Playing in the wind

[mbeastep]

While trying to create a regular series of outdoor brass ensemble concerts in a new neighborhood in Calgary, I was forcibly reminded that we are a prairie city, and the wind can blow fiercely. What is the state of the art when it comes to playing from sheet music in the wind? We found that those with plexiglass shields were far better off than those who relied on clips, but we also had trouble with elderly Manhasset stands wanting to spin in the wind. Some have moved to music displays on their tablets, but I believe this is risky if the location is sunny. Thank you for your thoughts.

Tubas of Woodbine

https://vimeo.com/223064853" target="_blank

https://vimeo.com/223063303" target="_blank

These show the problem to some extent, but don't show us stopping the performance to run and prevent my charts from landing in the goose pond.

mbeastep

[peter birch]

had that experience just this Sunday - if you use metal (steel) stands then magnets are the way to go -K&M makes some nice, small super strong magnets, they are a bit pricey but less than having to replace music. For plastic stands, I have seen people use a sheet of perspex to keep music in place as you noted. I liked your use of rocks to keep your stands in position. Tablets - glare as you note, but you have to rely on each player turning up with them fully charged, and in windy conditions if they fall over they'll break

[David A. Goldfarb]

Here in Hawai'i this is a year round problem, even indoors, where one is often playing in breezy open spaces. I like the Hercules EZ Clutch stand with the perforated music desk, which has a very wide, sturdy base. Inn a light breeze, I find that the built-in page retainers are sufficient, but in a heavier wind, I might add a couple of clothespins at the top.

[Donn]

Time to get out the clothespins!

[swillafew]

The plexiglass is good; having said that, one musician had his fly off the stand and land on his trumpet. The trumpet was on a trumpet stand, the plexiglass hit the first valve casing and the horn was done for the day. A spare horn saved the day.

Later on I learned the plexiglass can be much heavier than what we had.

[mbeastep]

I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Sam Pilafian, who, after all those years of teaching, is back at the age of 68 playing full-time with the Boston Brass and sounding sensational as always. He showed me the over-sized Mac tablets that Boston Brass uses, raving about the ease and flexibility of inputting the music. The problem of glare is addressed by using a filter that fits over the screen. Although page turns can be done with a foot switch, Sam prefers just to touch a button on the tablet.
An elegant solution, although there is some investment involved.

[roughrider]

Wind is something that we have a lot of here in Saskatchewan. The best solution I have come up with so far is certainly redneck. One foot on the base of the stand and the use of multiple clothespins! A tablet on the music stand with a foot operated pedal to change the page is a very elegant solution, very well suited to players who are not in the same universe talent wise as i am,ie. Sam Pilafian! Besides, I could buy a fair amount of beer with the money it would take to set that up!

[Leland]

...but we also had trouble with elderly Manhasset stands wanting to spin in the wind.

Maybe tape where the shaft meets the sleeve, or a clamp (like for holding glued wood together to dry).

Or else memorize everything. That's what we did.

I've also got a rock-solid K&M folding stand where everything clamps into place. I think it would do okay with clothespins holding the folder.

Oh yeah: Binders! Get three-ring binders and put the music in sleeves. This is what we did for rehearsals (many of which were outside).