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instrument purchasing advise
Looking for an instrument for your child?
As a parent of a new band instrument student, you may have some questions about purchasing versus renting an instrument. Perhaps you have seen instruments available at stores such as Costco or WalMart. You may have checked Internet instrument sales sites to see if any instruments might be available. When choosing an instrument for your child, please select a quality instrument in order to ensure that your child will have a successful beginning experience. Please look for the following when choosing an instrument:
1. Brass instruments should be gold in color. (For example, trumpets should not be blue.)
2. For flutes and saxophones, the keys should be the same color as the body of the instrument.
3. Clarinets should be black in color and should have metal rings around the instrument that are silver in color.
Brands to choose:
● Yamaha
● Conn
● Armstrong
● Gemeinhardt
● Buffet
● Bundy
● Selmer
● King
● Olds
Please avoid these characteristics when choosing an instrument:
1. “Colorful” instruments i.e. pink, blue, green, black.
2. Internet instruments where the shipping charges exceed the costs of the instrument.
3. Instruments that include gloves
4. Instruments that are plastic
(ex: pbone or ptrumpet)
Brands to Avoid:
1. Anything sold by Costco or WalMart.
2. Vito, Mendini, Jean Baptiste, Cecilio (mostly sold on Amazon).
This list is not inclusive of the brands to avoid - if you have questions on a brand please ask
(better yet, send me a website link so I can look at it for you).
If you are interested in purchasing a used instrument in excellent quality I can recommend a local repair/salesperson
who has a really nice inventory.
Your child’s band instrument teacher will be happy to help you find a quality instrument.
Please contact your child’s instrument teacher by email for help.
Thank you!
As a parent of a new band instrument student, you may have some questions about purchasing versus renting an instrument. Perhaps you have seen instruments available at stores such as Costco or WalMart. You may have checked Internet instrument sales sites to see if any instruments might be available. When choosing an instrument for your child, please select a quality instrument in order to ensure that your child will have a successful beginning experience. Please look for the following when choosing an instrument:
1. Brass instruments should be gold in color. (For example, trumpets should not be blue.)
2. For flutes and saxophones, the keys should be the same color as the body of the instrument.
3. Clarinets should be black in color and should have metal rings around the instrument that are silver in color.
Brands to choose:
● Yamaha
● Conn
● Armstrong
● Gemeinhardt
● Buffet
● Bundy
● Selmer
● King
● Olds
Please avoid these characteristics when choosing an instrument:
1. “Colorful” instruments i.e. pink, blue, green, black.
2. Internet instruments where the shipping charges exceed the costs of the instrument.
3. Instruments that include gloves
4. Instruments that are plastic
(ex: pbone or ptrumpet)
Brands to Avoid:
1. Anything sold by Costco or WalMart.
2. Vito, Mendini, Jean Baptiste, Cecilio (mostly sold on Amazon).
This list is not inclusive of the brands to avoid - if you have questions on a brand please ask
(better yet, send me a website link so I can look at it for you).
If you are interested in purchasing a used instrument in excellent quality I can recommend a local repair/salesperson
who has a really nice inventory.
Your child’s band instrument teacher will be happy to help you find a quality instrument.
Please contact your child’s instrument teacher by email for help.
Thank you!