A Sheet music stand holds sheet music / music books so that you can sight read comfortably. These stands are used by musicians, orchestras, school bands who rely on reading music sheets for their performances.
Introduction to Sheet Music Stands
Most musicians play their instruments by reading from music sheets (known as sight-reading). You place your music sheets on a stand so that you can easily look at it and play the notes on your music instrument.
Unlike keyboard instruments, where the music stand (rest) is attached to the instrument, performers of other musical instruments place music sheets on a separate independent accessory, known as the music stand.
Any sheet music stand has three major components:
- The Desk where the sheet music rests
- The tripod or the base
- The shaft which connects the desk to the base
Depending on whether a music instrument is played in a seated or in standing position, you may get music stands of different lengths. And almost all of them are height adjustable.
You also get accessories for these music stands.
Sheet Music Stands: Types & Reviews
Metal (Wire) Music Stands
Most entry level music stands are made of metal. These are inexpensive and functional; these may not be the most elegant ones but they do the job.
A metal music stand, also known as wire music stand, is foldable (collapsible), lightweight, quite portable, and tend to be cheaper compared to wooden stands.
These stands are more commonly used by most musicians (of various skill levels), although for heavier music books, an orchestral stand is recommended.
The inexpensive ones tend to be a bit wobbly but are good enough for beginners. The sturdier ones (not many options though) can hold heavier books.
Portable Sheet Music Stand by Vangoa
This portable stand is adjustable, lightweight and easy to carry around. The music stand is spring loaded keeping your sheets in order. It is made of metal and features a multi-angle adjustable, rubber footpad.
ChromaCast CC-MSTAND Folding Music Stand
A popular model that’s inexpensive and comes with useful features. Its height-adjustable to two heights (28″ to 52), for sitting and standing positions.
On Stage SM7122B Folding Music Stand
Height adjustable for sitting or standing positions. Adjustable tilting bookplate holds three 8.5 x 11-inch sheets. Height adjusts to two positions (26-40 inches for sitting or standing positions). Tripod leg can be adjusted for compact spaces. See PRICE on Amazon.
Orchestral Music Stands
An Orchestral Music Stand is sort of a professional and sturdy stand, designed for the experienced musician and wide enough to have several music books (or the heaviest scores) open at a time.
The tilt of the desk can also be easily adjusted. The desk can be easily removed and attached, the tripod base is also collapsible, making it easy to store and transport these stands.
These stands have a strong metal or plastic desk / music rest, and often also have a second smaller shelf to hold things like pencils, rosin and other music accessories.
Manhasset Mh5001 Orchestra Stand
Manhasset Mh5001 concert orchestra stand features double lip that provides convenient storage for accessories like bows, reeds, mouthpiece caps, etc. A popular orchestral music stand. Its rugged, sturdy and stable and features an all-aluminum desk with all-steel base. The angle of the bookplate is tilt-able. It also looks nice. This stand looks much more professional, stylish, is very stable and functional. The extra shelf is what most musicians love on this stand.
Musician’s Gear Deluxe Conductor Music Stand
Very sturdy and can easily hold tons of sheets. Its more of a stationary practice area type of stand, and not really the go type stand. The bookplate is quite wide that can accommodate a wide range of books, and has holes to add extensions (for even larger books/sheets).
Manhasset M48 Symphony Sheet Music Stand
This Manhasset symphony music stand is perfect for orchestras, school bands, and individual musicians that demand high quality and durability. Its sturdy, stable, and yet it is lightweight (commonly used in schools). The tray/desk is big enough to hold 3-section sheet music and large open music books.
Gearlux Deluxe Collapsible Orchestra Music Stand
The Gearlux Deluxe Collapsible Orchestra Music Stand is sturdy, height-adjustable, easy to setup, value for money orchestral sheet music stand. It comes in 2 pieces, just slide the top piece onto the bottom, adjust the height, and its ready to be used. Use it for holding sheets, books and even tablets/small monitors.
The stand measures 60 inches to the top, which is tall enough even for a stand-up bass player to use. The stand will lower to approximately 32 inches (at the top) for a kid’s band.
Wooden Music Stands
While metal stands are popular with beginners, experienced musicians prefer wooden music stands as they are sturdy, have a wider desk, offer better functionality, and look elegant.
The best wooden sheet music stands are made of solid hard wood, have a durable design and come with a heavy strong base, making them very sturdy. The music desk on these stands are also quite large.
These stands are height-adjustable, you can also adjust the angle of the bookplate to a number of positions. Some of these stands have wooden book plate but may have metal tubings/base.
Parke Music Sheet Stand by Touch of Class
This elegant music sheet stand is made of black wood, features flared legs and features high quality craftsmanship. It is height adjustable and perfect for home or the classroom.
Bamboo Conductor Music Stand by Miwayer
This is a high-end music stand from Miwayer, well known for producing a range of music instrument accessories. Made primarily of bamboo, this stand is easy to assemble. The stand is height adjustable, foldable, and features a wide wooden bookplate.
Stageline MS20 Wooden Stand
Stageline MS20 is a European-crafted wood music stand, available in beautiful Cherry finish. Only the height adjustment mechanism is not made of wood, rest all is made of wood. Book plate dimension is 13-inch x 19.75-Inch. You can use it at home, church or school.
Quiklok Music Stand (MS-332)
This is a heavy-duty orchestra sheet music stand with removable wood music holder and aluminum tubing/legs. The stand is heavy to prevent tipping over, and is great for home use. Its solid, sturdy and completely adjustable. The “wooden’ book plate is not solid wood, but made of particle board with dark, wood-grained foil on either side.
Vio Music Wooden Music Stand
The stand is attractive, adjustable in Height and Angle, has a strong design. Easy to Install, collapsible parts save on storage space.
However, the stand seems to be better suited for a standing musician than a seated one. At the lowest setting the ledge on which the music sits is about 37 inches, which places the score a bit high on the stand for a short person or for a child.
Tabletop Music Stand
Tabletop music stands are portable and are designed to be placed on flat surfaces.
These are perfect for situations where conventional music stands may not be practical (usually due to space constraints). You may use it to place sheet music, book, tablet, laptop.
The rubber pads under the shelf and a rubber foot on the support allows slip-free stability, and also protects tabletops from scratches.
Prop-It Portable Tabletop Music Stand
This stand has a nice practical design and the supports can be adjusted to hold opened sheet music (1″W x 12″H). Inexpensive, yet functional table-top. The stand is quite compact as it collapses flat (8″ x 11″). There’s also an elastic page holder which keeps opened books and loose pages secure.
Manhasset Table Top Music Stand (Single)
The Manhasset Table Top Music stand is wide, sturdy and looks professional. You can use this full size music stand desk on any flat surface. Its ideal for classrooms, studio, bell-choir and more. It features a rubber foot on the back support, and felt pads are located below the lip that is provided to keep think like pencils, bow, erasers.
Hamilton KB70 Tabletop Music Stand
The Hamilton KB70 Tabletop Music Stand has good construction, is slightly smaller in size (less wider) but reliable and it features a lip. The reading angle is adjustable (although the adjustment is minimal). Its inexpensive, compact, and can be used wherever there is a flat surface.
Digital Music Stands
A digital music stand is the digital version of traditional paper sheet music. It is an electronic device that displays sheet music or musical scores. Being a digital device, you can easily do adjustments such as zoom in, highlight specific sections, adjust lighting, and so on.
It solves many problems encountered when reading paper sheet music.
You can organize all your sheet music in one place, step-thru PDFs with a foot pedal, take personalized notes, play attached audio, synchronize playlists, and do a lot more with these electronic music stands. These are lightweight and can be placed on most traditional music stands or on any desk.
Paper/hand-written sheet music can be scanned into the system. Sheet music can also be imported or downloaded from the internet.
Brass Music Stand
A brass music stand, though may not be suited to the novice musician, is a great alternative to the experienced musician or bands/orchestras. Brass gives a rich & classic look, and also perfectly complements most musical instruments (most are made of brass).
Best Sheet Music Stands & Accessories
Here are reviews of the best sheet music stand. Some of these look stylish, goes with the image of a professional/classical musician (especially the ones made of wood, which are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes).
Manhasset Music Stands
Manhasset stands are known for high quality and easily adjustable music stands. You can choose from a collection of Manhasset Music Stands, catering to beginners as well as the professional musician.
Manhasset Mh5001 Orchestra Stand
The Manhasset Mh5001 orchestra stand comes with double lip which gives you convenient storage space for keeping bows, rosin, reeds, pencils, etc. Height adjustable; Desk can be raised, lowered, and tilted easily with one hand.
Manhasset M48 Symphony Stand
This stand is perfect for orchestras, school bands, and individual musicians. Easy, no-knob friction-tilt neck delivers consistent tension at any tilt position.
The Manhasset 48TA is a taller version of the Manhasset 48 Symphony Music Stand, suitable for taller musicians.
On Stage Music Stands
On-Stage Wooden Music Stand
The On-Stage SM7312W conductor wooden music stand is inexpensive, robust stand with a wide solid wood bookplate. The height and angle of the tilt of the bookplate can be adjusted. You can easily remove the upper shaft.
Hercules Music Stands
Hercules BS311B EZ Clutch Music Stand
The Hercules Quik-N-EZ music stand is sturdy, easy to height-adjust, easy to setup. It folds up easily and is quite portable. The design is excellent, you really don’t even have to loosen/tighten anything, you just have to move them into position and it stays in place, thanks to the “clutch”.
More Stands
Quik-Lok MS332 sheet music stand
Quik-Lok MS332 is a sturdy orchestral music stand with a wide, wooden book plate. It comes with a removable wood music holder. It’s height-adjustable (using knobs).
Musician’s Gear Heavy-Duty Folding Music Stand
Musician’s Gear Heavy-Duty Folding Music Stand is a solid, well designed stand that you can use to hold music sheets and even a music book. It is Height-adjustable and folds up for compact storage and transport.
This is a basic sheet music stand but it’s sturdy, the legs folds quite well for compact storage.
Accessories for Sheet Music Stands
Read more on sheet music stand: parts & accessories
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