Kids, band & instrument rental fees

[StephMK]

DS (4th grade) is eligible for strings and wants to play cello. DD (5th) can do band this year. They had an instrument day last spring for the kids to "try out" the instruments. She got low scores on the sax & clarinet (my parents own both of these) and a good score on the baritone. I'm not sure one quick try is enough to tell. I didn't get a choice as a kid, we owned a clarinet, that's what I played. We have a piano but needs a few keys fixed.

The school has some for rent that would be $90 for the year. Great, but they haven't said which ones or how many. Last year, it was only a few kinds. I just checked prices & it is $45-55 a month to rent each of these. So over $1000 for rental fees for both for the year. And neither total would be enough to outright buy either instrument.

DH is saying if they can't rent from school, they can't play. I played clarinet a few years but never kept up & can't play now. DD16 is heavily involved in music but sings so no cost there except costumes.

What are your opinions on band for kids? I'm all for the arts but wow, that is a lot of cash for renting something I don't know if either will enjoy. So how do you handle it? I know what we're planning but curious about other opinions to see other sides of this.

 

[momof1princess]

my DD12 started beginner band last year, in 6th grade. we rented a clarinet from a local music store, recommended by the school's band director. we pay $29.00 a month, which includes instrument repair (we've already used it once, lol) and it has worked out pretty well. i rented the clarinet because i wasn't sure DD would stick with band. she has a tendency to get frustrated and give up on things, if she doesn't catch on to them right away. however, she has done pretty well, and i'm proud of her for sticking with it. if she continues in the band, then, of course, we will buy her a new instrument in a year or two.
i think band has been wonderful for her. if nothing else, she has learned to read music, which i envy. i always wanted to play drums, but my dad, who played in a local rock band in HS, refused to teach me.

 

[hambirg]

Have you tried Craigslist? Often times parents purchase an instrument and lil Johnny or Sally decides not to continue in band. I did a quick search in my area and found a student Cello for as little as $200. I couldn't find a baritone. . .but if you have a local college sometimes the music dept. sells off their older instruments for cheap. . .or maybe they know someone who would have one to sell. Try those out first. . .it's hard at that age, because you don't want to spend a lot of money only to have the kids come home after a month and say they changed their minds.

 

[deerhart]

check around on prices, we are renting my son's viola for $20 a month through Monzango Music here. It was one of several rental places. usually your cost will depend on the condition of the instrument. As my son is going into 5th grade (they played violin provided by the school last year) we chose the "used" choice (your choices are new, slightly used, used, and really used basically) so if it gets a bit scratched etc its not that big of a deal (the outright cost is like $300).

If your renting a new instrument its going to cost you about $40-$50 a month.

I have no idea if next year I will be renting 3 instruments or not (our school moved the start of strings to 3rd grade now, so I may end up renting a violin for the youngest, the viola for the oldest AND a band instrument if he does both orchestra and band). Depending on what he ends up playing in band will really determine if (if he's going to play saxaphone I would rent it new or slightly used with an eye to buy it because even if he quit playing I would pick it up and learn to play)

 

[tommya60]

My BFF bought band instruments for her kids at a pawn shop or on Craigslist. She paid very little for some very good instruments.

 

[coolbeans]

we did our clarinet thru music and arts, $32 a month with insurance. paid on it for around 18 months...and it's mine!! (well, it's dd's)

 

[PHXscuba]

What did your child think of the sax or the clarinet? If you present it as "you can play this or that", they might surprise you. My DD picked her instrument partly on what her friends at the time were playing!

Cello is unfortunately one of the most expensive basic instruments. I am a temp worker for music stores this time of year and cello and alto sax are running about $40 a month plus insurance and tax.

Maybe if you can convince one child to play something you already have, renting the other won't seem so bad? Or ask around -- chances are you have friends with instruments laying around that you could borrow for the price of a tune-up. I know my old trumpet worked its way around our area for years before it made it back to my DS in fifth grade!

PHXscuba

 

[mrsklamc]

You didn't mention what DD wants to play. If your goal is for her to stick with it and get good, that's an important factor. You have to spend hours and hours practicing to play an instrument well. A more expensive instrument she will play is a better investment than a cheap rental she won't.

 

[stm61]

My BFF bought band instruments for her kids at a pawn shop or on Craigslist. She paid very little for some very good instruments.

I did the same thing. Band starts here in 6th grade and dd wanted clarinet. To rent was between $32-45, buying new was out of the question. The band director suggested the pawn shops. I drove to the closest big town/small city and found a decent one at the 2nd shop I tried. One of the store mgrs. is a musician, he checked it out, took $10 off the price, and gave me directions to a repair shop. It cost $55 to buy, $90 for all new pads, replacing cork, fixing 2 slightly bent keys, and reeds. Much cheaper then renting!

 

[floridaminnie]

I wanted to play flute, my mom had a clarinet...I ended up playing the clarinet for 7 years.

 

[csharpwv]

I started playing piano in the 4th grade and Percussion 'drums' in the 5th grade. I still enjoy playing both - I never owned a drumset - I kinda wish I had - but oh well! I'm more interesting in the auxiliary percussion stuff anyway - chromatic percussion and hand drums etc. I think kids needs to get broad musical exposure to gain perspective and appreciation of both.

But anyway - my advice - BUY A DECENT USED INSTRUMENT! That may be difficult on the Baritone - however your budding musician could easily start off on trumpet - it is much easier to find a good used trumpet than it is a baritone!
Most of the instruments in the brass family are very similar - so a trumpet would be a great starter instrument.

As far as cello - mmmm - that's a big instrument for a 4th grader - it's hard to haul - especially considering the amount of time that it requires to become proficient on stringed instruments - plus it's hard for small hands to handle - BUT - the best time to start a student on a stringed instrument is when they are young - so make sure you keep instrument size in mind when you are shopping for a used cello.

But used instruments are definitely the way to go - major savings off of retail! A PP said to check your local craigslist - or local classifieds.

Definitely consult your child's instructors on acceptable student models before you buy anything!

 

[mom2brina]

I have a 4th grader that came home at the end of school last year saying she wanted to play the baritone. I had no clue what a baritone was! None of us are very musically inclined, but she said she wanted to try it out. Luckily for us, our Band Booster Club does a great job of raising money & our school lets baritone players have one to play at home for practice. I would not have gone for it if we would have had to buy one, but I might have rented one if she showed enough interest. I really didn't think she would want to follow through with it.

We just finished with the beginners band camp, and OMG, the kid LOVES it. She is doing so well at it, and I am just amazed. I've tried to blow on this thing & it is hard! LOL I am so proud of her & knowing how much she likes it - I would even buy one for her if I had to.

$44-$55 per month is really not too bad when you compare it to monthly fees of other activities like soccer, gymnastics, tennis, etc...

 

[poohbear8]

Make some phone calls about renting in your area and maybe even a bit away from you. I could have rented a trumpet for $79 for the school year if I was willing to drive 45 mins. In the end, I bought one off of Ebay for $86. DD's band teacher said it would be fine, but then she kept complaining to DD when it had minor issues. I wish I had rented, but I really thought DD would stick with it, plus she wanted a silver trumpet. She dropped trumpet after one year. It is still sitting in the case. Since I know DD had issues with the valves sticking at one point, I don't feel right selling it and I can't just throw it away...so it sits alone.

 

[StephMK]

Thanks for the advice! I have tried CL but no luck yet. I called the 2 music stores in our area but never thought of a pawn shop. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the school rental program will include the baritone. I didn't even know what it was & I was in band for 3 yrs.

DS has his heart set on the cello for some reason & I know it's going to be a pain to haul. DD quit viola last year so we told her if she makes the commitment this year, she has to stick w/it but I'm not optimistic about her staying w/it long term.

I know the price is similar to other activities but I guess I'd rather pay that for a sport or art lessons that I know they have an interest in already. I just don't see either of them being particularly musically inclined but they've surprised me before so we'll see. I definitely don't want to squash their plans.

 

[AuntieKels]

Most school districts have more then enough large or unpopular instruments like a baritone but not many clarinets.

Do any of the music stores in your area have rent to own? Most middle schoolers I knew did that.

Also, my parents asked around at the high school for anyone selling. I got my first trumpet from a freshman ready to move on from the beginners model. Then I bought his nicer trumpet when he graduated and I was entering high school. I didn't buy a new horn until I was just about a senior and competing a national levels.

A side note, my dad has made all my (and siblings) instruments into lamps for us as we grow out of them. My brothers side tables are all different sized drums with glass as the top. People love pushing the valves on my trumpets/lamps. He was even able to keep the integrity of all the instruments so they can call still be played. You can do this with any woodwind also.

Can you tell I'm a band geek?

Good luck!

 

[tavettava]

Ds started playing the violin this year and we pay $25 for the whole year.

 

[SandrA9810]

cellos seem to be reasonably priced online. It's a few hundred up front, but you can probably recoup most the cost if he doesn't stick with it. Baritones seem rather expensive.

How much to instruments generally run??

I know when I was in the colorguard in 9th grand, my family probably spent a couple grand on me. My aunt was also a band parent with her adopted kid, and spent a fortune on him too. It's not cheap, but it was the best thing in high school. Kept my grades up, and kept me doing something.

 

[mrsklamc]

I wanted to play the sax. Not be in the band- learn to play the sax. Mom bought a different instrument instead. I never practiced, because I had NO desire to learn to play the instrument she got.

 

[herdtoDisney]

Most school districts have more then enough large or unpopular instruments like a baritone but not many clarinets.


Yes, my dd plays cello already, and wanted to play in the school band too (it's separate here at elem level) so I called the teacher and said, do you have anything she could use? He said, French Horn, and dd said OK, so she's using that for free.

Just yesterday in fact, we bought her a new cello online, and a violin too for other dd. Now, these are student quality-basically, cheap-but the reality is, they will grow out of them (dd grew out of the 1/4 size cello, used it three years, bought for under $200 so far cheaper than renting) and we will purchase a higher quality instrument later, like HS. The cello was $149 and the violin was $50, online. I just don't see the point in purchasing or expensively renting an expensive instrument until they are in full-size (so they can use it forever). Just IMO

 

[csharpwv]

Thanks for the advice! I have tried CL but no luck yet. I called the 2 music stores in our area but never thought of a pawn shop. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the school rental program will include the baritone. I didn't even know what it was & I was in band for 3 yrs.

DS has his heart set on the cello for some reason & I know it's going to be a pain to haul. DD quit viola last year so we told her if she makes the commitment this year, she has to stick w/it but I'm not optimistic about her staying w/it long term.

I know the price is similar to other activities but I guess I'd rather pay that for a sport or art lessons that I know they have an interest in already. I just don't see either of them being particularly musically inclined but they've surprised me before so we'll see. I definitely don't want to squash their plans.

One thing that really encouraged me to keep up with practice and dedication was going to concerts, and adults who could REALLY play their instrument very well. As a kid I remember watching the guy at a local music store that was located in the mall play a piano and I was so fascinated it! I had HEARD someone play the piano at church, on TV etc, but I had never watched anyone play a piano.

Our high school jazz band attended a jazz festival at a local university every year, and one year the guest artist was Marty Erickson - he played the TUBA?!?!?! LOL At a JAZZ Festival - he was AMAZING! I'd still love to play the tuba like that - LOL but alas - I just can't get the key combination system - LOL my mind doesn't work that way

So I'll stick to Piano!

When I took piano lessons from the pianist at a church where I grew up it was $5.00 a week - those lessons paid dividends! I volunteered at the parish I grew up in - I was the only person in the parish that could play piano - so I was a music minister at a very young age - and then when I went off to college I found a local church that was hiring a pianist/organist - so I took care of all of my daily expenses each month with what I earned there. It was my first 'job'!

Encourage your kids to dream - and encourage them to explore their musical abilities - even if your child isn't a 'natural' they can still have sooo much fun in band - learning and being part of a team.

Music and the arts have so much to offer! I'm 28 now and still when I have a bad day or I'm stressed out - you can find me at the Piano. It's such a release to express myself in song instead of complaining!

I also have a wonderful wife who bought me a piano as a wedding gift! I love it - I had never owned a real piano - I had owned digital instruments.

Every Christmas when we go to her family's for the holidays, the family gathers around the piano and sings Christmas carols - it's so much fun!

Expose your kids to music, take them to concerts, and look for videos and things on youtube and other places online with people demonstrating instruments - it's a great way for them to see ALL that music has to offer!