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I use a standard Manhasset stand, but whenever I try to work with a large format score (11x17), the top of it flops over the back of the stand desk. To clarify, the score is 17 inches tall and 11 wide, 22 wide when opened.

They make extenders, but they only make the stand wider - not taller. Does anyone have a simple/cheap trick to get tall scores to play nicely?

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  • @Tim I've conducted from scores that were printed or copied onto 11x17 paper in "portrait" orientation and then bound such that the open book was slightly more than 22 inches wide and 17 inches tall. For the metrically inclined, 11 inches is 279 mm, and 17 inches is 432 mm.
    – phoog
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:03
  • Now we need to know how high the original platter is!
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:08
  • @Tim I believe it's 12.5 inches -- 31.75 cm.
    – phoog
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:30
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    Oh, also in the "simple answers" category: there are stands with larger desks, intended for conductors. This one has a desk 15.5" high, which leaves only 1.5" sticking beyond the top.
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 15:12
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    Until today I was virgin to the world of the floppotron. I haven't lived.
    – nuggethead
    Commented Aug 12, 2022 at 20:09

3 Answers 3

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Phoog's idea is a great simple solution. If you need a more permanent one, you'll need to pop rivet, screw or weld an extension to the top, which may impede the foldability of the stand.

Looking at the stand, it looks like the top is wood, so you could put a couple of small hinges to make an extension for the top, so the extra will fold down towards you. It'd still work if the original is metal. Again, pops or small nuts/bolts will do the joining to a piece of plywood, of similar thickness to the original. Maybe a little higher, to make room for a light, or the inevitable clothes pegs for the outside windy gig.

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  • A standard Manhasset stand is made of sheet metal with textured black paint. I've certainly seen examples of these stands with customizations in line with the suggestions here.
    – phoog
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:09
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    Yes, I do use those (under duress!) But all my charts are on A4. My big problem is in the other dimension - I need 4 stands to hold up the sometimes 8-10 sheets that keyboard players have! I'm going to stick to trumpet or clarinet in the next life...
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:12
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    I was going to suggest "semi-permanent": buy the plastic horizontal extenders, which "wrap" the desk, and then affix to them a thin sheet of ply (or lexan etc) that also extends the desk vertically. Then you can remove them when you don't need them, but the attachment to the desk is more stable than using clips or clothespins.
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 15:09
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    @AndyBonner - or, indeed, a piece of perspex that's big enough for the whole job. That's what I've ended up with on one stand.
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 15:15
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    @RedSonja - sounds like not a bad idea. I've ended up welding up a stand that's around 48" wide, so 6 sheets sits on it happily. It slots into the back of the k'bd stand. For the windy days, I've attached a sheet of see-through plastic (similar to what's used in rag-top car roof back windows), held at the bottom with some button magnets. Hence steel, rather than ali. But heavier!
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 12, 2022 at 13:44
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Print it on better paper -- if you can (commercially available performance materials are never printed on paper as flimsy as most people use in their printers and photocopiers).

But good paper can be costly, especially at that size. A large piece of cardboard, fixed to the stand with paperclips or clothespins, can serve to extend its surface area and support s larger score.

You can cut the cardboard to the size and shape you need. For better appearance, you can use some black construction paper, or something more creative in contexts where that would be appreciated.

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  • I often print on 28# laser paper, which is about the best I can afford/the best my local print shop has to offer. For smaller scores, adding a few sheets of cardstock before binding helps, but for anything more than 100 pages it isn't enough support.
    – nuggethead
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:38
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    Looks like there might be some 17x11 (portrait) binders available. That is one way to put some cardboard behind it. If the paper is that floppy then maybe it can be hole punched and put in a binder.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:40
  • @nuggethead if corrugated cardboard isn't stiff enough there's always plywood.
    – phoog
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 14:49
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    Somewhere between cardboard and plywood is foam core which will be available in black, and still quite lightweight. Another way to attach the board to the desk is with Command picture hanging strips, which won't be visible and will allow for easy removal of the board.
    – Theodore
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 15:22
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    If you go with a homemade extension Velcro is a good choice for attaching it as needed to the stand and it won’t be visible or interfere with the music. It can also be detached when not in use.
    – John Belzaguy
    Commented Aug 11, 2022 at 17:13
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One sort of fix is to use three or four of those "wind clips", but just attach them to the stand itself, sticking up as far as you like, to provide support for the music. (Not clipping the music itself, just having detachable clip-ons to the stand itself.)

I don't know the official name for these clips, but they are like giant clothespins, about 10 inches long, and the clip-part happens to be transparent, so that when used to hold music on a stand outdoors in wind, one can see through them. So, in addition to potentially extending the stand itself, they have other good uses.

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