Band Room Storage 101: Storage Ideas for Classroom Harmony

Putting together an attractive and welcoming classroom is an underappreciated part of a teacher's job. For instructors teaching a music course, it can be especially challenging since there are so many different musical instruments that a band room has to properly store.

String Swing offers a complete guide to band instrument storage to outline the factors you should consider when designing your music room. Create an organized, efficient, and enjoyable space for the whole music departs. Whether you’re working with young students or music majors, we’re here to help store the instruments we all love!

Equipping Your Band Room

It goes without saying that your band room needs to safely and securely store all of the instruments that it contains. However, there are plenty of other key considerations to keep in mind when designing and equipping a band room.

For one, you'll need to create a space that encourages learning and an appreciation of music. Without the right decor, band rooms can often feel a little sterile. Taking the time to add a little pizzazz to your band room is something that your students are bound to appreciate.

Acoustic considerations are another important factor to keep in mind. Students enjoy playing musical instruments a lot more when the music they're making actually sounds good! This makes it beneficial to consider how the size and shape of your band room will impact its acoustic quality in addition to using acoustic treatment materials and arranging your instruments and furniture in a way that won't negatively impact the room's acoustics.

Of course, it's also important to arrange your band room in a way that is optimized for space. When you add in a few dozen instruments, a classroom full of students, and all the other furniture and decor that a band room contains, you can start running out of space pretty quickly! This is where space-optimizing instrument storage solutions such as wall hangers can be highly beneficial.

Storing A Wide Inventory of Instruments

A band room will typically need to store a lot of different musical instruments - from small instruments such as tambourines and harmonicas to large instruments such as percussion sets and tubas.

Here is an overview of the different types of instruments that a band room will commonly include:

Brass Instruments

Brass instruments tend to be some of the larger instruments in a band room or practice room and include instruments such as the trumpet, the French horn, the trombone, and the tuba. Plus, despite their durability, brass instruments possess delicate components that make them susceptible to damage. The intricate valves, tubing, and slides can be easily bent or dented if mishandled or dropped. The brass material itself can tarnish if not cleaned, maintained, and stored properly.

From tuba and sousaphone mounts to trumpet holders, we have a range of solutions to uniquely and safely mount your brass instrument.

Woodwind Instruments

Woodwind instruments are typically a little smaller and easier to store than brass instruments, but there are a few larger woodwind instruments such as the contrabassoon that may require more storage space. Other instruments in this category include the flute, the clarinet, the oboe, and the piccolo.

Stand your piccolo selection, oboes, clarinets, or flutes on our innovative wind instrument holders.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments are usually among the bulkiest instruments in a band room. Bass drums, snare drums, cymbals, and xylophones are a few examples of percussion instruments that most band rooms will include.

String Instruments

Stringed instruments are more common in orchestras than they are in band rooms. However, many band rooms will still include a selection of stringed instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars, violins, and cellos.

String instruments are at the foundation of String Swing. We offer the best solutions for every guitar collection and a wide range of configurations. Of course, we also feature products to mount your classroom banjos, violins, cellos, and more stringed solutions!

Instrument Maintenance and Care

Music instrument storage is just one part of caring for your band room instruments. Along with storing your instruments in a way that will protect them from being knocked over or otherwise damaged, there are several other important considerations to keep in mind if you want to maximize the longevity of your instruments.

The humidity levels in your band room, music office, or wherever else you are storing instruments are the first of these concerns. Excessive humidity can cause the wood components in an instrument to buckle and warp, and it's recommended to store instruments in a space with humidity levels no higher than 60%.

It's also important to regularly clean your band room's instruments. This will help remove dirt, oils, and grime that build up over time and will prevent these substances from damaging the instrument's finish and corroding its metal parts.

For more extensive maintenance and repairs, you may need to take an instrument to your local repair shop. With proper storage and routine maintenance, though, the frequency of these costly repairs can be greatly reduced.

Optimizing Space and Safely Storing Instruments

Music teachers have a few options available when it comes to musical instrument storage. However, keep in mind that you will want to choose a storage solution that both keeps your instruments secure and optimizes the space that you have available.

One popular solution for the storage of musical instruments in a band room is to use instrument lockers. Also known as instrument storage cabinets, these storage lockers work a little like shore organizers for musical instruments. Each instrument is stored separately in a custom-sized space within the locker, and students who have been assigned an instrument are able to access the locker where it's stored after completing a locker request form.

Instrument lockers offer a lot of security from theft and a decent bit of security from damage, but they do have a few drawbacks as well. They aren't the most convenient solution, and they tend to provide a more limited amount of storage space. Instrument lockers also don't always properly secure the instruments inside them, and you will probably need to still keep your instruments in a hard case when storing them to completely prevent damage.

Speaking of cases, some band rooms simply store all their instruments in instrument cases. This is a simple and convenient way to store instruments in a band room, and instrument cases do tend to offer a lot of protection. However, it's certainly not a very space-efficient solution, and it isn't a very aesthetically pleasing way to store your instruments either.

One of the best options for instrument storage in a band room is to use storage solutions such as wall mounts and racks. These hangars, mounts, and racks are specifically designed for storing a wide range of musical instruments in a way that thoroughly secures them and keeps them safe from harm. One of the biggest benefits of these instrument storage solutions is that they allow you to make the most of the storage space in your band room by mounting instruments on the wall and/or standing them up vertically on floor racks.

Using mounts and racks to store your instruments also allows you to display them and make them a pillar of your band room's decor. Instead of hiding some of the most eye-catching things in the room away in a storage locker or hard case, wall mounts and racks let you get creative about how you show off the instruments in your band room!

Additional Band Equipment

In addition to instruments, there are several other types of band equipment that you will likely need to store in your music room. This includes things such as conducting podiums and music stands, instrument stands, instrument cases, sheet music, chairs and desks, and audio equipment.

Storage cabinets can be helpful for storing a lot of this equipment. As with storing instruments, though, you may need to get creative about how you use the space you have available.

Band Room Maintenance and Upkeep

Regularly maintaining your band room will go a long way toward protecting the instruments you store there and keeping the space comfortable and inviting for you and your students. This starts with cleaning and organizing the room on a regular basis, being sure to properly clean your instruments as well as other band equipment.

It's also important to do an inventory management check occasionally. A band room can have a lot of different instruments and pieces of equipment for you to keep up with, and it's all too easy for something to go missing without being noticed right away. By doing an inventory of all your instruments and band equipment on a routine basis, you can make sure that everything is present and accounted for.

Your Partner in Band Room Organization: String Swing

At String Swing, we love nothing more than helping music teachers create the perfect band room for their students! Since 1987, we've been helping music teachers all over the world find a better way to store their instruments.

String Swing offers a broad selection of high-quality instrument storage solutions, including wall mounts, hangers, and floor racks. These storage solutions are designed to fit a wide range of string, woodwind, and brass instruments, and they make it easy to store band room instruments in a way that is secure, attractive, and space-efficient.

In addition to this catalog of instrument storage solutions, we also offer custom wall displays that enable teachers to create a one-of-a-kind display for their band room instruments and gear. Our custom instrument walls are modular so that you can continue to customize how you display your instruments and are built using the highest quality materials for maximum protection and longevity.

If you would like assistance choosing the perfect storage solutions for your band room, we at String Swing are able to help! Be sure to contact us today to get started designing a band room that will be the talk of your school!