Alot of good input. Everyone had their own way to do things right. Your not building a piano but you want it to look good and last.
A couple things. Don't depend on clamping pressure to close up your joint. You may get a nice looking joint just it will fail prematurely due to too being dry, too much squeeze out. Edge joint with a jointer or plane. At least use a couple biscuits for alignment. Being that that they will be thrown around, I'd use something that offered strength, at least dowels but recommend splines.
A couple things. Don't depend on clamping pressure to close up your joint. You may get a nice looking joint just it will fail prematurely due to too being dry, too much squeeze out. Edge joint with a jointer or plane. At least use a couple biscuits for alignment. Being that that they will be thrown around, I'd use something that offered strength, at least dowels but recommend splines.