Predicting the weather on the day of an outdoor concert is an inexact science. And, every musician who has played outdoors knows how a sudden wind challenges even the most adept performers. Several strategies have been developed to prevent a gust of wind from blowing sheet music off its stand. Some of the items that work remarkably well are commonly found around the house -- rubber bands, various types of clips, three-ring binders and others. Commercial accessories that are specially designed for use with music stands are also available.

  • Predicting the weather on the day of an outdoor concert is an inexact science.
  • Some of the items that work remarkably well are commonly found around the house -- rubber bands, various types of clips, three-ring binders and others.

Photocopy the sheet music and punch holes in it.

Arrange the photocopied pages into a plastic or cardboard-backed three-ring binder.

Use plastic clips such as clothespins or bag closure clips to fasten the sides of the sheet music to the binder.

  • Use plastic clips such as clothespins or bag closure clips to fasten the sides of the sheet music to the binder.

Place sheet music on your music stand. Open pages so you can see all the music you need to play.

Place one or more thick rubber bands over the stand and over your sheet music to keep it in place.

Use a weight to hold the bottom of the music pages steady if necessary. Items such as keys, accessories, or a rectangular block of wood work well.

Attach the front and back covers of a bound instrumental book to the sides or top of the music stand using plastic clips.

Hold open the pages in the book that you need to see by clipping together the pages of music you don't need to play. The weight of the clips will help prevent wind from blowing the pages around.

Use something heavy to keep the bottom part of the book steady on the music stand.

TIP

Be sure it is legal to photocopy the music. Many publishers allow limited photocopying for logistical reasons, such as ease in page turning as long as the original has been purchased. If the instrumental part is only two pages, make one copy of each page and insert them in the notebook so you can see both pages -- one on the left and the other on the right -- thus eliminating the need to turn pages.