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taping pages together

When a piece is printed over more than one page, I use Scotch brand tape "bind" the sheets together.  This lets me have better control over the paper on the stand.  The problem is that after opening and closing the music several times the tape breaks and I have "dangling" sheets to repair.  Has anyone found a better tape (i.e., one that doesn't break after a few flexings) for this purpose?

TIA,
Bill

Re: taping pages together

Reply #1 –
Duct tape is the solution to every problem

Re: taping pages together

Reply #2 –
Paper micro-pore surgical tape works best. It is available at any drug store. I have scores that I taped together 30 years ago, and the tape is still good.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #3 –
Daaaaaaang

Re: taping pages together

Reply #4 –
I prefer masking tape - the stuff painters stick on window edges to prevent paint getting on the glass.  Stick it on the back of the music so that it doesn't cover any margin writing.

It folds nicely so that music sits flat whether folded or unfolded.  This also stops it peeling away from the paper after time.  Plastic tapes fail both of these.

It's probably not a good as micro-pore surgical tape, but unless you have a special supply, I bet it's a lot cheaper!

Gaff would work, but is expensive, and bulkier than masking tape.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #5 –
Masking tape is no good if there are 4 pages (2 sheets, front and back).
Also no good for scores.
I'm gonna try me some o' that there paper micro-pore surgical tape.
Carl Bangs is usually very trustworthy in these matters.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #6 –
I've been very happy with Scotch brand Magic Tape.  Normally I put it on the back of the pages, but if you have it on the front, you can write over it if necessary.  It is also just about invisible once it's applied.  This tape has lasted well for 3 years so far.  I also have used cloth adhesive tape (the first aid type), but Magic doesn't leave loose threads.

You can buy it in those little plastic dispensers but I find them awkward.  I suggest buying the tape without the dispenser, and using a weighted tape dispenser such as found in any office - they're cheap.

Since Magic holds a static electric charge, your paper will tend to lift or move when you're trying to tape it.  You can use a couple of small pieces of tape to anchor the pages before adding a longer strip, or you can just use a couple of light paperweights.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #7 –
Whaddaya mean masking tape's no good for scores!  I worked in the library of a wind band for years, and must have made dozens of scores that all worked well with masking tape!  (This was in the days where copyright was less tight, and we had a special exemption.)

I do agree that double-sided pages can present a problem - it's sometimes easier to have single-sided, folded in a concertina.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #8 –
Just what I said - masking tape's no good for scores.
Paper is white, masking tape's "yellow."
It ain't invisible, because there is no back side.
Just plain ugly.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #9 –
Ah, now I see what you're saying - you want a bound appearance!  I was talking about concertina-fold scores.

For my own bound scores now, either I use those 20- or 21-ring plastic spines, or for thin scores, I print/photocopy onto double-sided A3, staple down the middle with my special long-arm stapler, then fold in half!

I think I'd avoid tape to make a bound score.  It's gonna get messy when a couple of pages fall out, and nasty to fix.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #10 –
I was going to suggest using bookbinding glue on the connecting paper edges.  Thicker paper could be used for the covers, with the glued edges covered with cloth tape.

I said I was going to suggest that, but then I googled bookbinding and came across this fascinating tutorial, which discusses sewing books together.

http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/book/index.html

It takes a few minutes to read, but has some ideas that could easily lend themselves to a score of 15 or 20 pages.

This link is quicker to get through, and seems almost as practical
http://www.sff.net/people/Brook.West/bind/bindit.html

I've never tried it, but perhaps a way to bind a score of, say 10 pages that starts on page 2 would be to use 6 sheets of letter sized pages.  (My apologies to the authors of the above 2 websites, because I'm blatantly borrowing their ideas.)

Print your title page on one side of sheet 1 using a heavy paper.  Print page 1 of the score on the other side. On sheet 6, print page 10 of the score on one side, leave the other side blank. Use heavy paper again for sheet 6.

Lay sheets 1 and 6 beside each other, with pages 1 and 10 face up.  Use ordinary (perhaps recycled) paper for the inner pages.  Print pages 2 and 3 on two sides of sheet 2.  Print pages 8 and 9 on two sides of sheet 5.  Lay them on top of sheets 1 and 2, with pages 3 and 9 facing up.  Ditto for pages 4,5 on sheet 3 and 6,7 on sheet 5.

Close the two stacks of paper together, so page 5 is face to face with page 6.  Clamp them, then punch small holes a couple of centimetres apart all the way down the edge that is to be bound.  Use string or thick thread to sew the pages together.  Pull snug but not too tight.  Use the Japanese bookbinding sewing pattern.  Keep the knots inside the book.

Apply 1 inch wide cloth tape to cover the spine and the sewn edge of each cover.

Presto! you should now have a good quality, long lasting score.

You could experiment with taping sheet 1 to sheet 6, 2 to 5, and 3 to 4, leaving a small gap between each pair, then punch one row of holes  down the tape that shows in the gap, and just stitch down the gap.  This would probably allow you to have a score that lays flat when opened.

Have fun.

Re: taping pages together

Reply #11 –
I've been playing piano (organs and various keyboards) for 41 years.  In that time I have been able to memorize exactly zero songs, nor can I memorize poetry of any length. Yet, I  get paid to play several dozen times a year. To say that I am fussy about the presentational aspects of music would be a gross understatement. That said, this is what has worked for me over the last 5 years or so joining pages of music:

1) Get a pack of standard envelope labels. 2 1/2" x 15/16" or so.  Make sure the pack says non-removable.  Removable ones don't work at all.

2) Use a paper cutter to cut these down to 1/2" x 15/16", discarding 1/4" (the rounded part) from each end. You should get 4 "joiners" from each label.

3) Put the pages to be joined on a large, flat surface. Put one joiner (long dimension up/down) dead center. Put one about 1" from the bottom, one about 1" from the top. Burnish them down with your fingernail and fold along the joint.

I put my joiners on the front so I can see if any are coming loose or tearing, but the back is good if you plan to copy them on to 11"x17".

It is quite rare to have a tear or loosening.

Another tip I would give you is to use 28# paper for music that fits on one page and 24# paper for the rest.  Costs just a bit more, but it is so much easier to find a piece of music in a large stack.

Good luck,
Registered user since 1996

Re: taping pages together

Reply #12 –
That is sound, practical advice. My eldest brother plays the organ, and quite well, too. But (nearly) always with sheet music. I'll pass your method on.

A memory is a lovesome thing, God wot. (And so is a garden.)
I am blessed with a very selective memory, for which my wife has cursed me more than once: for not remembering the right things, or remembering useless things or potentially harmful things. Such as (remember that English is not my first language):

The time has come, the walrus said
To speak of many things
Of ships, and shoes, and sealing wax
Of cabbages and kings
And why the sea is boiling hot
And whether pigs have wings.

Did anyone ever set this to music? If so, I'll print it, and tape the pages together properly.

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Reply #13 –
Speaking of walruses

I am the eggman
they are the eggmen
I am the walrus
koo koo kachoo

that is set to some (pretty good) music

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Reply #14 –
yay for irrelevence

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Reply #15 –
Standard envelope labels!
Why didn't I think of that?!??!
Yousa is a Genius!

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Reply #16 –
True wisdom knows it should comprise
Some nonsense as a compromise
Lest fools should fail to find it wise. - Piet Hein.

Eggman. Singular, like in Singularis Porcus.

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Reply #17 –
O yeah - I forgot. Irrelevance. Or irreverence - or both. ;-)

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Reply #18 –
It is probably both, I now realize it is irreverent to call The Beatles irrelevent

Re: taping pages together

Reply #20 –
oh....... yea

Re: taping pages together

Reply #22 –
Well, after 15 years it may be time for an update. 

Magic tape didn't last  (sigh.  :( ).  Masking tape dries, becomes brittle and breaks. 

A couple of ideas from Amazon.ca - book binding tape and hinging tape.

Has anyone tried these for taping two or more pages of instrumental parts together?  Results?

Re: taping pages together

Reply #23 –
Quote from: Rick G. –
For binding 2-4 sheets, I use these pricing labels. Not cheap. ~10 years ago, I picked up a 3 roll pack for $10USD. (they are only sold with a replacement ink cartridge) But they really stick! I've not had one come off even on much used music that was bound several years ago. 3 stickers - 1 inch from top and bottom and 1 center. A three roll pack has over 3000 stickers. I've used about a roll and a half.
The link was to Monarch 1110 white labels. It is no longer any good. A quick search found a few suppliers, some of which don't require that you buy an inker. I'm down to about a half a roll on the pack I bought 17 years ago. They still stick after 17 years.
Registered user since 1996
 

Re: taping pages together

Reply #24 –
This was an amusing thread to read. For my own performances, I hole punch page 1 and 2 and place in a binder, using plastic tape for page 3 and 4 if I want the music to be laid out at the piano or organ. It can be removed easily for storage of the piece in a big binder. If the piece is longer, then I just hole punch it all and deal with page turns. I'm extremely committed to the binder idea after having music float off the piano onto the floor mid-performance. I've then had to play looking at that music on the floor, but it's not ideal!