Rent or Buy Your Child's First Instrument?Aug 17 '06 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Renting from a music store with rental stock is best. Rent to buy arrangements are usually not good. Get solid professional advice on buying an instrument.
I’ve already issued an epinion on how to get your child started on an instrument. This will help parents of budding musicians make informed decisions on whether to rent or buy and from where. Part of music education is having the student learn on a quality instrument. Renting an Instrument: Pros: 1. Most rental agreements cover maintenance. Repairs can be expensive. Furthermore, the student can learn proper instrument care during the rental period. 2. Can be turned on and off at any time. 3. The rental instrument you get from an established music store committed to the business will generally be of good quality for a beginner. 4. A good music store dealing with established school music programs will be motivated to repair rented instruments quickly (at least while school is in session). Often, a store servicing a particular school will send a repairman weekly to the school for minor repairs and swapping out instruments that need more extensive repairs. Cons 1. Over long periods, it’s clearly more expensive. The top store in my area is charging $116 per quarter for alto saxophones. 2. Equity buildup arrangements. The stores with dedicated rental stock really push this. The parents fall for it because they think they are getting a buildup by the rental. However, you have to look at the value of the buildup. One store I know provides discounts off list up to 40% based on length of rental. However, that discount ends up amounting to a saving of only a few hundred dollars as compared to the store's discount selling price. 3. Rent to Buy arrangements. Parents also love this because their money is going toward purchasing an instrument. Actually, this can be beneficial, if the instrument being rented is of a quality that the student will need once the term is over. Sometime that happens. My experience is that usually it doesn’t. A parent can rent to buy a student instrument, then 4 years later, the player, who might well be developing into a solid middle school or high school player, now is playing on a beginner instrument that’s had 3-4 years of use. Typically on saxophone and clarinet, developing players will need a better quality instrument than beginners. 4. If the store is not nearby, getting the instrument to/from the store when school is not in session can be a bummer. Buying an Instrument Pros 1. It can be cheaper. I’ve seen instruments of acceptable student quality prices at under $650 at the Woodwind and the Brasswind. The Sam Ash brand is selling for $400. It won’t take long for such an instrument to pay for itself, if it’s an acceptable instrument. Good used instruments can be had for under $1,000. 2. Instruments bought from a local music store will be more expensive than from a private party or Ebay (and if you think of buying instruments on Ebay, make sure you get advice from a professional FIRST). However, you might get a warranty and you certainly will get an honest statement of what repairs might be needed in the months and years ahead. Cons 1. The instrument might not be any good. If you are buying an alto sax which is not a name brand and is under $1,000, there is a good chance that you will get an instrument with poor sound, poor intonation, and/or poor or fragile mechanisms. The way to avoid this is to have a professional player play it beforehand, if the store has a right of return. 2. A used instrument might be in need of expensive repairs fairly soon. Again, this should be assessed by a professional before the deal is finalized. 3. Repairs are going to be additional. If the student is not careful, the cost of repairs could really add up. My experiences Most of my students go the rental route. I believe that renting from a store that has dedicated rental stock is better because the student can walk away from an instrument and maybe get some discount on a better one when ready. You also need to be careful on geography. Stores will make arrangements with schools to supply instruments in return for recommendations and will visit the school weekly when the school is in session. That works great when the school is in session. It doesn’t work well during breaks if the store is far away from where the students live. My experience with rent to buy arrangements is not good. The vast majority of my students who have had those arrangements end up with an instrument that is not good enough for them when the term is finished. On the other hand, occasionally rent to buy is on an intermediate quality instrument and that might make sense. I like the idea of students learning proper instrument care before they own an instrument. I’ve had a few students go the buy route as well and they have been happy (and very, very lucky). One bought the Sam Ash model. The mechanisms are well made and the tone isn’t bad. The intonation isn’t great, but it’s been good enough so far. I’ve told the parents that he will need a better instrument in a year or two. Another bought a new no-name (unbranded) horn at an auction for around $500. They had a right of return and I played it beforehand. The instrument has reasonable intonation, good mechanisms and decent sound. Unbranded horns can be anywhere from pure junk to reasonably good. For an unbranded horn, they did quite well. Another student got a great price on a used intermediate model from a family friend who no longer needed the horn. I tried it beforehand and liked it. They had a store look over it as well. The stores will do that, because they want repair business. The instrument didn’t have any impending repairs. That family got a very good deal. My general recommendation is to rent an instrument from a store nearby that has extensive dedicated rental stock and works closely with area schools. I generally do not recommend rent to buy arrangements except when the instrument is of at least intermediate quality. As for buying, there are too many opportunities for bad things to happen for me to recommend it generally for new students. On specific arrangements, get advised by a professional player and a professional repairman, and the deal might be acceptable. If any reader has any questions about any of the concepts in this epinion, please send me an email. Thanks for reading. God bless! Please check out some of my other epinions pertaining to music education: How to get your child started on an instrument Improve Your Intonation Ear Training I - Beginning and Intermediate Players Ear Training II - Prelude to Improvisation Ear Training III: Time to Learn Tunes and PLAY My worst gig Putting a Jazz Band Together Being a one man band for fun and profit I compose the way I play What music has helped me learn about myself Fast fingers are important How I help my students learn new music I learned about a lot more than music from my music teachers Ode to my Selmer Saxophones  |
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