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I have been looking for a music stand with a retaining lip to stop single sheets of music from sliding off the shelf at the bottom of the stand, so far without success. Is there a particular term I should be searching for, or perhaps other stand designs to help hold music in place?

Aaron
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PetGriffin
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    What's wrong with gluing/screwing a strip of wood onto the shelf? Or doing what we do when playing in the open, use a couple of clothes pegs. Stick a strip of carpet. Adapt ! Think laterally! – Tim Jan 02 '21 at 17:23
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    I've taken the liberty of rewording your question so that it won't be closed as off topic (equipment recommendations are off topic here). Please, if I've unduly damaged your question, post a comment back to me, and I'll roll back my changes. – Aaron Jan 02 '21 at 18:08
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    I believe they don’t make them this way because it would interfere with turning pages of a book. It would also not allow a thicker book to sit flush on the stand. Another solution is a sheet of clear plexiglass over the music. The music will stay put and also keeps the wind from taking it if you’re outdoors or under a strong A/C vent. – John Belzaguy Jan 02 '21 at 18:59
  • Use of a lip won't work anyway. The slightest breeze or vibration will send your sheet flying. Use a stand with builtin clips as Tetsujin's answer says. – Carl Witthoft Jan 02 '21 at 22:53
  • I thought the reason stands weren't available with lips might be to do with page turning - that's not normally an issue for me as I stick several sheets together. Plexiglass sounds like the way to go - thanks all – PetGriffin Jan 03 '21 at 10:00
  • @JohnBelzaguy - funny, that. I've just finished welding a music stand to slot into my keyboard stand - over 1 metre wide (some of my charts are 8+ pages), and I used clear plastic sheet, like you'd find on a ragtop car roof, with a 1" strip of Plexiglass glued to its bottom. Just in case I ever get another gig. – Tim Jan 04 '21 at 16:35
  • PetGriffin Home improvement stores usually carry clear plexiglass in various sizes. As long as you can angle the stand so you’re not getting a direct reflection they work great. Avoid wire stands, they’re very portable but unstable and have very small desks. @Tim I’m a big fan of WIDE music stands. I have one that opens up into a double but unfortunately it’s pretty heavy. – John Belzaguy Jan 04 '21 at 17:55
  • @JohnBelzaguy - trouble is, carriage from U.S. is not cheap! Those stands that get used in schools - I've never passed the exam you have to take to be able to open and close them in one go. Yes, my wide one is heavy, but fits onto the k'board stand, so isn't a big deal. i wonder whether those Ipad things might be a better option - with the footswitch, you can do repeats and everything! – Tim Jan 04 '21 at 18:17
  • @Tim IPad has made up 90% of my reading gigs the last couple of years so the big stand collects dust.. I have a Peak stand, lightweight, portable, collapses into an included gig bag. There are other similar ones. – John Belzaguy Jan 04 '21 at 18:23
  • @John Belzaguy - Which is fine when you turn up after being given the dots previously. A lot of my gigs I'm lucky (or not) to be given the key to the next number. Actually, it's better when I'm not... And what happens when the bandleader changes an arrangement at rehearsal? – Tim Jan 04 '21 at 20:02

2 Answers2

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Any basic folding stand has little clips that fold up to stop your pages flipping, or a sheet falling off.
tbh, it was only a search on Amazon that threw up solid face ones without clips that made me even think such without clips were even available. Obviously made by manufacturers who have never played an instrument in their lives.:\

Just search "folding music stand" for a million varieties.

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Tetsujin
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  • I thought of these too. There are a few non-wire stands that have this feature as well, Donner and Peak to name a couple. – John Belzaguy Jan 02 '21 at 19:02
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Magnets tend to work reasonably well for pinning down single sheets. One reason not to use a single sheet, however, is that it tends to become a real nuisance when backlit.