JGMS Instrumental Music

Buying an instrument for your child has a number of benefits for you and your family. By purchasing a quality instrument, repairs are less frequent (especially when proper care is taken), and less expensive. In the current world climate, having a brand new instrument means the instrument has not been used by anyone else. Used instruments purchased from a local music shop undergo thorough cleaning and disinfecting before being sold.

But buying instruments online and in big box stores can result in problems, headaches, and big price tags when the instrument needs repair over time.

Imagine you see an ad in the newspaper for a brand new car. Only $1000! Under 100 miles! No previous owners! No accidents! Purchase includes 4 NEW extra tires and DRIVING GLOVES!

Sound too good to be true? You could always take it to an auto mechanic to see if you should buy it. The mechanic tells you the metal is soft and you will risk bending the doors with normal use. Not only that, but no one makes spare parts for this brand of car. When something needs fixed it will have to be custom made and could cost more than the car. To top it off, most mechanics will not work on this brand of car. (And what about those “driving gloves?”)

Still sound like an amazing deal? Probably not.

Many instruments, especially those found from online retailers that don't specialize in music supplies, have this kind of promotion. They may offer free gloves, free reeds, and they are only $100 (compared to the $300+ of quality instrument brands). They often offer bright colors to catch your eye, and that of your child.

But these instruments are, more often than not, low quality and result in frequent repairs (multiple times per year, compared to once per year or less for quality brands).

They typically have soft metals that bend with normal use and cause playing issues, even with the most delicate of hands, and the soldering is unstable. Parts are abnormal, and cost extra for repair technicians to special order, resulting in a higher repair bill and a longer wait time to get the instrument back. Furthermore, given distance learning circumstances, Ms. Ordaz is unable to perform repairs for free as she normally would.

If you see an instrument that looks like it's too good to be true, ask Ms. Ordaz, or contact your local instrument repair shop (see Resources page) and see if they work on and recommend that brand. If they don’t, then you may have to send your instrument away to get repaired frequently, or the cost of repair may be more than you paid for the instrument to begin with.

Recommended Brands by Instrument

The following instrument list is a safe bet for purchasing a quality instrument. While these brands are pricier than what can be found by mass merchandisers, these instruments are better quality: they hold up and need less frequent and cheaper repairs, they are easier to make a sound on, and they generally have a more pleasant tone quality.

Flute/Piccolo: Yamaha, Powell, Pearl, Haynes, Jupiter, Armstrong, Bundy

Oboe: Yamaha (Check with Forrests in Berkeley for a quality instrument, and recommendations for other brands)

Clarinet/Bass Clarinet: Yamaha, Buffet, Selmer, Bundy, Vito

Alto/Tenor/Bari Sax: Yamaha, Eastman, Vito, Selmer

Trumpet: Bach, Yamaha, Conn, King, Bundy, Selmer

Trombone: Yamaha, Bach, Conn, King, Bundy, Selmer, Jupiter

Tuba/Baritone/Euphonium: King, Conn

Percussion: Yamaha, Vic Firth, Zildjian

Many stores also offer “rent to own”, where the rental fees go toward purchasing the instrument. This can be an easier way to purchase a quality instrument for your child without breaking the bank.

Some local stores include:

Starving Musician: 3939 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara

Music Village: 5885 Santa Teresa Blvd., San Jose

For more purchasing options, see Resources

To quote Tim Lautzenheiser, the study of music gives learners access to increased levels of

Creativity: Creativity is the source of all possibilities. We are constantly challenged to explore this area of the mind. Music opens new horizons, and new possibilities through expanded thinking. The study of music supports wonderment, imagination, appreciation, and sensitivity. Music allows us to experience creativity as an inventive thinking style.

Communication: Music is a language unto itself. Music can only be explained by music. If we do not expose our students to music, we are depriving them of an array of personal understandings that cannot be found in any other part of the school curriculum.

Critical Assessment: Intelligence is the ability to process information and respond according to the given situation. Emotional stability stems from the capacity to deal with life’s many inconsistencies. To accomplish both, the individual must be able to access the cognitive (factual) and affective (emotional) sides of the mind. Music is one of the few academic disciplines that develops this ability and reinforces learning patterns to allow for greater critical assessment.

Commitment: Success is not measured by what we start, but rather by what we complete. In music students are required to perform the entire composition from beginning to end; to complete the given task. The important qualities of tenacity and persistence establish habits for positive, productive living applicable in every situation.

Lautzenheiser adds, “As teachers, we pledge our efforts to prepare our students for what lies ahead in their personal and professional journey. In the process of preparing for a concert, sight-reading new literature, teaching a musical concept, or listening to a quality performance, we are helping our students establish thinking habits that are immediately transferable to other academic areas, and we are teaching the life-skills that will support their healthy and prosperous future.”

Adapted from Keynotes Magazine, July 2011 (www.keynotesmagazine.com) by Conn-Selmer, Inc. NAfME member Tim Lautzenheiser is a clinician, author, composer, conductor, and consultant. His company, Attitude Concepts for Today, is based in Bluffton, Indiana.

Check out NAfME Groundswell to get connected to a network of people who value music and music learning at all levels.

—Ella Wilcox, August 3, 2011, © National Association for Music Education (www.nafme.org)