Music folders

[Bach5G]

We have the old orchestral size folders. We have too much music, the folders are overstuffed and falling apart.

Is duct tape the best for repairs? Is there some other product that works better?

Are there folders that work better, hold more? I‘ve used the same sort of faux leather band folders for 50 years. There must have been an improvement or two over the years.

[BGuttman]

We just went thrugh a replacement of all our folders in my orchestra.

Duct tape is a temprorary fix. It doesn't last.

We allocated $850 for a complete set of new folders. The old ones were over 20 years old.

We also don't keep all our music in the folders at all times. They really don't work well with too much music. We decide what is necessary for the current concert and that's all that goes in.

If you really need to carry 500-1000 charts around with you all the time you should look at envelopes that can hold that much music, not a folder intended to sit on the stand. A good alternative would be to scan everything and have people read from laptops or tablets.

[Posaunus]

Our big band has too many charts, and our decades-old folders were also disintegrating. Most of us have switched to plastic file boxes with Pendaflex hanging file folders to hold ~30 charts in each Pendaflex. Yes, yet another piece of luggage to carry. But they seem to cause less damage to the charts (which we've all copied or scanned to have a centrally-available backup), and makes them easily accessible.

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[hyperbolica]

We carry over 100 charts in folders I bought 5 years ago, and they look like new. I got the instrumental folders at mymusicfolders.com. Brass corners, I think you can get ones with expanded pockets.

[Matt K]

I used to do a small file box as well. I'd have hanging file folders for 100 charts, each of which would contain a manilla folder containing 10 charts each. So if I needed to find something, I knew within 10 charts almost immediately where it was. (We had a # system so they were catalogued by that).

Since then, I play in a lot of bands where 100% of what we play had the PDFs provided by the arrangers which is *really* convenient so I just read them off a tablet.

[BGuttman]

I should also mention that a couple of the Big Bands I play in use several folders for the music. You can fit 100 charts in a folder like the one hyperbolica shows and maybe you can set up different genres or programs in each.

I think the best large capacity folder has a pair of elastic straps to hold it closed. They were pretty pricey and I can't find a picture of one online easily.

Hah! Found the image:

[elmsandr]

For summer work, I love using my desca folder. It works well and that flap at the top stops music from falling out if you get it upside down. I’m sure he could make one a little larger if you called and got a bunch.

Cheers,
Andy

[whitbey]

My quintet book is 2-1/2' thick. I use large heavy zip lock bags. I bought a 1000 for $90. The stash should last a while. I use them for all kinds of things.

Also waterproof.

[AndrewMeronek]

When the volume of music gets large enough to not fit in a high-capacity music folder, it probably also won't all fit on a music stand. At that point, it's usually worth it to go to your local office store and see what they have in terms of large office binders with multiple pockets. One band I'm in has 600+ charts in the book, and we use Vaultz storage chests. It turns out that when you get a lot of paper in those things, the handle needs to be well-designed and in less-expensive boxes is usually the first thing to break.