Appropriate Gear
A persistent challenge for music programs and for parents encouraging children to learn music is to arrange for appropriate instruments for the students’ use.
For an instrument to qualify as “appropriate” it should be (a) in good working order, (b) play in tune, and (c) not introduce an economic hardship. The Arts and Athletics music staff has been brainstorming solutions to this problem over the past year and we have come up with a number of strategies and solutions to help assist parents in getting the right instrument into their student’s hands and keep the learning on track.
Researching Instruments
With so many instruments available in a huge range of quality and price points, it is difficult (especially for a non-specialist) to determine the right instrument to buy. Our teachers have researched student violins, trumpets, and clarinets, etc. and identified instruments that are reasonably-priced without compromising “playability.” Our music faculty have determined that for around $200 it is possible to acquire instruments that allow children to progress in their music studies without becoming frustrated by shortcomings of the instrument itself. If you would like guidance on purchasing an instrument, feel free to reach out to our music faculty who have a wealth of knowledge and are happy to share their insights.
Borrowing / Renting Instruments
Childhood is about trying new things: soccer, knitting, chess, computer coding, fencing, figure drawing, tap dance, etc. Parents are often understandably reluctant to add musical instruments to the collection of gear purchased for each short-lived experiment. We get it! And we have plans to help.
Arts and Athletics has purchased a number of instruments that meet the student instrument requirements outlined above, and we are introducing a program to rent these instruments out to families. If you wish to rent a trumpet, for instance, the fee would be $70 per twelve-week cycle, and if you rent the instrument for three cycles (with a total rental fee of $210) you would then automatically own the instrument. If it turned out that your child only took one cycle of trumpet, the outlay would only be $70, and, importantly, your rental payment would still have contributed to the acquisition of instruments that can be used by children in our community.
Instrument Loan Procedures
- To rent an instrument, begin by speaking with your child’s instructor to discuss their readiness for regular practice, their ability to take proper care of their instrument, and to agree on a set of learning goals for your child
- We will provide the instrument, checking to make sure that it’s in good condition
- The rental fee of $70 will then be noted on your afterschool account and you would pay the fee along with your regular afterschool charges
- Financial Assistance: The spirit informing this program is that access to instruments will help individual students to learn and grow and will help the overall program to grow as well… Therefore, if additional financial assistance is needed, please let us know so we can customize a plan to help
Instrument Donations
If you own an instrument that your child has gotten use out of and no longer needs (because they’ve retired from playing or they’re ready to upgrade to a more advanced instrument) the old instrument could be donated to Arts and Athletics in exchange for afterschool tuition credit. The credit amount would be $200 for an instrument that is still in proper working order. With this program, we aim to reduce or eliminate a family’s financial risk of purchasing an instrument, and, over time, to continually upgrade the number and quality of instruments in circulation for the students in our school community.
Caring for Instruments
Instruments get dinged, but we want to keep the dinging to a minimum! To that end, part of what our instructors teach children about is how to care for instruments. Of course, this part of the learning process is best done with instruments that don’t cost thousands of dollars, but we nevertheless employ measures (including several listed below) to reduce the damage that can occur and to help ensure instruments provide years of service:
1) Whenever children handle instruments at school, they are supervised by an adult. This should be the case with instruments at home as well.
2) When handling instruments, children should focus only on that without also chatting with friends, eating or drinking, playing with cell phones, or juggling other distractions.
3) Children should handle instruments over carpeted floors to minimize damage if dropped
4) Children are encouraged to take their time to avoid unexpected taps and drops and tweaks that result from being in a hurry and rushing the process.
Longer Term Vision
We don’t expect children to take a lifelong liking to every hobby they try out, and that goes for ice skating as well as piano or saxophone playing. That said, all of our music educators share the view that early exposure to playing an instrument can lead to a lifetime of enjoyment of music, enriching their lives immeasurably. That was our teachers’ experience and they want to help ensure that their students’ experience with music instruction does the same for them. To that end, we are developing ways to provide the tools that children need to do the work: we are arranging for the necessary blocks of time, securing excellent instruction, and now also helping to supply the required gear…
More on Music Instruction with Arts and Athletics
List of faculty and instruments taught
Musical instrument program
Performance opportunities
Summer, weekend, and holiday camps