The Wee Stand Makes For A Great Music Stand
So the more things change the more they stay the same, is what the saying goes. Let’s take music for example — once it was on the radio, then on cassettes and CDs and then streaming through the cloud. Burt when it comes to performing music, things haven’t changed all that much for the musician themselves; they still have to use an instrument, unless they’re doing vocals (i.e. singing), and they still have to know what the music they’re going to play is. For some that can mean memorizing what they’re going to play and then translating that into their fingers or mouth — depending on the instrument they’re playing — so as to create the music that is in their head. But back in the day when kids were growing up and learning a musical instrument in school, getting together in order to practice playing was a thing. And what was being played, regardless of whether it was modern or classical or whatever, it had to be learned. That meant read sheet music. Now the way the paper got held in place required a music stand: a cumbersome and large and hard metal that bumped into elbows because assembling it to stand often meant trying to deal with an awkward balancing act to getting it to stand up straight. But even using a tablet requires having it on a stand. What’s needed is a music stand for the 21st Century that takes all the foibles and issues that the traditional music stand brings to the table and instead lets you have a greater freedom without giving up the basics for what it must do. Or in other words it should be the Wee Stand from NoisyClan.
So the first thing noticed is that Wee Stand feels tiny; after all it fits inside a pretty small box, but it’s got a decent heft to it despite the light and airy pictures that cover both sides. That weight is a giveaway that we’re not dealing with some lightweight plastic rods that are all hooked together. No it’s metal construction that is causing this weight, but looking at the box also means it’s portable. As in being able to collapse down into a box that’s barely 13” in length — meaning that what’s inside (i.e., the Wee Stand) is actually smaller than that.
So out it comes from the box (which gets saved because it’s kinda cute) and it’s obvious now that the Wee Stand is going to have to expand and enlarge itself in order to be used — actually this only takes about a minute or so to do (maybe a bit longer the first time out) as what you end up with is a tripod-like stand with panels at the top that allow for a sheet of music to be placed onto it, with a tab mechanism allowing for clipping onto the sheets. Or as the more modern musician would extoll, for a tablet to be placed there, again the clips coming into play. Surprisingly the fact that the Wee Stand can be so small before getting “large” doesn’t affect its stability or durability one bit. It stands fine and there’s no fear of that tablet falling off (and some titling is possible for a better angling of eye to music). That’s especially true if used in the tabletop mode where the legs aren’t extended. But that’s not to say that the Wee Stand can handle an uneven surface without some care or that a strong wind can’t cause problems. So with that in mind, the built-in carry strap does double duty: it can be used to carry the stand around or, with the stand placed in the normal standing position, the strap can be attached to a weighty object that will give it more stability for standing tall (for example, a knapsack). Using the provided QR code gives videos and the written instructions make for an easy read.
At its heart the Wee Stand is a mechanical device geared for one thing: to provide a surface for holding materials for use by a musician. That’s not to say that other uses might not come to mind, so creativity must be given its due (use it to hold a book open, as an example). Play on. For further information go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weestand/the-lightest-ultra-portable-music-stand-ever-wee-stand?ref=epeh78&token=5a7c3ee0
