Why doesn't the bow make any noise?

     As you begin to get ready for the new school year and rent or lease a string instrument you may wonder why the bow doesn't make any noise as you rub it across the strings. This is because the bow needs to have rosin on it. This should either be provided in the rent or lease or can be purchased as part of a care kit for the instrument. It ca also be purchased separately. Here the way to put it on the bow according to Joan Balter from a Strings Magazine article.

Your bow will probably come with a dusting of white rosin on the hair. But if it doesn’t, you can apply it yourself. Just draw the bow smoothly back and forth across the cake of rosin—a lot of times! Resist the urge to scrub, press hard on the rosin, or go quickly from end to end—that creates too much heat and doesn’t do as good a job. Just be patient. Once your bow is rosined, you will have to apply rosin occasionally to keep it in playing condition, but a little goes a long way! Too much rosin just flies around and lands on your instrument. Worse yet, too much rosin can make you feel like you need even more!

By Joan Balter

     How much should I expect to pay when the instrument is serviced. This question is a good one and I have been having the same reaction from parents for nearly 40 years. The answer, it depends. Actually there are many factors that go into determining a repair estimate. It really does take several years to be able to look over an instrument and accurately determine what needs to be done to make the instrument play it's best. I have estimated and worked on 1,000's of clarinets over nearly 40 years and usually get it pretty close to right. If an instrument hasn't been serviced for many years, generally it needs to be deep cleaned, all the parts that wear out replaced, readjusted and play tested. Many repairmen work to make the instrument play better than when it came from the factory. This makes the playing experience better for the musician. 

     Generally speaking, if an instrument is taken care of during the year and sees annual service a repairman usually spends about an hour. So the charge would be the hourly rate plus parts. If the instrument is not handled properly during the year or the player practices many hours per day of course the rate goes up.   Some might think that the cheapest is the best for them. Not necessarily the case. As with most things, you get what you pay for. If you find a reputable shop and pay slightly more and the instrument plays better and stays in adjustment longer, over the long run, you will save money and your investment will last longer. To find a reputable repairman ask who the University professor or a good player uses. They usually are pretty busy from word of mouth and schedule repair work so your instrument does not stay in the shop for a long period of time.   

Should I ask Aunt Mabel for her instrument that's been stored for 25 years?

     Should I rent or lease first? Should I ask Aunt Mabel for hers that's been stored for 25 years?  Many parents need to get their child into band quickly and can be shocked at the price of new instruments. So they ask a relative or friend if they have an instrument. Sometimes this can work, if the instrument is of good quality, and has been recently maintained. If not, there are many  factors that can hinder your child. First, the instrument in Aunt Mabel's attic may not be a quality instrument, which would make  it  simular to an instrument purchased at the warehouse store along with underwear. Second, if it has been stored for a period of time, the felt and cork parts will rot. The tubes that have not been greased could freeze up. The instrument may be a fine quality instrument, but now it needs to go to the repair shop at the beginning of the school year. The repair shop already has many of these instruments scheduled and it could take weeks to get to yours. Then, you decide to buy a used one you find in a newspaper or on the internet. Once you find a used instrument, it may be much like Aunt Mabel's. 

     I recommend renting or leasing first from a reputable music store to get your child playing right away. I prefer a lease program. Here's why. My company maintains a large number of used high quality, teacher approved instruments for lease on a month to month basis. No long term commitment (though I do highly recommend you ask your child to commit to play for at least four months, they don't know enough yet to quit earlier. Many of the parents I talk to make their children play for the school year).

     What I do is collect a small lease each month up to 10 months. At any time up to 10 months you and the child decides they want to continue to play I give the money you paid in back to you towards the purchase of a new instrument. While you are leasing from my company I cover the maintenance. We then fill out a rent to own form and you are making rent payments toward owning your own new instrument interest free. There's value! I get my name brand quality instrument back to lease to another child and you end up with a brand new instrument. Of, course while you are renting your new instrument you are covered by the manufacturers warranty and my company offers a very inexpensive optional damage coverage so you can be worry free until you own your instrument. This new instrument will hold it's value better should you then decide to sell it. Win-Win!

     You can also rent to own a new or used instrument from a reputable music store. They often charge interest to do this and some require a maintenance fee as part of the rent payment. Either way, take advantage of the coverage to keep the instrument in it's best working order. 

One last thing about Aunt Mabel's instrument that's been in the attic for 25 years and is brought out and loaned to your child to learn on. First, the value of the instrument in poor condition is very low. Companies like mine purchase these and rebuild them to enter the lease fleet. Often they have worn out parts, the mouthpiece needs to be replaced, and the case may need to be replaced as well do to mold and/or bugs that crawl into the case and eat the felt. In addition, can you imagine the germs left on that instrument? To rebuild one of these instruments can cost more than the used instrument is worth making the purchase or lease/rent a much better option. 

Some People Can't Play just any Instrument

There are many ways to provide your child with the instrument they want to play. Please note that the instrument they want to play may not be the instrument that best suits their mouth. It is best to let your child be checked out by a reputable music store or your music instructor. They will be able to watch the student as they try several different instruments to determine the right fit for them. One example is recently I had a child come into the store who wanted to play a clarinet. We fit the reed to the mouthpiece and set up his mouth correctly and he couldn't make a sound. After some time we tried a flute. No success. Finally, we tried a trumpet and he obtained a good quality sound right away. I gave him a book to try a few notes and he was successful. He now wanted to play trumpet. Any music educator or reputable music store can help with this.

How often should a musical instrument visit a repair shop?

     Well we live in an instant culture where when something breaks we throw them away. A good musical instrument should last for many years and can be passed to other siblings. If the instrument is well maintained. I would be best for the instrument to visit the repair shop twice each year. Pads on woodwind instruments need to seal properly for the instrument to play well. Many things can cause them to go out of adjustment such as a key getting bumped or the skin or leather pad tearing. The connections where the keys rotate are made of metal and without being properly lubricated will wear. Much like letting the oil in your car get dirty. It will prematurely wear out the engine. Another thing that happens to woodwind instruments is the pads can warp causing the pad to not seat properly. This is caused by humidity and weather changes. These changes happen rapidly here.

     Brass instruments (trumpets, trombones,etc) need to see the repair shop as well because the saliva sent into the instrument by playing has acids that eats away the raw brass on the inside of the instrument. This needs regular deep cleaning to protect the instrument from wear. Also, parts such as felts used in adjusting the instrument do wear and need to be checked regularly.  Another important part of a brasswind instrument is the tuning slides. They must have grease on them or over time they will get very stuck. 

     The best time of the year to bring an instrument in to the repair shop is right after the fall concert and right after school gets out. If you wait until school begins like most others do you may have a long wait. In some shops the wait can be months. This hinders your child as he/she won't be practicing and growing in their skill ability. 

I am very excited to announce that on June 24th beginning at 6:30pm at Bob & Luigi's restaurant (37th & Woodlawn N) Air Traffic of Wichita will be preforming. This is a kick off event that Lighthouse Music Services is co-hosting with Bob & Luigi's to provide a place where young talent can "play for food and tips". Teachers can show off their students talents in a safe family friendly environment. School students and University students can try out their audition pieces before the audition, or musicians can perform their work for the first time.  It is a great place for combo groups to play from HS to University groups. Call them at 744-9510 to set at date!

Come out and support Air Traffic of Wichita and enjoy some great pizza on Friday the 24th!  

Getting over the Sticker Shock

As a beginning band parent you may be over whelmed by the "sticker shock" of a new instrument. In addition, many parents I work with believe that once an instrument is paid for this is all they need to do. They are surprised when the band director tells them their instrument needs work. 

Let's first look at the "sticker shock" issue. If an instrument is made in the states there are wages and marketing done to sell that brand of instrument. Work has to be done to prove to the Music Stores and then the music educators that their brand is better than the other one. Then they have to make a guess as to how many units will be sold per year so they can build just enough. Please know that the market for musical instruments is not like selling computers or clothes or cars. The numbers are small in comparison. The Music store has to stock a minimum number of instruments per year to keep their dealership. They have to pay the manufacturer in a timely manner. All of these factors make up the cost of the instrument. The old saying "you get what you pay for" is really true in this business. There are so many companies trying to get into the very small market for musical instruments recently and many of them are of very poor quality. Many parents think that by purchasing an instrument at the same place they purchase paper plates or food items or even the internet "because they probably will drop out anyway" just ensures that they will. A poor quality instrument plays poorly and will go out of adjustment quickly not to mention that it will not hold it's value. A better quality instrument will stay in adjustment longer, have parts available if needed, and any repairman will be able to fix it went it needs it's annual service. 

So where should you go to purchase an instrument? First, find a reputable music store that sells quality instruments and has a quality repair department. Any of the reputable brand named instrument makers will have web sites you can compare models with. One thing I look for when choosing an instrument I can stand behind for my customers is the warranty. If a manufacturer has a good warranty you can know the instrument will hold up and can be repaired should something break.