Parents decide whether to rent or buy music instruments for kids
Somewhere in Siddika Jackson’s house, there are two of three trumpets once played by her son, Devin. The saxophone played by his twin brother Dominic in the middle school band is back at the music instrument store.
Both boys are now high school freshmen and neither has a burning interest in playing their instruments. Football and basketball games, for the moment at least, are more appealing.
And while Jackson would like to see her sons continue playing music, she’s glad that she never invested major money in purchasing instruments. At Garrett Middle School in Austell, Devin played a cousin’s used trumpet. Then he played one his mother bought online for $100. When that turned out to be a dud, he switched to a school-provided instrument. For Dominic, Jackson rented a saxophone for three years.
“I turned in the saxophone,” she said. “I refused to pay for something that would have ended up costing me $3,000. I spent a little over $1,000 to rent. Devin has both of those trumpets. He says he still might play, but I probably need to sell them because they won’t be any good to him. At the high school level, he’ll need a more advanced instrument.”
Sari Leff uses Dodgen Middle School's French horn. Photo credit: Phil Skinner, AJC
Jackson’s rent vs. buy dilemma is one faced by thousands of parents each year. A middle schooler’s interests are as stable as their shaky notes. But while instruments can be costly, there’s a chance a child will stick with it, making the decision to commit to a purchase or rent along the way tricky.
Allen Guzman (center, in blue) plays trumpet in the Dodgen Middle School band. Photo credit: Phil Skinner
At Dodgen Middle School in East Cobb, 300 of the 400 sixth graders play an instrument, said band teacher, Charles Jackson. In one seventh grade class, there were as many rented as purchased instruments. Still others, playing French horns, bassoons and tubas, were using school instruments. Jackson acknowledged the crossroads parents come to.
“It’s a personal economic decision,” he said. “Ideally, you want the child to keep the instrument the whole year, not just during the school year. The hardest instrument to play is the one you don’t practice. If a child gets bored with one thing, they’ll get bored with anything. So, we try to encourage them to stick with one instrument. If you don’t, there’s no way you can come out of middle school proficient.”
It generally costs about $25-$35 a month to rent the most commonly played instruments. Paying that, over time, isn’t as smart as buying, said Aaron Rathbone, vice president and general manager of Dirt Cheap Music in Smyrna. Rathbone said you can sell the instrument if the child decides not to play any longer. In many cases, a purchase price is cheaper than a year-long rentals. But there’s another benefit, too, he said.
“They don’t feel like they can just quit and turn it back in,” he said. “There is an inherent sense of pride.”
Question: Do you think it’s wiser to rent, buy or rent-to-own a musical instrument? At what point do you commit to buying, if at all?
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16 comments Add your comment
T
August 19th, 2010
7:15 am
I hate the rental contracts and dealing with the company our school district uses. We have rented and we have purchased. The benefit of purchasing is that you don’t feel like you’re being ripped off. The down side is that purchasing the same level of instrument that you would rent is a LOT of money. When we purchased, they were not as good as the rentals, but we knew that going in, deciding we would make a greater investment if the child stuck with the instrument over time.
MannyT
August 19th, 2010
7:52 am
The answer is in Ms. Jackson’s basement. Buy a used instrument. It’s a lot cheaper. You can sell it a year or two later if the kid stops playing OR needs a better one because there is a real interest.
Carlos melgar
August 19th, 2010
8:19 am
Buying used is the best option at any level. Purchasing a student level instrument may run you in excess of $1,000. That same instrument in various conditions can be found on eBay or craigslist at an 80% discount. For example a professional level grade trumpet can run well over $2,000. You can easily purchased a used one in near mint quality at 50% of the retail price. So in a due respect neither renting or purchasing new is a viable option. Take it from a musician who has been playing for over 35 years.
Christy
August 19th, 2010
8:49 am
I still have the first trumpet my parents bought me in the 6th grade. In high school they upgraded me to a “professional” model that I played through college.. and still play, many many many years later, lol. There is a sense of pride when you are responsible for your insturment. When a child is taught to care for, clean, respect and play it becomes a life long lesson, rather than just a bunch of half attempts at a few notes for a year or so. Buy cheap or used- then upgrade later, but buy if you want to instill a sense of pride and ownership.
Lori
August 19th, 2010
8:49 am
I think it’s a good idea to rent, at least from the start. What if your child changed his/her mind and decides not to continue playing? If you purchased the instrument you will be out a chunk of cash. My son just began piano lessons. We happen to have a large keyboard at home, so he is practicing on that His instructor says it will be sufficient for a year or two before we need to upgrade to a full piano for the pedals. It’s a great thing for us, since obviously a piano would be a big expense if he decides he doesn’t want to play. His goal is to take piano for two years to learn music, then when he is old enough to handle the string pressure, he wants to switch to guitar.
Angela
August 19th, 2010
9:00 am
why must the kid know that the instrument is a rental?
Me too
August 19th, 2010
11:21 am
When my daughter wanted to start playing violin in 6th grade, I bought her a $40 violin on Ebay, took it to the violin shop and had them put decent strings and a new bridge on it. That cost me about $60, so for $100 my daughter had a decent (not great) violin. When she was a sophmore in High School, and she was passionate about music, I bought her a $4000 violin that she will use in college (she wants to teach music). I’m glad I did it that way, because you don’t know if the child is going to develope passion for the music. They may decide next week they want to be a farmer, and never touch an instrument again. Buy used or rent is the way to go at first.
TechMom
August 19th, 2010
1:22 pm
In 6th grade our son wanted to play Trumpet. My husband hunted around pawnshops till he found one for $100. Neither of us knew what a deal it was until our son decided to switch instruments and we were able to sell that same trumpet for $600 (evidently the pawnshop didn’t know what it was worth either). When the boy switched to percussion, we rented the ‘kit’ for 3 months (the deal was like $5 per month for the first three months which is why we went ahead and signed up for that). During that time, I was able to find the same kit online for what would have equated to 5 months of payments and turned the rental kit back in after spending only $15. By the way, he’s now in 10th grade and still uses the same percussion kit.
atlmom
August 19th, 2010
1:38 pm
We just went thru this. We’re renting. My son wanted to play violin, so we got him a 1/4 size. The thing is, in a year or two, he’ll need a new violin because of the size, so why buy? He got a beautiful violin, he doesn’t really understand the difference between rent and buy, anyway. He has it, that’s it. He doesn’t know, really.
I understand I could get him a violin, but really, as someone said, what if he hates it. What if he only plays for two months? Then I’d have to wait til next year to sell it – and also who knows what condition it would be in, if i knew where it would be, etc…for a beginner, renting’s the way to go.
Dave
August 19th, 2010
1:42 pm
I played french horn in school, and my parents bought my first one, a single. I played the school’s double horns from 8th grade through high school, and didn’t own another horn until I bought one (used) for college. I bought a new one ten years ago, and sold it for more than I paid for it. I currently play one that I bought on eBay. It ain’t pretty, but I ain’t too (kudos if you know where that’s from), and it sounds great.
Elsie
August 19th, 2010
2:03 pm
We borrowed a viola several years ago from a co-worker. His daughters were finished playing. Next year my 6th grader is going to middle school. She has a choice to play viola, flute (mine from 20+ years ago), guitar or piano. We have all 4 of these instruments in the house.
the girl from the picture
August 19th, 2010
6:14 pm
i think it is a great thing that Dr Jackson provides instruments for his students.
Frugal One
August 20th, 2010
9:31 am
I bought my daughter’s piano on Craig’s list for $800. It’s worth approx $2500-$3000. However, we had the option of renting a similar piano for $70.00. The piano has already paid for itself. Growing up I played trumpet with pawnshop buys as well. It usually cost about $30 a trumpet. There was a time when the trumpet got damaged and another when it was stolen. Needless to say, glad it was not an expensive school issued rental.
Been there, done that.
August 20th, 2010
12:10 pm
Most used instruments are in poor repair; unless you’re willing to tie up more money getting it in good shape it will be a huge disadvantage to a child. (You won’t have to worry about getting him a better one later if he sticks with it. He won’t.)
Renting makes more sense, especially if you can apply the rent to the instrument you eventually choose.
Marshall Stacks
August 20th, 2010
12:51 pm
Shocked that no-one has posted this before now or that they weren’t mentioned in the article, but Music Go Round in Lilburn is a great source for used band instruments. They clean them up before selling them, they’ll talk you through a purchase, and best of all, they’ll buy it back from you at a fair price if it’s within a set time. I’ve bought and traded a few things from them over the years and they’ve always been patient, friendly, and interested in matching the gear with a player. The prices are fair, but obviously buying cheap means you get cheap. Check ‘em out.
Ann Wood
August 25th, 2010
11:32 am
Hi Marshall — thanks for your nice review. We are a locally owned used instrument store that has been offering our instrument buy back since we opened 13 years ago. All our inventory available to view online. Each instrument is fully reconditioned and ready to play. Plus we love trades!
http://www.musicgoroundlilburn.com