Did You Know???

• Money  is almost never an issue for students who want to participate! We have an inventory of school instruments. While many of these instruments are quite old, they are from reputable brands and have stood the test of time to still play well.

• Sports rarely conflict with Band. Since it is a curricular elective class during the school day, Beginning Band does not meet outside of school hours. There are only 4 evening concerts throughout the first year of Band.

• No prior experience is necessary! Most of our students start as absolute beginners in instrumental music.

• Band students are academic achievers! Numerous studies have conclusively shown that band students obtain better grades in high school and score higher on SATs and ACTs than their peers.

  • Research Studies:

    • https://www.science.org/content/article/benefits-band-class

    • https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11239010/

    • https://www.proquest.com/openview/79293bb5c4626934d1e8803a5f751268/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar

Obtaining an Instrument

Local Stores (Canby Music and Wally's Music)

If your family doesn’t already own an instrument, local music stores have rent-to-own programs that make it easy to afford one.  They provide repair service (included in the cost) that covers bent keys, leaky pads, sticky valves or just about anything that could happen when inexperienced hands use an instrument.  The instruments are of very high quality and made by well-known manufacturers.  The average monthly rental cost is $25-40 and after a period of time, you own the instrument.  You may return the instrument at any time and owe nothing.  Because of this service, we HIGHLY recommend using local stores.  If your family already owns an instrument, it is a good idea to take the instrument into a music store over the summer to get any needed repairs.  Learning how to play with an instrument that is not in good working order is extremely frustrating!

• Canby Music

• Wally's Music

Amazon/Costco/Walmart

WAIT!! Watch out!!! It would be best to avoid these cheap instruments – they are often made in China or European countries and LOOK good, but do not SOUND great at all, break very easily, and/or have non-uniform parts that are usually very difficult to repair. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! Please be careful – it is possible to set your child up for failure by purchasing a poor quality instrument.  Ask the band director to review any product you find prior to making the purchase.

Craigslist/eBay/Garage Sale

It is possible to find a great used instrument through these sources, but as with pre-owned cars, it is always "buyer beware!" Ensure that the instrument comes from a major manufacturer, and realize that it may need some repair or total refurbishing.  Please be careful – it is possible to set your child up for failure by purchasing a poor quality instrument!  Ask the band director to review any eBay/Craigslist listings you find prior to making the purchase.

Large Instruments

Canby Schools provide a few of the large, extremely expensive instruments.  Your child must be selected by audition to use them.  A $100 district fee must be paid (unless your child is on free and reduced lunch), and a contract must be signed.  These instruments include the Tuba, Baritone Horn, French Horn, Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone (8th grade only), and Bassoon (8th grade only).

School Rentals

These donated instruments are often old and well-used, but they do function and play well.  Our inventory is VERY limited, so we therefore kindly ask that you explore all alternative means of obtaining an instrument before going this route. There is an annual $100 district fee (unless your child is on free and reduced lunch) and a contract must be signed.  These instruments include Trumpet, Clarinet, Flute and Trombone.

Again, large instruments are also rented from the school since they are not usually practical to rent from stores (see above).

Please do not hesitate to ask Mr. Paulus if you have any questions at all!