6 ms·

Strongly disagree with the recommended way to bind sheet music. The best binding IMO is to do spiral binding. It's pretty common practice actually to take exist

by slaymaker1907 6y ago

Strongly disagree with the recommended way to bind sheet music. The best binding IMO is to do spiral binding. It's pretty common practice actually to take existing music books, cut off the original binding, and replace it with a spiral binding.

systemvoltage 6y ago
Is it because it’s easy to flip pages and lay it flat? I am curious why you disagree.
- powersnail 6y ago
  Not the original commenter, but for me, there are four big advantages of loose pages: 1) Much easier to study and annotate 2) They open flat easily, so no clamps required on the music stand 3) Lighter to carry around (Nobody plays a whole book at the same time) 4) You can set up multiple pages in a row if the stand is wide enough.
  - loup-vaillant 6y ago
    I play Cello since I was a kid. 1) I's easier to rest my hand on the stand and annotate if there is enough thickness to support the paper, especially if the stand is a hollow wireframe. If it's a lone sheet of paper, I tend to just lay it flat against my cello and annotate there (and I must be careful not to mark the wood underneath the paper). 2) Correct. But so do good bindings, to a lesser extent. Many bindings aren't easy to lay flat, though. 3) That depends. If you play the piano, a whole collection of studies sure will be heavy. But a melodic instrument playing a focused piece you will go through? No heavier than separate sheets: you'll use them all anyway. 4) That issue is mitigated by most good editions, where the bottom right corner of the right page is a pause long enough to let you turn. I've seen many poor editions that could be laid out properly, but weren't.
    - powersnail 6y ago
      1. I have a binder with hard back 3. I play the violin and most of my music didn’t come in one piece one book. Each book has many pieces. Only concertos sometimes occupy a whole book. Even then, they also contain the piano accompaniment scores. 4. I agree, some good editions are very considerate.
      - loup-vaillant 6y ago
        > Only concertos sometimes occupy a whole book. Even then, they also contain the piano accompaniment scores. Aren't the piano score separate, so you can give them to the pianist? All concerto scores I have a separate, thin, staple bound score for me, and a thicker one for the pianist. (I don't know how they manage to turn their page with the audience hardly noticing.)
        powersnail 6y ago
        Some has a separate, loose solo score, but not all of them. (But I’m mostly talking about carrying scores for practicing and lessons. For performance, the soloist has to memorize the score anyway.) Ideally, there should be a page turner sitting next to the pianist.
Tomte 6y ago
Spiral binding is a bit annoying, because the opened book never lies completely flat and the left and right page are vertically offset a bit. I recommend https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_binding https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_binding The binding machine is heavy, but lives forever, and it's possible to get a used one at hobbyist prices.
- enriquto 6y ago
  Oh, man I hate wire binding with a thunderous passion! It may look OK when new, but after having travelled a dozen times in your backpack it decomposes in the worst way. Pages start making a creaky sound when turning, they get stuck in the uneven wires, and inevitably start to separate, often from the middle of the page, which is extremely annoying and difficult to fix. When you try to re-fold the wires correctly with your fingers, it becomes worse. The only advantage with respect to spiral winding is that the actual binding act is faster to perform (but it requires a heavy equipment). Spiral binding, on the other hand, is extremely elegant. It is the most robust shape ever, no matter how you compress it between hardcover books it always performs its job. The only way to separate the pages is by tearing the paper. You can bind them yourself with a simple multi-hole punch, and I actually find it a pleasing thing to do. By the way, I don't understand your first comment. Spiral bound paper always lies open flat directly. On the other hand, for wire binding it may not (because the papers reach the fold of the wire).

systemvoltage 6y ago

Is it because it’s easy to flip pages and lay it flat? I am curious why you disagree.

powersnail 6y ago
Not the original commenter, but for me, there are four big advantages of loose pages: 1) Much easier to study and annotate 2) They open flat easily, so no clamps required on the music stand 3) Lighter to carry around (Nobody plays a whole book at the same time) 4) You can set up multiple pages in a row if the stand is wide enough.
- loup-vaillant 6y ago
  I play Cello since I was a kid. 1) I's easier to rest my hand on the stand and annotate if there is enough thickness to support the paper, especially if the stand is a hollow wireframe. If it's a lone sheet of paper, I tend to just lay it flat against my cello and annotate there (and I must be careful not to mark the wood underneath the paper). 2) Correct. But so do good bindings, to a lesser extent. Many bindings aren't easy to lay flat, though. 3) That depends. If you play the piano, a whole collection of studies sure will be heavy. But a melodic instrument playing a focused piece you will go through? No heavier than separate sheets: you'll use them all anyway. 4) That issue is mitigated by most good editions, where the bottom right corner of the right page is a pause long enough to let you turn. I've seen many poor editions that could be laid out properly, but weren't.
  - powersnail 6y ago
    1. I have a binder with hard back 3. I play the violin and most of my music didn’t come in one piece one book. Each book has many pieces. Only concertos sometimes occupy a whole book. Even then, they also contain the piano accompaniment scores. 4. I agree, some good editions are very considerate.
    - loup-vaillant 6y ago
      > Only concertos sometimes occupy a whole book. Even then, they also contain the piano accompaniment scores. Aren't the piano score separate, so you can give them to the pianist? All concerto scores I have a separate, thin, staple bound score for me, and a thicker one for the pianist. (I don't know how they manage to turn their page with the audience hardly noticing.)
      - powersnail 6y ago
        Some has a separate, loose solo score, but not all of them. (But I’m mostly talking about carrying scores for practicing and lessons. For performance, the soloist has to memorize the score anyway.) Ideally, there should be a page turner sitting next to the pianist.

Tomte 6y ago

Spiral binding is a bit annoying, because the opened book never lies completely flat and the left and right page are vertically offset a bit. I recommend https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_binding https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_binding The binding machine is heavy, but lives forever, and it's possible to get a used one at hobbyist prices.

enriquto 6y ago
Oh, man I hate wire binding with a thunderous passion! It may look OK when new, but after having travelled a dozen times in your backpack it decomposes in the worst way. Pages start making a creaky sound when turning, they get stuck in the uneven wires, and inevitably start to separate, often from the middle of the page, which is extremely annoying and difficult to fix. When you try to re-fold the wires correctly with your fingers, it becomes worse. The only advantage with respect to spiral winding is that the actual binding act is faster to perform (but it requires a heavy equipment). Spiral binding, on the other hand, is extremely elegant. It is the most robust shape ever, no matter how you compress it between hardcover books it always performs its job. The only way to separate the pages is by tearing the paper. You can bind them yourself with a simple multi-hole punch, and I actually find it a pleasing thing to do. By the way, I don't understand your first comment. Spiral bound paper always lies open flat directly. On the other hand, for wire binding it may not (because the papers reach the fold of the wire).