5th Grade Band

Important Info for 5th Grade Parents/Students

Instrument Testing

Instrument testing day: Thursday, August 20 from 2pm-7pm in the band room (this coincides with Open House)

You will have the opportunity to try: 

• Flute

• Clarinet

• Alto Saxophone

• Trumpet

• Trombone

• Percussion (2 years of piano skills required)

You may also try: 

• Oboe

• French horn

• Baritone

• Tuba

After trying out the instruments and figuring out which is the best fit, you will fill out a form that ranks your first, second, and third choices of instruments. Then, you will receive an email that designates your instrument for band class in the fall so you can get started with the process of acquiring an instrument. You have some options for how to proceed with this.

Instrument Purchase/Rental

Options for acquiring instruments:

1. Buy or rent through West Music. Detailed information on this will be presented at Open House, but going through West Music ensures a quality instrument with maintenance costs built in, in many cases. You can read more about instrument rental here. 

2. Purchase an instrument from another (reputable!) source. Please be wary of what we band directors call “instrument shaped objects” which are “instruments” that can be found for very cheap on sites such as Amazon and Temu, among others. While the price is eye-catching, these instruments will always break, which causes more headache and expenses in the long run. Brands to stay away from include Mendini, Cecilio, Glory Brass, Eastar, Eastrock, EKing, Kaizer, Apelila, LJ Hutchen, Jean Paul, Glory, Yinfente, Hisonic, Lazarro, Herche, "Professional," Ammoon, LyxJam, Sky

There are many great ways to find used instruments: Facebook marketplace, Ebay, and Reverb are a few online options, but you can also visit local music stores, thrift shops, and pawn shops to sometimes find a great deal! Brands to look for include Yamaha, Bundy, Conn, Gemeinhardt (flutes), Accent, Bach, Jupiter, King, and Selmer. If you have any questions about the quality of an instrument, feel free to reach out and ask and I will help as best as I can!

3. Rent an instrument from the school. We have a limited number of school instruments available for families who may not have the means to acquire their own. There is a $50 fee assessed that covers instrument cleaning/small repairs at the end of the year.