# How to keep a sheet music book open when playing?



## alhambra

Hello friends,

When playing piano I often use softcover editions that are hard to keep open. E.g. my editions of Beethoven and Schubert piano sonatas have quite many pages, and no matter how much I fold them the problem seems to persist. 

Do you have any gadgets or tools that you have found useful?

I was thinking of it was possible to create something out of plastic or metal that would turn out to be useful ? Attached is something I was thinking.

~alhambra


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## Pugg

alhambra said:


> Hello friends,
> 
> When playing piano I often use softcover editions that are hard to keep open. E.g. my editions of Beethoven and Schubert piano sonatas have quite many pages, and no matter how much I fold them the problem seems to persist.
> 
> Do you have any gadgets or tools that you have found useful?
> 
> I was thinking of it was possible to create something out of plastic or metal that would turn out to be useful ? Attached is something I was thinking.
> 
> ~alhambra


The principal idea is good, however when you have to turn your page very quick........


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## Taggart

Two thoughts - old uprights used to have small pegs to keep a book open; the other is to photocopy all the pages so you have a flat copy - that also avoids the problems of page turns.


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## alhambra

But if you have, let's say, complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas - would you rather have a 600 page book or 600 individual pages as photo copies ? I actually used to print everything, and my home was floating in thousands and thousands of papers. It is very hard to keep them in order...


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## bharbeke

My methods are bending the book back (breaking its spine), photocopies (paper clips may help), and propping the book open at the sides with hardcover/heavy books for the two-page pieces.

There's no ideal method, you just have to find what works for you. Depending on your end use of the music, memorization might also be something to try.


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## alhambra

bharbeke said:


> My methods are bending the book back (breaking its spine), photocopies (paper clips may help), and propping the book open at the sides with hardcover/heavy books for the two-page pieces.


Or should music publishers use more and more spiral binding... ??


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## oneleaf

There are a few collections that I decided to bite the bullet and pay for expensive clothbound/hardcover editions. Henle, ABRSM, and Konemann Budapest all have great hardcovers. For Beethoven, be on the lookout for the hardcover Konemann Budapest collection... 32 sonatas spread across three hardcover books that stay open wonderfully. I bought my set for only $35 on Ebay, and they do come up from time to time. Or just splurge and get the Henle's.

Here's a photo of the Konemann Beethoven. Stays open just fine, and I never had to force it.


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## oneleaf

Apologies for the upside down photo. Not sure how it ended up that way!


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## tnan123

This is one of the reasons why making an investment in a good edition is a good idea. In cases where the book just won't cooperate and for works that require several page turns, I just make due with photocopies and putting those in a binder with those plastic covers.


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## Larkenfield

> Do you have any gadgets or tools that you have found useful?


Yuja Wang has her music on an iPad and can easily change pages with the flick of her finger during some of her concert performances. There is an online YouTube example, though I don't recall which concerto at the moment. It looks like the iPad may be the wave of the future. Found it!


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## Vasks




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## premont

oneleaf said:


> Apologies for the upside down photo. Not sure how it ended up that way!
> View attachment 103701


It looks very pathetic


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## Klavierspieler

Buy Henle, dude.


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## Krummhorn

I have found one solution is to put my scores into PDF format and make them readable on my iPad Pro 12.0. I use the ForScore app for organizing my music. 

I can use landscape mode and see two pages at a time - or one can put it in portrait mode and see one page at a time. 

I can create 'setlists' for each venue that I play for ... and add/delete scores by means of the ForScore "console" that allows me to perform that task over my home Wi-Fi connection. 

Add the Apple Pen to the mix to make notations on scores, too. On trips the iPad goes along for us to check our emails and surf the web when we need information.


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## Red Terror

First world problems.


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