Yo Ho, Blow the Stand Down

It's a good bet that most musicians rely on their sheet music staying in front of them during a performance. Any movement will come solely from the performer as they play their instrument or, if necessary, turn pages, accompanied by the comforting knowledge that the sheet music will remain as placed. This is not a problem in a concert hall, theater, church, private home, or any other indoor venue, but all bets are off when the group moves outside for any reason.

Most of us musicians have played outside and many can tell stories of performing during extreme cold, sweltering heat, torrential rain, sometimes snow, or maybe even a strange odor wafting across the stage. One of my most vivid memories of college marching band was being pelted by sleet during a halftime show. What was our feature piece? A hot Latin number called "I Go To Rio". Gee, how appropriate.

However, nothing matches the unadulterated terror (okay, maybe just nervousness) that strikes the very hearts of most band musicians like the dreaded wind gust. You're playing along and the page is suddenly snatched from your folder by an unseen hand! Not only does it disrupt your concentration, but it will most likely also disrupt the concentration of the unfortunate band mate whose head it smacks into, if you're lucky. If not, I hope you had that march memorized...

To prevent this, a majority of us use clothespins, different types of clips, or those thick slabs of polymethyl methacrylate (commonly known as "Plexiglass") to keep the music in place. These usually do the trick, and yet it boggles my mind how many players do not fully prepare the foundation of their little Sheet Music Kingdom: their music stand. All the clips in the world will not help if your entire stand is blown over, friends. Also, the higher you raise your stand, the more precarious the situation becomes. (Percussionists, can you relate?)

So, you can continue trying to balance your entire folder on one of those wimpy wire stands, or you can get something solid that will withstand a blustery onslaught. Yes, it helps to put only the music you're playing on the stand, but some stands are so light that it's hardly worth the trouble. Then there's the health hazard – if your stand falls forward, the head, back and arms of the person in front of you are in danger.

I recommend Wenger or Hamilton for heavy stands, and Manhasset to a degree (although some models are still kind of light). They're easy to carry, many fold up, and I've seen these (and others) listed in the $20-$50 range, although some are more expensive. (Hey, if you can buy a musical instrument, you can shell out some bucks for a decent music stand!) You can find good stands at Giardinelli or Musician's Friend or simply type "music stands" into your favorite search engine. For those in the Maryland suburbs of DC, you could also try my favorite local outlet for equipment: Chuck Levin's, in Wheaton.

The next time your see a loose stand spin around like it's possessed, or someone's stand falls and their music suddenly swoops upwards like a flock of spooked pigeons, ask yourself: Isn't your peace of mind worth having a more wind-resistant stand? I bet it is.