Musical "Dragon's Den"

[StellaJohnson]

What would you like invented which would make your life so much easier in the brass band or other musical world.

I wish a proper lyre was invented for bass players. The ones we have are no use what so ever. I just hold the book now whilst playing/marching because it just wobbles about and you end up playing the same line twice!!

What would you like invented that would make you musical life so much easier?

 

[Leyfy]

A self-sorting music pad. Put the music in and it automatically goes into alphabetical order. (Or someone inventing something to hunt down and eliminate our band-room pixes that steal random parts. Last night it was the sop and euph parts for a piece which, we were assured, were all there 5 minutes before the rehearsal!!)

I reckon in a few years things like the iPad might take off for holding music, rather than paper copies. The possibilities are endless

 

[Rapier]

Someway of scoring music so that no parts had any sharps or flats to sort through. I'd allow the odd accidental though.

 

[HaleStorm]

Some kind of frame, with wheels for marching with a Double B, so you dont have to carry it. Kind of like the marching drumkits they have for parade bands, but with a bass stuck in the top.

Think a cross between a zimmer frame and a bass stand.

 

[_si]

In this digital age, is there any reason why we couldnt have the whole library of a band in 28 ipad like devices? the paper music would be filed away as a back up, and each player would have the whole library available in seconds. They could be made with a stand too

 

[trumpetmike]

In this digital age, is there any reason why we couldnt have the whole library of a band in 28 ipad like devices? the paper music would be filed away as a back up, and each player would have the whole library available in seconds. They could be made with a stand too

This sort of thing has already happened, with a whole orchestra having monitors that displayed their parts.
It would make the conductors life easier - no more "can we go from 8 bars before Z?" They could just put the cursor where they wanted and say "go from there!"
You could also rig it up to have an alarm (visual only, of course) that alerted the player near the entry after a long period of rests (not a big problem in the brass band world, but for orchestral players this would be a delight).

 

[HaleStorm]

I've seen them used in a live performance of Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds, they were very impressive, its just a shame they are so expensive, about £900 per stand

 

[Getzonica]

Music stands - have done quite a few gigs recently outside and it had unfortunately been rather windy...and the music and music stand don't seem to like the wind...

What is needed is the perfect music stand: one that isn't too heavy, easy to put up and take down, doesn't blow over in the wind and doesn't even require pegs (and the music doesn't blow away in the wind either!), and that comes with a built in mute holder / pencil holder / water or drink holder..... oh and what about having a refridgerator so that the drinks don't warm up in when it's sunny and a radiator so what when you are carolling you don't get too cold.... Now that would be a pretty awsome music stand! lol

 

[MoominDave]

You can solve the stand blowing over issue by stretching out the legs flat and resting your feet on one or two of them. The rest is up to you!

 

[Thirteen Ball]

You can solve the stand blowing over issue by stretching out the legs flat and resting your feet on one or two of them. The rest is up to you!

Or if it's got legs made of box-section construction like mine has, filling the space with shot and scrap lead from old fishing weights works too.

Makes one wonder why they don't come pre-weighted from the factory....

 

[MoominDave]

Cost, I imagine?

 

[Thirteen Ball]

Probably.

Plus these days someone would only go and drop one on their foot and then sue the manufacturer....

 

[Will the Sec]

I wish a proper lyre was invented for bass players. The ones we have are no use what so ever. I just hold the book now whilst playing/marching because it just wobbles about and you end up playing the same line twice!!

Been thinking about this for a long time, for all the reasons you say. Having tired of bending and soldering things (OK, having things soldered for me!) I looked for analternative solution. I tried an experiment with moldable plastic (which is malleable when you pour hot water over it, and rock hard when you pour cold water over it.) Getting exactly the right shape whilst securing the attachment for the instrument end and the lyre was hard work. One prototype was pretty close to a usable version, though it a tad heavy. I could play and walk at the same time, but I was never bold enough to dare use this on the march.

I daresay a better engineer could take this idea and run with it. (Well, march with it.)

 

[Will the Sec]

What is needed is the perfect music stand: one that isn't too heavy, easy to put up and take down, doesn't blow over in the wind and doesn't even require pegs (and the music doesn't blow away in the wind either!), and that comes with a built in mute holder / pencil holder / water or drink holder..... oh and what about having a refridgerator so that the drinks don't warm up in when it's sunny and a radiator so what when you are carolling you don't get too cold.... Now that would be a pretty awsome music stand! lol

Not a solution to all your points, Getzonica, but the stand that doesn't require pegs?

I saw Friary Guildford playing at Westminster Abbey a few weeks back, and their first trombone was using fridge magnets to secure his music to the stand. My immediate reaction was that this was pure genius - a simple solution to a perennial problem. Should I ever play outdoors again, I will be copying the man.