Band Information

https://www.hsmusicservice.com/t-best-instrument-brands.aspx

This article provides excellent information on what makes a quality instrument and why this is important.

Brands to avoid:

Mendini, Cecilio, Glory/Glary/Glorry, John Baptist, Juuxaan, Ktaxon, SLADE, Pogolab, Eastarr, Fesley, Yamarer, EastRock, Lesage, Lyxjam, Aisiweier, Kcelarec, Yasisid, Asmuse, Libretto (any brand that is exclusively found on amazon and/or walmart)

Some brands I recommend are:

Yamaha, Selmer, Conn, Bundy, Buffet, Getzen, Bach, King, Giardinelli, Eastman, Gemeinhardt, Jupiter, Armstrong, Tama, Pearl

If you decide to rent through Music and Arts they will provide you with a high quality instrument as well as including the lesson book at no cost.  You can go on their website and find specific pricing information www.musicarts.com/rentals or call their Edison, NJ location at (732) 985-1729. Music and Arts also offers a buyout program where after a year of renting you have the option to purchase/finance the instrument at cost minus the amount of money you have spent renting it.

I do not recommend purchasing any instruments from Amazon, Walmart, Costco, or any mega retail store; these instruments are very poorly made, harder to play, and break very easily.  I also ask that you only purchase instruments that are the traditional color.  I am a firm believer that instruments should be purchased from a music store only. That being said, I will never turn away a student who has one of these instruments.

If you look at stores such as Dillon Music in Woodbridge, NEMC (also offers rentals) or The Music Shop in Boonton (also offers rentals) you should be able to find a good instrument. I also highly recommend looking for used instruments (high quality brands) on places like ebay, facebook marketplace, reverb.com, sweetwater.com, and craigslist, and then bringing them to a music store for a tune up.

I also have a limited reserve of instruments that are owned by the school that I can loan out to families in need for the school year at no cost.  If renting or purchasing is not an option for your family,  these instruments are distributed at no cost based on the needs of each family.  The family will assume the cost of repairs or replacement if anything happens to the instrument.

Our lesson book is titled "Standard of Excellence Book 1" with a red cover.  If you choose not to go through music and arts, make sure you purchase the correct version of the book for your child's instrument. (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=standard+of+excellence+book+1&ref=nb_sb_noss_1)