page-turner

thumb|Piano sextet rehearsal with page turner

A page-turner is a person who turns sheet music pages for a musician, often a pianist, usually during a performance. thumb|Performance with pianist and page turner While some music is set so that the pages end at places where the musician can spare one hand to turn them, this is not always possible. A page-turner is often necessary for musicians who are playing complex pieces and prefer not to play from memory, or the page turn seems impossible to do if the musician wants to keep playing the piece cohesively without stopping. A page-turner should be able to understand the musician's signals, adequately follow the score, and anticipate how far ahead the accompanist reads the score in order to advance the music. Page turning also requires adequate knowledge of music and musical symbols. Page-turners are sometimes acquaintances of the performer or members of the accompanying orchestra doing a favor. Professional page-turners are often freelance casual workers, not associated with any given concert hall or orchestra. Traditionally, the page turner is often on the left side of the piano, and stands next to or sits on the piano bench for the entirety of the performance. They are also traditionally dressed in black or neutral performance attire.