# Stand partner

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/stand-partner
Also known as: desk partner

**A stand partner is the other player sharing your music stand in a string section; the player on the inside, nearer the centre of the stage, turns the pages.**

String sections read two to a stand, which is why orchestral string parts are printed with page turns planned into rests, and why a passage with no rest before a turn forces one player to drop out for a bar. The inside player turns; the outside player keeps playing.

The pairing has a hierarchy: the front desk sits closest to the conductor and its outside player is the section principal. Seating within a section is generally by desk rather than by strict individual ranking.

Practically, your stand partner is who you check bowings with, who catches you when you lose your place, and whose pencil marks you inherit. Bringing a pencil to every rehearsal is the one universal orchestral rule.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/stand-partner