Inroduction
Guitar playing is a marketable skill globally. These professionals keep adding more instruments to their collection. These may include the best guitar accessories, sheet music, pedals, and tablatures. They keep adding new music compositions and notes to their gadgets.
Efficiently storing these physical and digital items is important for guitarists. It ensures they are organized and have enough space for their work. These storage hacks will help you keep guitar music and accessories well organized.
Physical guitar storage ideas
Storing your guitar can be challenging. This instrument is sensitive and can easily get damaged due to poor handling. The problem becomes more serious when you have several guitars in your house or studio. Here are physical storage ideas you will find helpful.
BONUS TIP: When you want to store digital files on a Mac, the first thing you should do is check the space available. If you are unsure how to check storage on Mac, this is how it is done. Check the top left side of your screen and open the Apple menu. Scroll down the menu and open the ‘About this Mac’ icon. This action will open another field with several options.
Open the ‘Storage’ option to view available and used space on the hard drive. Under the Mac storage option, you will view details like the space taken up by apps, system files, and your folders. Another important thing you should do is to check MacBook memory.
This is storage space in Mac where the operating system and apps run from. If this space is limited, you will have trouble storing and opening your digital files. Furthermore, limited memory cannot run multiple apps or files without hanging or crashing. Check this memory in the Activity Monitor under the Utilities app.
Use music stands with built-in storage
Buy stands with storage compartments. This built-in storage is useful for storing accessories and sheet music. Stands are also great for guitar storage. They come with shelves/compartments for storing small items like capos and picks.
Use pedalboards with storage compartments
Pedalboards with storage compartments are great for storing musician's gear. Ensure the pedalboards have space for cables and other accessories. These are good for storing the items you will use during practice or presentation.
Turn your closet into guitar storage
Keeping guitars hidden is a great idea due to their sensitive nature. For instance, a child might be curious to explore the instrument. They could damage it in the process. Your pets could turn your guitars into a playing space and mess them up.
These are issues you can avoid by turning your closet into storage space. Modify the space to make it storage-friendly. You can store guitars, accessories, and other small items there.
Tips for storing guitars
Guitars face more dangers from heat to water and cold weather damage. They may get damaged due to falls or mishandling. You have a sensitive responsibility of storing your guitars the right way. Here are tips for correct guitar storage.
- Guitars should be stored upright all the time. This is regardless of whether you are standing them on the wall, or placing them on the floor.
- Protect them from environmental dangers by locking them in their case.
- If standing them is impossible, lay them with the upper side facing up. That is, let the stringed side face up.
- Loosen the strings a little although you may keep the tension of the neck.
- Store the instruments away from a window. Natural elements and harsh weather might damage them easily.
Have accessories and spares ready all the time
Guitar strings require replacement often. A string might get broken when you least expect it. It is easy to forget some accessories like straps when going out for performance.
Set aside a bag and load it with spare strings, straps, and cables. You will be sure you are safe wherever you go for a show. Storing these items in a bag also creates more space for other items.
Digital musical instrument storage ideas
Digital musical instruments in your list may include samplers, synthesizers, tuners, and sequencers. They also include sample music, lyrics, notes, and albums. There are several storage solution ideas for these items.
- Store in the cloud - Cloud storage is an excellent solution for storing your music. This protects your albums from damage and loss. Store your guitar music in spaces like iCloud, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
- Store sheet music and tablatures digitally - Sheet music and tablatures digital storage saves space. It makes your guitar music accessible from many places. Digital spaces help you organize your items better. You can use them for annotation and creating setlists. Examples of digital storage are Guitar Pro and ForScore.
- Create digital audio files - Audio files provide an excellent way to store music files digitally. They save physical space and make organization easier. Examples of these solutions include Bandcamp and SoundCloud.
You can use these solutions to store any digital instrument and files securely. Be creative and find the best ways to save digital files. Organize and manage them the right way. You may tag files and arrange them according to dates. Organize them based on sizes, titles, versions, and more.
Use file cabinets and binders
File cabinets are designed to store large amounts of items. They let you store your items in categories. This makes retrieval easier and makes you more productive. Binders provide a convenient alternative to cabinets and shelves. These two provide an excellent solution to physical guitar music storage.
They are perfect for storing physical tablatures and sheet music. You require dividers to label and store your music well. You might want to use protectors to prevent wear and tear.
Be creative with guitar storage and utilize your limited space
Even with limited space, you can be creative and have enough space to store your best guitar accessories. Here are several ideas you can try out:
Repurpose your over-the-door organizers
Over-the-door organizers are commonly used for organizing toiletries and shoes. You can repurpose them to store your best guitar accessories. The organizers are built with many pockets for various purposes. Use the pockets as storage for accessories like cables, picks, and strings. This storage is simple yet effective as a storage solution.
Mount storage on the wall
If you lack enough space on the floor, you can turn the wall into a solution. Your guitars will mount perfectly on the walls. Place the mounts strategically or place racks. Add a few shelves to store your music books. Your instruments will hang safely on the racks. This storage is good for sheet music, guitars, and accessories. They keep your instruments clean and organized.
Turn your underbed into guitar storage
The space under your bed can be a great storage space. Use it to store your guitar and other instruments. Raise the bed to create more room under it. You can slide in drawers, shelves, and other storage solutions. This space can be good for storing amplifiers, cases, and bags. Cover the instruments well to prevent dust and other elements from affecting them.
Ideas for storage system maintenance
Your guitar music storage should remain clean and organized well. An organized store is accessible and functional. Tidy storage spaces help you do practice sessions without distractions. Tidiness helps you stay focused all the time. It makes it easier to find the items you need.
Organize your digital files and create backups. Vacuum your storage bins, and racks, and clean your under-bed spaces. Here are tips for maintaining a clear guitar storage:
- Maintain regularly - Clean your storage spaces routinely and maintain them well. Remove dust from the shelves and the instruments.
- Review guitar storage regularly - Review your physical and digital storage spaces from time to time. Remove clutter and items you do not need anymore. Decluttering ensures you don’t overwhelm your spaces. Update your apps and system regularly to keep them functional.
- Be consistent - Create a cleaning and reviewing routine and maintain consistency. Whenever you remove an item from its place, ensure you return it. This ensures you will find the time the next time you need it. It also avoids clutter which makes the space look disorganized.
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Be mindful of the weather and climatic changes🌩️
Different weather and climatic conditions impact your guitars and other instruments. Temperatures change as the day progresses. Seasons change as the year progresses too. These changes bring heat, humidity, wind, rainfall, and snow. Ensure the storage does not get affected by these changes.
Some materials like wood are prone to climatic changes. Review your rooms to identify areas that could be prone to these changes. Areas like the basement could be prone to high-level moisture. The spaces around the balcony could be prone to wind, heat, and rainfall. Identify a room with the least impact from these natural elements.
Final thoughts
Keeping your guitar music organized can be challenging. It gets more daunting when you have multiple instruments to store. Choose storage solutions that best fit your instruments. Guitars should be stored in an upright position all the time. Store your digital files securely and organize them.
Practice maintenance consistency to avoid building clutter which makes your storage unattractive. Be mindful of climatic and weather changes. Store your instruments in a place where natural elements will not destroy them.
