With a teenage musician in the house, I was excited to review the Wee Stand. On the product website, this product claims to be "The lightest, most compact, ultra-portable full-size music stand on the planet!" We were ready to test this claim!

The Wee Stand is made by Noisy Clan, a start-up company located in the UK. The developers put much thought into making this product- both musicians and parents participated in its development. This stand is the first of its design, and it begins shipping in April of 2022. The cost is $125.

When we received the Wee Stand, I was very quickly impressed. I had never seen a music stand like this before. Noisy Clan did consider the needs of the musician. The first thing we noticed was just how light and compact the stand is. At approximately 11x3x1 inches and just over a pound, it is about the size of a box of spaghetti noodles. It fits snuggly in the durable box that it comes in, with just enough remaining room to carry small accessories, such as guitar picks. The stand is easily carried both in and out of the box. The attached carry strap with a clip allows the musician to carry it clipped to a bag, in the hand, or around the wrist. With its magnetic closure, the box is also handy for holding multiple small music accessories.

The feel of the Wee Stand is so much different than the portable metal stand we have been using for years. Its body is made of "glass-filled polycarbonate/ABS" (according to the website), with carbon fiber legs, making it both lightweight and durable. It is sleek and attractive -it just looks cool! The vent holes in the body of the stand allow air to circulate devices -yes, this stand can easily hold tablets securely with its swivel clips. It can also hold up to 1-inch binders and books, as well as 1-2 pages of sheet music at a time. Sheet music is held in place with clips, which is very useful if there is a breeze. According to the company website, they are in the process of developing a stand that holds three sheets at a time, which may be especially of interest to those who play with orchestras.

The six height settings, tabletop to full standing at 40 inches, are easy to move between workspaces. The telescoping legs lock in place with a pull and can be released with a twist. My teenager found it very easy to set up and take down the stand. Like all new products, it took a few times to become comfortable with how it works. However, she found that twisting the legs to release the hold helped. A tutorial video on the product website demonstrates how to open and close the stand. I would highly recommend watching this. There are also written instructions for the stand and a QR code to link to the video.

For the last several years, we used an older music stand that was not strong enough to hold heavier music books and binders. The Wee Stand had no such problems. Although incredibly lightweight, it can hold binders and tablets securely with no problem. The body of the stand can also easily be angled to adapt to your instrument or materials. In addition, the carry strap can be used to add weight to the stand, which could be helpful if it is being used outside on a windy day. According to the company's website, the stand can hold up to 22 pounds of weight, with the media plate supporting up to 1.39 pounds when angled at 90 degrees and 1.76 pounds when angled at 45 degrees. My teenager regularly used a binder on the stand, and it held it very securely.

One of the very appealing features of this stand is that it can be used at multiple heights. The Wee Stand can be adjusted for any age, height, and instrument from tabletop to full height. This makes it an excellent stand for children, even the very young musician. It can grow with them. For example, my guitar-playing teenager primarily used the stand at full height, but it can easily be adjusted to a medium height for sitting while playing.

The only downside that I see would be true for all lightweight music stands- it can be tipped over, especially by toddlers and wind. But Noisy Clan thought of this and developed it with a carry strap to hang a backpack or bag to add counterweight. We tried this, and it did help. They also considered how the legs are positioned to allow the most stability, even when interacting with a tablet on the stand.

I would recommend this stand to any family with musicians. This stand is versatile! It will work well for any age, instrument, and in various locations. It is so compact and easy to set up and take down that it is an ideal stand for even young musicians on the go. The amount of thought put into the design of this stand will benefit the musicians who use it.

-Product review by Sarah Roth, The Old Schoolhouse® March 2022