The Ultimate List of Back to School Supplies for Band
Band supplies and school supplies often overlap on a few basic items: pencils, erasers, 3-ring binders, plastic sheets, dividers, etc. In this guide we’ll list a few of the general items that each band student should have, and then get instrument-specific.
Tuner / Metronome
A tuner/metronome is an essential part of every musician’s arsenal. Regular tuning helps musicians make sure their notes are sounding sweet, and the metronome helps to keep practice at a steady pace.
The tuner/metronome that the North Pole band program highly recommends that every student use in class each day is the Korg TM-60 ($20). When paired with a Korg CM300 clip-on microphone ($15), the two devices allow students to make fine adjustments to their pitch in class, even when other students are playing around them. These devices can be found on Amazon, and are usually on sale at the start of every academic year.
Additionally, students are highly encouraged (not required) to download a tuner/metronome on their mobile device. Although not as helpful during class due to the limitations of microphones on smart phones, TE Tuner ($4) is easily the most helpful piece of technology that a band student can use while practicing at home. While there are a number of free apps that claim to do the same thing, TE Tuner is easily the best music app on the market, and in the opinion of this director, it’s worth every penny.
Black 3-Ring Binder (1 inch), Plastic Sheets, and Dividers
Each student in the band program is required to own a BLACK, 1 inch, 3-ring binder to store their music. Why does the color of the binder matter? Because we’ll use them on stage at performances throughout the year, and it’s important that we always look uniform as an ensemble.
I highly recommend AVERY brand of Heavy Duty Binders due to the fact that they last! These can be found online at Amazon, and also locally at Walmart.
In addition to owning a binder specifically for band (trust me, we’ll fill it), it is important that students each own at least 25 plastic sheet protectors for their music. A set of 5 or more dividers is also helpful to organize their binders.
Music Stand
One of the best ways to encourage your student to practice at home is to create a space for them that feels like the band room. You can do this by purchasing a music stand. Music stands come in two main types: traditional and collapsible.
The music stand that we use in the band room is the Manhasset Model 48 Symphony Sheet Music Stand. It is extremely durable, long lasting, and it is used by more music schools than all other stands combined. It’s not very portable, and it and does not collapse for storage.
If you are interested in a music stand that you can take with you, or store on a shelf when not in use, there are several options at multiple price points. Any collapsible music stand will work fine, but I highly recommend the Konig & Meyer (K&M) Heavy Duty Music Stand (Model 10065.000.55). K&M has a reputation for making high-quality sheet music stands, in addition to collapsible instrument stands that fit into your case.
Luggage Tags
Many instrument cases look the same – another student in the band room might even have the same brand of horn as your child.
It’s a good idea to mark your case with your name and phone number so that you can easily recognize it, and it won’t get lost.
Most of our students use the TravelMore brand of luggage tags. They’re inexpensive, highly durable, and you can find them on Amazon.
North Pole Band 