MBA convert to iPad Air/Pro

This may be a very simple question but I need some advice and any help would be greatly appreciated. I am thinking of converting over from a MBA to strictly an iPad Air 2 (I am impatient) and eventually the iPad Pro. Most of the time I email, check social media, surf the web, FaceTime relatives, the occasional MS Office document, etc. I currently have approximately 2K photos and about 5K songs stored on the MBA. My dilemma is what would be the smoothest way to make this transfer? Photos and music on an external HD or USB flash drive? I have already transferred all documents to iCloud. Thanks.

 

No transfers needed. Pretty much everything can be stored in iCloud. No need for external HD.