Dear Parents,
I’m excited to have your child in beginning band this year. During the first few days of the semester, students will have the opportunity to try out the instruments we use in beginning band and choose the instrument they would like to learn to play. Available instruments are flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and percussion. Students playing percussion will learn both bells and snare drum during their first year.
One of the major concerns parents have as their children join band is how to acquire an instrument. Many music stores offer a program where you can rent an instrument with all rent payments going toward the purchase price of the instrument. This allows students to have a quality instrument to play, without making a financial commitment before knowing if they will continue in band.
In order to make affordably acquiring an instrument as easy as possible, a representative from Palen Music in Broken Arrow, OK will be at the high school band room on Wednesday, August 28 from 3:30 to 6:30 PM. They will have instruments available to rent as I described earlier or to purchase outright. Other music stores in the area that offer a similar program are The Music Store, Saied Music, and Barnett Music Exchange.
A note on other sources of musical instruments (family, pawn shops, e-bay, department stores). I have had students acquire wonderful and terrible instruments through these routes. I have provided your student with a list of quality brands and more information on acquiring an instrument.
One final point - your child will have the best experience with their own quality instrument, but money should never stop a student from participating in band. I cannot guarantee to have a school instrument available for their first choice and the school owned instruments are often not in as good of condition as those acquired from a music store, but if your child wants to play and you cannot afford to acquire an instrument, I will find something for them to play. Just let me know.
Again, I’m very excited to have your child in beginning band this year. If you ever have any questions please feel free to email or call anytime. My email address is youngma@vinitahornets.com and my cell phone number is 918-994-2263. I look forward to the great music your child will soon be making. Sincerely, Matt Young Director of Bands Vinita Public Schools
Online Rental Links
If you're interested in the rent to own option I shared information about, and want to make the experience easier and faster, two of the music stores I recommend allow you to go through the rental process online. Both can deliver the instrument to school and avoid the line at the rental meeting.