Instrument Rental Suggestions
Greetings, Parents!
I have added this page to our classroom website to help you through the sometimes overwhelming task of choosing an instrument for your child.
First, I get asked fairly frequently if the school has instruments for children to check out. The simple answer is yes. HOWEVER, the instruments currently floating around in our inventory are fairly old, and as one of my mentors once said, "Metal does not improve with age!"
Next, I get asked about the instruments available on Amazon or Ebay. While you can sometime get a good deal on an instrument there, they tend to be made of inferior metals and parts, and fall apart quickly, leaving students upset that their instrument is broken after only a year or so. The colorful instruments seem to be the worst, even spawning nicknames amongst many music teachers such as "purple clarinet syndrome". Be sure that you are buying a quality instrument if you choose to do so online. Beware of sound-alikes as well (Selmar VS Selmer).
My best advice is to get the best instrument you can afford. The more you spend, typically the better the quality. It's like buying a car. Do you spend $200.00 on a starter car that needs constant upkeep, and is constantly breaking down, and needing new parts? Or, do you buy a new or lightly used more expensive car that will last for many years with good maintenance? The answer is different for everyone. However, I always say buy the best that you can afford.
I am working on a culture shift in Wrangell. I am trying to get more parents onboard with a rental program. "In the good old days" Wrangell students were required to rent or buy an instrument if they wished to participate in a band class. Just like they would buy a pair of gym shoes and shorts for gym, or pencils, calculators folders and paper for other classes. Ideally, I would love to go back to this system, but I realize it is going to take time.
If you CAN afford a rental instrument, please consider going this route. Your child will have more successes in class with an instrument that they don't have to fight with. Old instruments leak air, and that causes squeaks. Squeaking on an instrument as a young band student causes embarrassment and makes them feel that they must be doing something wrong. It is hardly ever the case that the student is the issue. 90% of the time, an old instrument is to blame.
If you are unable to rent, I understand. I will be able to provide an instrument to your child, but I cannot guarantee a specific instrument to them, and I cannot guarantee it will perform flawlessly.
You may or may not know that McPherson's Music in Ketchikan no longer does band instrument rentals. They still deal in Percussion and guitars, as well as holding their windjammer band sessions but are no longer a place to get a band instrument. Therefore, for more information on rentals, I suggest contacting Jean or Paul McVicar at Metropolitan Music in Seattle. They are "local" in that they have family in Petersburg and they come up for visits fairly regularly. They have been in Southeast Alaska music classrooms for about the last 10 years, running rental programs for Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan and most recently Wrangell and Juneau. They understand the challenges of instrument programs in our area. They run an outstanding music store, and add in a small maintenance and repair fee every month so when your instrument has a problem, it can get fixed right away the right way! They also have amazing deals when your child is ready to move into a step up instrument. All of the money put down on a student model will roll over to your new step up instrument. I highly recommend them for all of your rental needs!
You can contact them at: 1-866-429-9299
You can also visit them online at: www.metropolitan-music.com
If I can help you with choosing an instrument for your child, please don't hesitate to contact me at the school:
874-3395 or email: [email protected]
Musically yours,
Tasha Morse
K-12 Music Teacher
Wrangell Public Schools
I have added this page to our classroom website to help you through the sometimes overwhelming task of choosing an instrument for your child.
First, I get asked fairly frequently if the school has instruments for children to check out. The simple answer is yes. HOWEVER, the instruments currently floating around in our inventory are fairly old, and as one of my mentors once said, "Metal does not improve with age!"
Next, I get asked about the instruments available on Amazon or Ebay. While you can sometime get a good deal on an instrument there, they tend to be made of inferior metals and parts, and fall apart quickly, leaving students upset that their instrument is broken after only a year or so. The colorful instruments seem to be the worst, even spawning nicknames amongst many music teachers such as "purple clarinet syndrome". Be sure that you are buying a quality instrument if you choose to do so online. Beware of sound-alikes as well (Selmar VS Selmer).
My best advice is to get the best instrument you can afford. The more you spend, typically the better the quality. It's like buying a car. Do you spend $200.00 on a starter car that needs constant upkeep, and is constantly breaking down, and needing new parts? Or, do you buy a new or lightly used more expensive car that will last for many years with good maintenance? The answer is different for everyone. However, I always say buy the best that you can afford.
I am working on a culture shift in Wrangell. I am trying to get more parents onboard with a rental program. "In the good old days" Wrangell students were required to rent or buy an instrument if they wished to participate in a band class. Just like they would buy a pair of gym shoes and shorts for gym, or pencils, calculators folders and paper for other classes. Ideally, I would love to go back to this system, but I realize it is going to take time.
If you CAN afford a rental instrument, please consider going this route. Your child will have more successes in class with an instrument that they don't have to fight with. Old instruments leak air, and that causes squeaks. Squeaking on an instrument as a young band student causes embarrassment and makes them feel that they must be doing something wrong. It is hardly ever the case that the student is the issue. 90% of the time, an old instrument is to blame.
If you are unable to rent, I understand. I will be able to provide an instrument to your child, but I cannot guarantee a specific instrument to them, and I cannot guarantee it will perform flawlessly.
You may or may not know that McPherson's Music in Ketchikan no longer does band instrument rentals. They still deal in Percussion and guitars, as well as holding their windjammer band sessions but are no longer a place to get a band instrument. Therefore, for more information on rentals, I suggest contacting Jean or Paul McVicar at Metropolitan Music in Seattle. They are "local" in that they have family in Petersburg and they come up for visits fairly regularly. They have been in Southeast Alaska music classrooms for about the last 10 years, running rental programs for Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan and most recently Wrangell and Juneau. They understand the challenges of instrument programs in our area. They run an outstanding music store, and add in a small maintenance and repair fee every month so when your instrument has a problem, it can get fixed right away the right way! They also have amazing deals when your child is ready to move into a step up instrument. All of the money put down on a student model will roll over to your new step up instrument. I highly recommend them for all of your rental needs!
You can contact them at: 1-866-429-9299
You can also visit them online at: www.metropolitan-music.com
If I can help you with choosing an instrument for your child, please don't hesitate to contact me at the school:
874-3395 or email: [email protected]
Musically yours,
Tasha Morse
K-12 Music Teacher
Wrangell Public Schools