Your students have likely spent hours and hours perfecting their competition orchestral pieces. When the time comes to take your performance on the road, don’t let silly mistakes stand in the way. Though traveling with musical instruments can be stressful, it doesn’t have to be.
Check out these tips from Classic FM and the Incorporated Society of Musicians:
Pack instruments in a hard case.
Though soft cases may be perfectly fine in some situations, it’s best to take a “better safe than sorry” approach while traveling.
Be sure cases have no loose items inside.
Things could shift in overhead bins on planes and while stored under buses. If loose items such as pencils, reeds or other accessories were inside, damage could easily occur.
Loosen any strings.
This goes for instruments like guitars. Loosening the strings will allow for fluctuations in temperature, easing any tension that might occur otherwise.
If flying, check your airline’s luggage policy.
Learn what can be brought on board a flight. If needed, you can try to secure written approval for any exceptions.
Additionally, be sure everything is labeled with your school’s information, in the unfortunate event an instrument gets misplaced. Slapping a FRAGILE sticker on any cases also doesn’t hurt.
Written by Sarah Suydam for Teach & Travel.
This article was republished with permission and originally appeared at Teach & Travel.
