Purchasing student instrument vs renting

[fofinia]

So My DD has decided she wants to learn to play the flute this year. She is in going into 4th grade. This is the first year it is offered in school. The paperwork came home from the school for renting an instrument. It is almost $50 a month 6 months! So that is way out of my budget. Especially for something that I won't own. I started looking up instruments. But I don't have any experience with flutes (or any other instruments). So what is a decent brand? I do NOT want to buy top of the line. But I don't want to buy a piece of junk either. I found lots of websites with flutes for $100. But I don't want to buy something that isn't going to work in a few months or won't work well/properly. So if anyone has any advice. Recommendation of brands so I can price compare. A reputable site to purchase. Practicality of only paying $100-150??

Help!!!

 

[Priorityonecb]

We purchased an inexpensive instrument through ebay for the first year. Once we realized that our daughter loved it and was going to continue, we purchased her a nicer one. I always felt the rental prices were ridiculous! Not to mention, during those early years there were many dents, drops etc. With a rental you have to worry and stress over each one. Not worth it on both counts, IMO.

 

[Priorityonecb]

Shoot! I also wanted to add to check your local Craigslist. Lots of parents sell their gently/barely used instruments when they realize their child doesn't want to play, or they purchase new ones. Our daughter plays the trumpet! such a great experience for them! I wish your daughter luck!

 

[sksjasams]

If you are really set against renting the first year, I would send an email or call the band teacher to recommend a brand, or even call a music store. Then look on craigslist for a flute. If there are none in your area, you can use searchtempest.com to search a wider area. We rented the first year, and then bought my son a trumpet on craigslist the following year. There were none in our area but I found a great deal on craigslist in ohio and the seller shipped it to wisconsin.

Good luck!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

My oldest is going to be starting his 3rd year playing trombone. I would shop around at music stores in your area to find something. Our rental for the entire school year including an insurance plan was $180.
We decided to purchase a used instrument from one of the local music stores the other day and it was $489. He is going to play into high school so we figured we would be coming out ahead by purchasing now (he is entering 7th grade) rather than renting.
I would also suggest Craigslist.

Sarah

 

[satorifound]

Our school gave us a list of acceptable brands we could purchase. Some of the ones you buy cheaply have really bad sound, which isn't good when learning to play. LOL

We just signed the contract and are paying I think $25 a month? It is to buy it though. I know this child will stick with it. She loves her music.

 

[MNWDWFAN]

Hi there,

I'm a middle school band director and a flute player, so hopefully I can be of a little help!

First, are you sure that this is a straight rental program? The music store our school goes through does a rent to own program, so you're not just throwing your money away, but I'm sure different areas do things differently.

It is possible to get a decent used student-line instrument for $100-$150 if you know what to look for. The brands I would most prefer my students play on are Gemeinhardt or Yamaha. Artley, Bundy or Selmer would be okay as well.
It would be preferable to buy a silver plated (not nickel) instrument.

If you have any other questions, let me know-good luck!

Steph

 

[GJM]

My DS wants to play trumpet, to rent them was so expensive. My DH bought one on Amazon for about $100 if he likes it and continues we will invest in a better one, but this is fine for now. If he doesn't like it we will sell it. Still cheaper then renting

 

[fofinia]

Thanks! I checked Craigslist. Someone is selling a yamaha 221 flute for $229. In my town. So even though I see that a new one in that style is selling for $839. It is really out of my budget.

Thank you Steph/MNWWDWFAN for the brand recommendations. Do you know off hand how much it costs to have an instrument checked out by a store? I believe the school band/music teacher said she can/will check instruments. I looked over the paperwork again and it is strictly renting the instrument for the $50/month.

DD really wants to do this. I dont' want to disappoint her. But I have to keep this cheap or I can't do it! I'll keep checking those brands thanks!

 

[kellydizfan]

We rented flutes from a local music shop - it was less than $10 a month and they were paid for with a couple of years. We rented incase they didn't want to play. My oldest, loves music and is going to College next year for Music Ed. She played the flute up till 10th Grade then switched over to the bass clarinet. There are just too many flute players out there. If she has a choice - have her pick somthing else. My Middle DD plays the flute also but her heart isn't in it. She is in 9th grade this year. We were given an Alto Sax that she wanted to learn how to play. Her Band Teacher didn't want to take the time to work with her on it. It is a shame. Hopefully she will hold out till next year and our wonderful High School Teacher will help her as she has done my oldest DD. My oldest can't wait to learn how to play the Violin in college. She will learn all instruments. She wants to teach both voice/choir and instruments.

 

[Alexander]

We purchased DS's trombone because the cost to rent it for one year was the same amount of money as purchasing one. Then at the end of the first year we owned it.

I would highly recommend getting a used intrument. I teach 6th grade and our students begin band at 4th grade. Many of them end up changing instruments or dropping out of band altogether. If she finds that she is going to stick with the flute, after a couple of years you can invest in a nice new one.

 

[Plantlady]

We bought DS an alto sax from a local pawn shop. The guy there gave us a guarantee, that if the band teacher looked it over, and wasn't happy with it, or it gave us problems, we could return it, no questions asked. He said, he didn't want someone to have a bad instrument, and advertise that his pawn shop was where it was bought.

 

[stm61]

We bought DS an alto sax from a local pawn shop. The guy there gave us a guarantee, that if the band teacher looked it over, and wasn't happy with it, or it gave us problems, we could return it, no questions asked. He said, he didn't want someone to have a bad instrument, and advertise that his pawn shop was where it was bought.

I did the same thing with my daughter's clarinet last year. The rental price was way to much and there wasn't another store in the area to try for a better price. The kids start band here in 6th grade and no way was I spending a small fortune to buy something she might quit playing in a few years. The high school band teacher gave everyone a list of preferred brands, and brands to avoid, and said try the pawn shops in the next, bigger, town over. I even called the band teacher from the store to check before I bought! The manager of the store was a musician and he looked over the clarinet and told me what was wrong with it, how much he thought it would cost to repair it, and where to take it to be fixed. My total cost was around $125 for the sale and the repair. Took it back last week for a tune up, it cost me $20 to replace a cork piece. While I wasn't happy spending the $$$ up front, it was still much cheaper to put it on a credit card and pay it off, the it was to pay the monthly rental fee.

 

[erincon23]

Having gone the rent-to-own route, mostly because we didn't know any better at the time (DS started on clarinet for one year, then moved to tenor sax), my only comment with this is that while it is expensive, if your child changes instruments, the payments you've made already can usually be applied to another instrument rented from the same company (OP, I know you said that you think the contract is rental only, just making a general comment for anyone else reading this thread). Also with rent-to-own contracts, something I REALLY wish I had known, you can upgrade to a better instrument if your child becomes serious about playing. I had asked our rental company and they said no -- until the time I mentioned that idea AFTER I had paid off the cheapo student instrument and had a serious musician on my hands. And then they said, "gee, if you had asked before it was all paid off, we would have been happy to upgrade your instrument!"

 

[Sandy321]

Hope you are able to explore your options, honestly the one on craigslist sounds so wonderful! Dont buy the ones at Sam's club, the Band teachers can go into better detail, but the quality is very poor -

and just be grateful your child doesnt want to play the Bassoon (mine does! THE most expensive instrument! even used - its expensive, luckily she can play the school bassoons, but they are less than ideal also - we only know this because she's following in her brother's footsteps - we got lucky, and our income check went towards a used bassoon - and he got a college scholarship - so you never know what you are investing in!! Truly learning an instrument, it really helps them in other areas of learning - think of how we've gotten away from making kids "memorize" In the olden days kids memorized plays - math facts, spelling words - music helps in so many areas!! Its a good thing!)

 

[My2Cinderellas]

$229 for a Yamaha is a really good deal. The $100ish instruments are poorly made, hard to play (making it difficult to learn on) and a nightmare to repair. You might as well flush the money down the drain.

A good beginner flute will last thru high school unless she gets really serious. The good news is that there are no reeds to buy, so the only ongoing expenses are lesson books. She will also need a wire stand.

This is one area where it's worth it to spend a little more. Maybe take this year to save up and have her start next year. She will catch up to her peers in a few months. Around here we don't start until 5th grade anyway.

As for rentals - they can be a good deal or not. $50/mo is expensive even with a rent to own contract. When my DD was starting we did rent for a few monts, but it was $30/mo for a used clarinet. No penalty to cancel, even after just one month. It was a rent to own contract, but the purchase price was like $700 or they gave a discount if you paid in full within the first 12 months. This was way too pricey for the quality if the clarinet, so after we knew she was going to stick with it, I bought a better quality (still a beginner model) on eBay. I paid about $30 to have my local shop look it over, but it was in great condition and didn't need any work.

 

[Alexander]

$229 for a Yamaha is a really good deal. The $100ish instruments are poorly made, hard to play (making it difficult to learn on) and a nightmare to repair. You might as well flush the money down the drain.

A good beginner flute will last thru high school unless she gets really serious. The good news is that there are no reeds to buy, so the only ongoing expenses are lesson books. She will also need a wire stand.

This is one area where it's worth it to spend a little more. Maybe take this year to save up and have her start next year. She will catch up to her peers in a few months. Around here we don't start until 5th grade anyway.

I agree that the one on Craigslist sounds like a good deal. You'd want to make sure of the condition though. The pads may need replacing, etc.

If this is something she really wants to do I would NOT wait until next year. Our kids start in 4th grade and all of the kids start then. As I posted earlier, some drop out or change instruments, but none wait until a year later to begin. She would be behind in lessons and in band, it is really hard on a kid to be the "worst" player. It also would be very hard for her to sit and watch the other kids go out of class for their individual/small group lessons and when the whole band meets, she would have to watch most of the kids get up and leave while she is left behind.

Does the school have an instrument she could play? We are a very small school, but have several instruments that the kids can play while in 4th grade. This allows them to try out the instrument when their parents just cannot afford to purchase one. By 5th grade if they are going to continue, parents are required to find an instrument. Talk to the band instructor/teacher, he/she may be able to help. When I was selling DS's trombone, she spread the word to other students who were looking for one. You never know, he/she may know of a good deal on a flute.

 

[MNWDWFAN]

OP, I think you've gotten some good advice. As far as bringing an instrument to a music store to look over, all stores are different, but the one I go through at my school would look over an instrument and give you an estimate of what needs to be done for free. If that is not the case where you live, the band director at your child's school would probably be more than willing to look it over and give you an opinion on whether it would be a good instrument to start on.

I also agree that $229 for a Yamaha flute is a good deal, and since it's Craigslist, you might be able to get the person to come down a little. I stress to my students' parents that it is crucial that their child begin on an instrument that is in good working condition-otherwise, the child may get frustrated because their instrument doesn't work properly.

It wouldn't hurt to check with the band director to see if there is a school flute your daughter could use. Most schools have some extra instruments, but a lot of times they are just the more expensive, harder to get kids to play instruments (bass clarinet, bari sax, bassoon, tuba, etc), so they may not have a flute available-doesn't hurt to ask though.

I just have to say, too, that I know you're in a different (more expensive?!) part of the country than I am, but $50 a month for just a rental plan seems super high to me. For reference, the music store we use has a four month intro. offer (for flute it's $40 plus tax-that's the total for the first four months-not each month, but all four combined-great deal to start!!), then after that it's a monthly fee ($25-$30 for flute I believe), and it's a rent to own program. Perhaps you could shop around at different music stores in your area to see what they have to offer?

Good luck!
Steph

 

[the5marions]

I also am a band teacher. I would like to add a few thoughts:
1. I recommend rent-to-own from a music store, especially if the rental price includes maintenance and repair. Repair costs from accidents can be very expensive.
2. Please be wary of Walm-Mart, Sams Club, E-Bay, etc. Find out the recommended brands from your teacher and stick with those. Many cheap instruments are being made in China and imported. They are made with inferior materials and do not last very long. Also the local repair people have told me they can't even get parts for some of the foreign-made instruments so they can't even repair them.
3. Used instruments are fine IF you take it to a music repair store and have it checked. A student just starting and instrument will have enough challenges. If they are trying to play an instrument that doesn't work very well they will become discouraged very quickly.
4. I encourage people to check with relatives, friends, people at work or at church to find instrumnets. You would be surprised how many instruments are sitting in closets and attics. Again, have it checked at a store and put in good working condition.
5. In my experience, oleer woodwinds (flutes, clarinets, saxophones, etc.) have more problems than brass instruments. Pads can leak and keys get out of adjustment very easily, so just be aware that an older instrument in good condition may still give you more problems in a few months.
6. Be encouraging to your child and don't expect them to sound great for the first few months. If your child wants to learn to play an instrument I think that is great. However, please realize that it is a learning experience and will take time, and the last thing they need is to hear their parents criticize them or tell them to "go practice in the garage"!!!! Be supportive and let them enjoy the experience.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

DD8 has been playing flute for about a year and a half and uses this one:

http://www.wwbw.com/Etude-Model-EFL-100-Student-Flute-463673-i1410653.wwbw

I know very little about flutes, but her grandmother and her flute teacher both have $1000+ flutes and have both said that this flute is very nice for the price. (The case it that comes with it is very cheap, though.) It is silver-plated and closed-hole. Her flute teacher says that it is a good student flute and it has nice tone. DD does struggle with getting the right sound from the very high notes, but her teacher says that is more likely a mouth issue (embrouchure?) than the flute, since her teacher can get beautiful high notes from DD's flute.

I don't expect this to be her forever flute if she keeps playing, but it is a nice flute for a beginner. The Gemeinhardt and Yamaha flutes are very nice, but they are much more expensive - one of those will likely be our next purchase. The Yamaha on Craigslist might be a great deal if it is in good shape.