I need some help please from all of you guys that have been down the school band road. My DD is in 6th grade band this year. The sheet of acceptable instruments has brands like: Yamaha, Selmer, Leblanc, Vito, etc. YIKES! The prices of these are way more than we can afford! We were not expecting to have to pay $600 and up for a beginner band instrument. The sheet doesn't say "if you can afford them", it just states that these are the brands that are acceptable to the teacher, basically everything else is crap so don't buy it/come to class with it! She doesn't state that but it's implied.

My DH and I know absolutely nothing about instruments as neither of us play one. I can't even tell if DD will need a first chair, B flat (I guess that's what that is?!), etc. I didn't know there were so many different types of clarinets out there! On top of that, the teacher has an entire list of extras that my DD needs for the class, one is a Vandoren B-45 mouthpiece, and the cheapest I can find it is for about $60. I guess I am in SHOCK! I can find cheaper clarinets of course, but none that the teacher will accept in her band. This is a public school too, I am just floored. Anyone have any advice (um, other than to go tp the band teacher's house?! S ? Is there a great store online to get an instrument on clearance or sale? I've looked at eBay (it's kinda risky to pay big bucks there not knowing what I'm getting I think--I have a friend that payed several hundred for one and then when she took it to be cleaned, they told her it was junk and it cost several hundred more to basically rebuild it), renting (we decided it doesn't make any sense to rent as it's at least $30 per month--unless we rent to own and then the price of the instrument goes up as it seems cash price is about $100 -$200 cheaper--plus we have 2 younger daughters that might play in the band in a few years so probably better to own it). Thanks everyone for your help. I'm thinking, wow, we have fundraisers for everything else at this school, why can't we all raise enough money so the school can buy instruments and loan them/rent them out themselves. Geez.

I agree with renting. What happens if she doesn't like it?

Several music stores carry used instruments which are cheaper. You can make payments on them at most stores. For what it's worth, get one of the brands the teacher requested. You don't want to buy a piece of garbage. The sound quality is not as good and the instrument will not hold up. The Vandaron mouthpiece is good and is a necessity. Don't forget you have to buy reeds also for a clarinet. Expect to go through a lot of reeds at first.

I was going to suggest used also.

Only thing I know about clarinets is that my first band teacher hated metal ones, said they were only good for lamp shades lol

I played alto sax and my first one was a new expensive student quality one, I guess it was a rental or trial or something, and we took that back and got a used pro quality one and it was much harder to play!

You'll also probably want one of those fluffy sticks that you stick into the instrument after playing, to absorb the spit so it doesn't ruin the pads, you'll have to get those replaced every so often anyway but getting them wet is bad.

My band teacher tried to tell me to play clarinet instead of saxophone because we had too many saxophones.. but I didn't want to and by the end of the year it was just me and two guys playing sax and one of them just sat in the back and goofed off....

Oh! Also, in my high school, there WERE some school-owned instruments for students to borrow, I'm not sure if that was a "can't afford" thing, or "my instrument's in the shop" or what. Definitely better to have your own if at all possible, though. And we could buy reeds from band class, they were like $1 each I think?? (many years ago lol). I'm kind of looking forward to my kids joining band, they don't seem too enthusiastic about it yet but I'll have to insist they join SOMETHING! (guess I better start saving lol)

I rented a trumpet for my DD in 5th grade and the cost could of bought me a new one......I ended up going to Sams Club and they had trumpets, clarinets, and flutes for under 200.00 including a case and music stand, Try there if you have one (maybe even wait a week or 2 for more school stuff to come out)

HTH

Check Craigslist. We found our son's trombone used for 100.00 on Craigslist.

I do agree with the band director though about buying cheap instruments. You get what you pay for. In the long run, your daughter may end up hating band because of problems with a poorly made instrument.

Now is the time to watch classifieds also. Check with the band director to see if he knows if an older student is moving up to a better clarinet and wanting to sell the old one. Our band has a 'for sale' section on their website that students can sell their instruments. It's worth a try!

I played clarinet from 6th grade thru my junior year in college. I played most of those years with a clarinet my mom found at a garage sale! It was a great deal and a good clarinet!

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Does the school have an instrument rental night? Ours bring in a couple of trusted vendors who outfit the kids with everything they need for a reasonable monthly rental fee. THey even offer the first three months at a very low rate and allow you to get out of it if the child decides the instrument or music is not for them. Fortunately, DS2 chose the same instrument as DS1 (trombone) because we rented-to-own it and it is now ours.

cj/

Do not buy instruments from Wal-Mart or Sam's unless the quality has changed. Check your local newspaper ads for instruments being sold. Our schools have a program for those that can't afford to buy instruments. If a family can't afford to pay even the small maintenance fee, there is no charge. Otherwise, I believe the charge is very nominal, $30. a semester.
You do not need a fluffy thing to swab the clarinet. A swab rag is sufficient. In our band program the first year students are given a care kit to start with which includes cork grease, a finger pad, swab rag, pad for the mouthpiece, reed holder and reeds. Even for second and beyond band students, reeds are handed out. If your student doesn't take care of them and needs reeds quite often, they are available to buy for $1-2.
A Bflat clarinet is the standard to start with. Later, a student might be offered to change to the alto clarinet. The price sounds about right for the mouthpiece. If you buy a used one from a former band student, the mouthpiece would probably come with it.
Have you tried looking in the yellow pages or asking around for a band instrument repairman that works out of his home? I was fortunate to find one and that's where I bought DD's clarinet and DS's trumpet. Even though the band dept. recommends taking the instruments to a certain store for repair, I never do. I take it to my home guy and have never been overcharged and the work is done right the first time.

Wow, this band teacher is on a power trip!!!! I would talk to the school principal on this subject. To make the expectation to the parents that they jump into to the band with more than a starter instrument is ridiculous IMO. I know that at my kids school, the drop-out rate of band is quite high. I started my DD out with a rental instrument. After the cheap intro rental rate, it became quite expensive. The rent to own amount was a joke. I bought DD a cheap clarinet off of Ebay. It worked fine for the most part- did require 2 fairly cheap repairs. The band teacher said not one word to me or DD. After several years of playing, and my daughter proving her dedication to the instrument, we upgraded this past year to a more expensive clarinet. Around $800. I could have found it a little cheaper on the internet, but we chose to buy it at a music store in our area. She went and played several different ones to choose the one that felt right to her. They service the manufacturer's guarantee right there. And now she has her old one to play outdoors for marching band. DD says that her school also does own a few instruments that are played by some of the students.
When DS joined band last year as a trumpeter, I again went to Ebay and bought him a cheap beginner instrument. That was his first and last year in junior high band, and it only cost me around $125. Just not interested in playing.

Thanks everyone for all of the replies. We can totally financially, and willingly, get an instrument in a decent price range right now, but we have the same reservations that all of you guys have stated about maybe she'll hate it, doesn't take care of it right, it gets stolen, etc. ALL of the brands/clarinets the teacher has on her 'approved' list start out at minimum $600 (that's new and used prices are much cheaper usually, but I have no idea if I'm getting a good instrument or not as I don't know what to look for--but everyone I know that has bought a used instrument has had to turn around and take it in to be cleaned, fixed, etc. costing another hundred or several hundred even). We are not too willing to do that $600 instrument right price off the bat. We too feel as if the teacher might be on a power trip expecting the 6th grade band to buy professional instruments (I do realize after looking though that anything under the $1,000 range is far from professional apparently); while I agree that the better brand name instruments probably are the best buy in the long run/if the child ends up playing it for years and years, I doubt many parents can afford those prices right off the bat. I would think the teacher would strive to get as many kids interested in playing an instrument as possible, and with those expectations on the cost of doing so, she has to realize she is eliminating a whopping amount of kids. I'm sure a lot of parents that simply can't afford even a cheaper instrument either do not let their child join band or pull them out quickly due to the cost. I am grateful for the opportunity my daughter has to play an instrument, and am one of those parents that will hunt high and low until I find one we can afford, or just end up biting the bullet I guess. I have looked into the rentals, but WOW renting is not cheap. I am going to look into that some more I guess. My daughter does stay with whatever she starts I guess I should have added that in. She's a belt away from a black belt in Taekwondo.

I sent the teacher an email yesterday (she hasn't replied yet) about the Suzuki instruments that Sams Club has. Just wanted to see how she replied to that/get her opinion on the brand. She doesn't have the Buffet brand on her list either, but apparently they are very good instruments too, played by many professionals. Anyone own this brand? I am looking at a few on eBay too, if you have time, would you guys with clarinets mind telling me what you/your child started out on/is playing now and the quality? The instruments on eBay that are used tend to look very old though. I have been watching the classifieds, as far as I know our school doesn't have a website for students to post instruments for sale. Thanks again for all of the replies! You have all helped a lot!

Just for the record, a B flat clarinet is what you think of when you think of a clarinet. Other types will have turned-up metal bells at the end, and they're much less common. I'd call around repair places, and see if they have any used ones in stock. You'd want one that fit together easily but snugly, has its cork in good shape, no loose metal bits or pads, that sort of thing. Beyond that, all you should really need is a reed case, reeds (single reeds are pretty cheap, so be glad it's not an oboe!), and a rag with a string and weight tied to one corner.

I just checked. We also had an approved brands list. One was Selmer. I bought a Prelude by Selmer about 2 years ago on eBay from a reliable seller (they appeared to own a music store). I paid $265 shipped (I had a coupon code from Paypal waaaay back then.) Anyway...it was a perfectly acceptable instrument for $300ish shipped. I also bought a trumpet in the same way.

The acceptable instruments through the music store the school used were $600+. Even renting made no sense to us. HTH!

The first year I played my parents rented my clarinet. They then bought a much better one once I was sure about playing.

Buy stock in the reed companies I uesed to go thru those babies like they were water only they were 25¢ each back then.

Good I'm old.

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DH takes pictures of the kids instruments in the case from every angle. We're so used to marking everything we own but that's not possible with instruments. This way we have pictures to prove ownership if some kid gets pesky and steals it. That hasn't happened though. DD actually has more problems with her notebook being taken because she keeps a very organized and tidy book.

My DD has the Buffet E-11 intermediate clarinet. It was recommended by her band instructor. He says it sounds 'like butter' It was around $800. She likes it. By the way, she does not have an additional mouthpiece.

I just went the Ebay route for my ds saxophone. I paid with Paypal funded by a Credit Card so I have protection just in case the instrument is not as described. We rented last year (didn't even think about Ebay) from the music store and it was really expensive. Then they told me this year I could buy the sax we rented for $699 and that was after they gave us a credit for renting for the year.

Perhaps it came with the required (or suitable) mouthpiece? The recommended mouthpiece is easier for beginners.

I think some of the rental stores have a rent w/ option to buy plan. Once you have rented the instrument for so long, it is yours. I believe they also come w/ insurance. I was glad we rented my son's guitar-it was pretty cheap-about $20 per month, and when he decided he didn't like playing it, we just returned it. We have been lucky-my son has been in band for going on 7 yrs. now, and he has not had to buy his own instrument. That being said, band is still VERY expensive!