OH has taken to borrowing the music bag I made for myself, so I'm thinking I might make him one of his own. He has a birthday coming up, so it'll probably form a chunk of his pressie. So I was wondering what do people want out of a music bag? Backpack or messenger style? Pockets - inside or out or both? Thin like the student ones that fit a thin score, or with enough width for say an A4 folder? Pretty lining or functional and unlined?

If you have any views I'd love to hear them while I'm in the design phase.

Thanks.
B

My perfect bag (music or otherwise) would be - backpack (because I get backache if I use only one shoulder), pockets outside, enough room for an A4 folder or small laptop. Not bothered about lining. Maybe a small pocket inside for stuff that I don't want to be too easily pickpocketed, but that might not be essential for a music bag.

Water bottle holder, space for folders, something fairly rigid inside to stop single sheet stuff getting screwed up.

Ahh - now that's a good one. OH always has a can or bottle in a pocket. Maybe do it as an external holder like yo get for wine bottles on some picnic bags.

I like my music bag to be light-weight in itself.

I think back-pack is good although it's important to design it to keep music flat.

I also think pockets are good - I have a small electronic metronome which is a bit chunky and so a pocket for that would be good, and upright little pockets for pens and pencils so they don't get lost at the bottom of the bag.

And please can I put an order in for one for my choral society music!!!

A Tardis would be ideal!

I prefer a messenger style as 2 of my more frequently used instrument cases are backpacks.

My current bag has slots for pencils etc in a front pocket suitable for reeds swabs etc. a waterproof pocket big enough for folders books etc, and a back pocket large enough for a music stand, water bottle etc. The only problem is that it doesn't really have space for my sax stand and weighs a tonne if loaded with all of the above.

Style matters less than practicality - being able to keep sheet music and books flat is most importand. A separate pocket for an instrument stand would be great. Even better - a strong, long pocket to take a music stand to stop it being an instrument of torture to self and others in a crowd.

Hmm - hadn't really thought about pockets for stands as OH plays piano. Though there's nothing to stop me adding the option of a "stand roll" across the bottom - like for a camera tripod.



Of course! I feel a new career coming on. . . .

I believe a similar topic came up before and the one thing we all agreed on was a biscuit pocket

I use a canvas 'Orla Kiely' shopper bag that I bought in Tesco.. one of their 'bag for life' things. I love it and it holds loads including my torch and purse. Some of my music is in folders so it all fits and it has soft handles .. comfy I think it cost ?1


But I only take it in and out of the car - I don't need to walk with it.

For the Perfect Bag....look no further...

Music-Bag x

OK, OK....I use a rucksack for carting all my daily music/lesson files about and can squash my descant/treble recorders in there as well. The tenor and bass have to be transported separately but I don't need them every day. My flute lives in a lovely hard leather case with shoulder strap. I really should learn how to take it out of there more often...

Dunno about being a cat, I look and feel like a packhorse most of the time

M-B x

Hmm - maybe I should make panniers for the spaniel!

I use a soft rucksack-style flight handluggage bag, because I can fit recorders from descant to bass, including voiceflute and two trebles in the body of it, plus a stand, plus music, pencils, rubbers, nailfile for left thumbnail and my netbook in a separate document pocket in it. When still learning piano, I just had the flap over style traditional bag with the metal bar on two straps over to secure it - I guess though that it depends what sort of musicking the player is doing. My arrangement is enough for me to go on a weeklong course, though I do need another bag for boring things like clothes and toothbrush: for a weekend, I can manage to squeeze those into the bag as-is, and for orchestra there's enough space for me to take orchestra-secretary-stuff too.

When I was looking for one, I decided on a messenger style bag, but one that was waterproof! Not sure how you would manage that making it yourself, though.

I have some vinyl coated fabric that would be waterproof, or I could use Scotchguard I guess. If I double bind the seams (I think that's the term).

I have rucksack straps on the violin so a backpack wouldn't be suitable for me.
I ended up buying 6 Eastpak messenger bags in different colours so that I could keep music for different purposes in different bags.
Eg. Lilac is my organ bag
Red is my choir bag
Blue is my orchestra bag
Dark blue is my children's choir bag
Black is my teaching bag
Turquoise is my spare bag

I was fed up with coming home and having to empty a bag out and fill it again, not to mention ending up with 5 piles of music because it is all current and used more than once a week outside the home.
It has worked really well and I know that when I pick up the red bag it will have everything I need for choir in it or that if I want to work on orchestral music at home all I have to do is pick up the blue bag and all the music will be to hand. I pop it all back in at the end of the practice session and when it comes to rehearsal day I just pick up the blue bag on the way out and know that everything will be there ready.

That's how OH works - one bag for ballet exams, another for his lessons etc. He's now doing some chamber music accompanying and so needs another bag for that. I think it's a good system if you have multiple musical commitments.

I just use an enormous duffle bag. Usually fits a clarinet and a load of music. I have a choice of five colours

Yeah, one to match each anorak, Baz...

Bx

That's the one

I have one bag for choir music. As I'm in two choirs, there's usually three or four scores in there at any one time. Chrismtas gets difficult with all the books. Need to get a pencil case in there as well for pencils, eraser, pencil sharpner...

I have a soft laptop type shoulder bag which I use for cello and viol. The multiple pockets and compartments are useful as it needs to hold:

For cello:

• seat wedge
• music folder
• cello pin contraption
• tuner
• music stand
• rosin
• pencil case/pencil/eraser/sharpner
• duster

For viol:

• seat wedge
• music folder
• tuner
• music stand
• two lengths of non-slip material (to go on legs to stop viol slipping - stylish Goths use black chamois leather of course)
• bag containing spare new strings for string 1,2, and 3 of both tenor and bass plus old 4,5, and 6
• spare fret gut, 3 guages
• nail clippers for cutting off frets, cutting fret gut, cutting strings
• lighter for burning ends of frets when tying on new ones
• rosin
• duster

I have another case for alto sax:

• neck strap
• reed holder
• spare reeds
• body pull through
• crook/mouthpiece brush
• duster
• pencil case, as above
• duster

I use my original red cordura type fabric case with a music motif on it as a "concert bag". I don't use it for rehearsals or lessons as the zip is faulty and it's not big enough for the paraphernalia needed for string players!

Of the various bags, the laptop type one is best but the failings are: not really big enough to take the seat wedge or the music stand so it's not very secure as I can't close it properly.

Messenger bags, one for each instrument/activity, definitely. Viohazard likes the ones with an external zipped pocket in the front flap, where he can keep small items such as pen and notebook.

However, the gusset sometimes rips (heavy books), and an extra-strudy zip would be good.

I made him some bags out of prequilted black poly satin for things like music stand and guitar footrest, so they can be tossed into a bag without doing too much harm, but a separate pocket wouldn't hurt!

For university he has a backpack/soft briefcase designed for a laptop. That takes large music books nicely.

Not keen on ordinary backpacks, as the lacings, toggles, and ties seem to tangle with other people's clothing and baggage in crowded trains too easily.

Lidl's plastic carrier bag, or an Asda one if I'm going somewhere posh.

Yes - I was thinking maybe a zipper with a flap over, maybe with a magnetic press, so it doesn't flap about.

Please post a photo of your creation when it's finished!

In my job, the above replies would be called "requirements elicitation"

The next step would be to reduce them to a common set of requirements and then design the solution. Since this would be a hybrid of all of the requirements it would therefore meet some of all of them and not all of any of them. This means that the final product would not meet anyone's actual requirements and therefore be disliked by everyone.

This is how IT systems are designed. And you just though it was an accident that they precisley fail to meet your needs It takes a great deal of skill to precisely miss everyone's requirements completely.

I am looking forward to seeing the final design

Well, here is the prototype of the messenger style bag that I made for myself. It has a full size pocket under the flap

Inside there is a full width zip pocket and two more pockets for phone, pens, etc.


OH likes the messenger style over the backpack so I went with that option. I must get round to taking a piccy of his bag - with dog print fabric!

Looks good.

That's excellent. I love the musical fabric lining.

Love the fabric badstrad, and the messenger bag style is good---especially when your instrument is carried as a backpack---as I do with my fiddle.
However----I need my music bag to be waterproof. Fiddle case has a rucksack cover over it if wet, but no point arriving with soggy (or sodden) music and accoutrements !

But---for a dry summer day the sea-side outer and musical inner are great.

I am delighted to see I am not the only one who is obsessed with bags, though.
Having been caught out leaving my shoulder rest at home on the piano (won't fit in my violincase ) I probably need one permanently in my music bag. Then I have a little over-body black pouch-bag for concerts, so I don't have to leave my purse etc in the (unattended) room with all the coats, bags, etc.
One problem is finding a bag wide enough to take a music stand---it sometimes has to go separately in its own bag------but you end up with either a heavy, unbalanced bag or lots of handles----no ideal solution yet, apart from arriving early and making sure you get one of the ones provided---which do not have bars to stop the music slippping off the front !

Thanks all for the kind words. As a bag obsessive it's great to hear.

I walk about ten paces to get to my lesson from the car, so don't really need a waterproof bag, but OH has a longer walk so I've made his bag out of oilcloth (the plastic coated fabric that people sometimes use as table covering)

The bag in the photo has an outside pocket the size of the front of the bag, so if I'm using my small violin case I can pop my shoulder rest into that.

Thankfully I don't need to carry a music stand but that would be a fairly easy modification. I'd put a tube along the bottom with maybe a drawstring fastening - maybe use plumbers pipe as lining to give it a bit of protection.

And here is the bag I made for OH.

Made of oilcloth so it's waterproof, with interior pockets for keys, phone and pens/pencils.

Excellent looking bag. Good choice of oilcloth - you'll have people asking if it's a Radley bag with the little Scottie dogs on the outside!

I love Radley bags!

So do I! Can't afford them, but I do have a Radley purse.

I have a couple of the bags that I got for birthday presents - but they came from the "last season" range so were less than half price. I still love them though. My "Aspirational" music sits in one of the Radley bags (waiting for me to be able to play it - the music that is ).

Making these bags was wayyyyyy cheaper and I could choose the spec. I'll probably try a backpack version next.

What beautiful designs - thank you so much for posting the photos!