Band
6TH GRADE BAND
6th grade band! You made it through the hardest year of your musical career!! Now, let's make some music!
As 6th graders you will have more opportunities than 5th grade does. Some of those include:
- trying out for honor bands (optional)
- more performance opportunities
- going to Middle School Band Day
- Let's have an awesome year!!
CHOOSING AN INSTRUMENT
THE GOOD STUFF
Now, for some of the common brand names in band instruments that I look for and feel good about selling: Armstrong, Artley, Bach, Benge, Blessing, Conn, King, Holton, LeBlanc, Omega, Soloist, Vito, Selmer, Yamaha, Besson, Emerson, Getzen, Gemeinhardt, and Bundy (manufactured prior to 1998). There are sure to be some more that I’ve missed, but these are usually safe choices. A good quality instrument does come with a higher price tag, but can last a lifetime.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
When shopping on the Internet and eBay, we find that over 90% of the instruments for sale are low quality, without a known brand name, and a horrible choice. Even brand name instruments are somewhat risky if you aren’t experienced at knowing what to look for. Do not buy any without a return policy.
For starters, always avoid instruments that do not list a brand name (I have a list of some of the more dependable name brands at the end of this article). Also, beware of all of the instruments that come in a variety of colors. I haven’t yet seen one that I didn’t want to flatten. Some of these folks making the bad instruments actually do put names on them. For legal reasons, I can’t list names or countries of origin to avoid. However, I can say that “Made in USA” is nearly always a safe bet, and among my personal favorites!
Other enticing titles to avoid are: “Band Certified” “Educator Approved” “80% Off” “90% Off” “Professional Silver Trumpet” (but no recognizable brand listed) “Concert Quality” “Bankruptcy Sale” “New 2006 model” “College Pro”
If a band instrument claiming to be new has a buy-it-now price of $79.95…... I don’t need to say more!
For more information about band, please contact:
Sarah Davis