while playing

Open `Calibrate` again and pick the other mode under `PAGE TURN`. The switch takes effect immediately, without restarting the session. `Practice` re-anchors freely and shows hints; `Concert` only turns on a clean, confident read.

## Stop the session

Tap `Stop`. Manual page turns stay available for the whole session, so you can also take over by hand at any point and stop when convenient.

## If the session cannot start

The alert `Follow can't start` shows the reported cause — read it before retrying. The pill reads `Retry`; tapping it clears the error and attempts a fresh start. Check, in this order:

1. Microphone permission is granted (iPadOS `Settings` › `Privacy & Security` › `Microphone`).
2. The device has a working network connection.
3. For a piece you imported yourself: preparation is complete — open `Trainer` and finish any step that is still open. A Catalog piece needs no preparation.

> **Beta** If the network path drops mid-session, the session restarts itself silently with the same settings — the pill stays `Stop` while that happens. After two failed restarts in a row the pill turns `Retry`: restore connectivity, then tap it. Keep manual turns or a [Bluetooth page pedal](/docs/accessibility/hands-free) ready for anything critical.

For drift, late turns, or a session that holds position, see [Improve Follow reliability](/docs/follow/reliability) and [Follow troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting/follow).