Lack of page retainers on music rack

andysmee · Post by **andysmee** » 04 Feb 2007, 19:38

How do you deal with not having page retainers (the little metal bars which pivot out to hold back the pages of music books) on top end pianos?

I am used to a small fold down music rack on a Welmar upright with retainers and I am now faced with a large wide music rack (like on a grand piano) and lots of music books who will refuse to stay open without breaking their spines (which I refuse to do - besides, the pages then fall out)

Is there a solution? And would it be sacrilege to add retainers to a piano not equipped with them (this is the 21st century and it will be my piano for the next 20 years so why not?!)

Do piano makers presume that those with high end pianos only play music from sheets?

andysmee · Post by **andysmee** » 04 Feb 2007, 19:41

Answered my own question after some searching... http://www.uk-piano.org/piano-forums/vi ... ight=pages

Openwood · Post by **Openwood** » 04 Feb 2007, 22:14

It's infuriating. You buy a piano because you want to PLAY THINGS on it and then you can't actually PLAY THINGS on it because you spend most of the time FAFFING ABOUT with turning pages and sheet music/books falling all over the place

And another thing: Music trays. I use two Yamaha uprights on a regular basis - one in a church and one in a classroom. The music trays of both the pianos have been split in two (not by me, I hasten to add, but not by crazed heavy-handed maniacs either). The music tray on the church piano was broken last summer and I'm still waiting for a replacement to arrive.

And just before I self-combust, why are music trays so short? Do piano designers ever actually talk to the people who play the things?

Time for my tablet.....