Binding tricks
Posted: 07 Oct 2015, 17:58
Here are few tricks I learned about binding music from Arnold Arnstein.
For comb or spiral binding:
1. To make a durable sheet that will not pull through the binding holes, print the music single-sided and glue the pages back- to-back on the non-bound side with a thin line of rubber cement along the side edge. Do not glue the top or bottom edges or the middle of the pages. Such a page will rarely pull out of the binding and hold up for many years. (Present-day rubber cement is not always of good quality, so white glue might substitute as long as the page is pressed down by a heavy object to prevent wrinkling.)
2. Use combs or spirals one size larger than normally used, so that the comb or spiral is a little floppy. This allows silent turning of the page and also extends the life of the music. The warnings that I have seen about not using comb-binding for parts may actually be a result of not knowing this trick.
For all bindings:
3. To attach a fold-out page, use good quality masking tape. This tape will hold up for years and never break through.
The fold-out page should be cut approximately 1/4 inch narrower than the regular bound pages to allow easy turning and to prevent folding of the turning edge. To actually attach the pages, line up the two pages, apply two small pieces of masking tape to the corners to hold the pages in place and then run the long strip along the pages.
I have scores that are bound as above and they are still fine after decades of use. Sometimes the pages have to be reglued or masking tape replaced, but we are talking decades here.
For comb or spiral binding:
1. To make a durable sheet that will not pull through the binding holes, print the music single-sided and glue the pages back- to-back on the non-bound side with a thin line of rubber cement along the side edge. Do not glue the top or bottom edges or the middle of the pages. Such a page will rarely pull out of the binding and hold up for many years. (Present-day rubber cement is not always of good quality, so white glue might substitute as long as the page is pressed down by a heavy object to prevent wrinkling.)
2. Use combs or spirals one size larger than normally used, so that the comb or spiral is a little floppy. This allows silent turning of the page and also extends the life of the music. The warnings that I have seen about not using comb-binding for parts may actually be a result of not knowing this trick.
For all bindings:
3. To attach a fold-out page, use good quality masking tape. This tape will hold up for years and never break through.
The fold-out page should be cut approximately 1/4 inch narrower than the regular bound pages to allow easy turning and to prevent folding of the turning edge. To actually attach the pages, line up the two pages, apply two small pieces of masking tape to the corners to hold the pages in place and then run the long strip along the pages.
I have scores that are bound as above and they are still fine after decades of use. Sometimes the pages have to be reglued or masking tape replaced, but we are talking decades here.