Buying guide
Where to Buy or Rent
The honest map of the instrument market — school rental night, online retailers, and the used-market playbook.
Renting: start at the school's rental night
Most families rent from the dealer the school partners with — often Music & Arts (the national school-rental chain) or a trusted local shop that sets up at instrument night. That partnership has real value: repairs and swaps flow through the school, so a stuck valve doesn't mean a Saturday drive.
Ask the rental table these four questions before signing:
- 1What's the total monthly cost with maintenance included?
- 2How much of my rental credits toward buying — and is that against list price or street price? (List-price credit is the rent-to-own trap.)
- 3Can I return anytime without penalty if my child stops?
- 4For strings: are size swaps free as my child grows?
Then run those numbers through our rent-vs-buy calculator before you sign anything.
Buying new: the reputable list
These are established specialists, not big-box general retailers — shops that actually know instruments. Your local independent music shop deserves a look too — service relationships matter more in year one than the last $30 of price. Stick to known student brands: Yamaha, Bach, Jupiter, Selmer, Armstrong, Gemeinhardt, Eastman, and similar names your band director will recognise. When in doubt, email the director — they answer this question every August of their lives.
Music & Arts →
The largest band & orchestra specialist chain in the US — school-trusted, with repair support nationwide. Now also carries the former Woodwind & Brasswind catalog, since the two merged in 2024.
Sweetwater →
Famous for careful packing and a real sales engineer who calls to confirm your order — a favourite for parents ordering sight-unseen.
Shar Music →
The long-standing specialist for student strings — violin, viola, cello, bass — with sizing expertise built in.
⚠️ The $89 trumpet trap
Amazon and eBay are full of very cheap, brightly coloured, unbranded instruments. Band directors call them instrument-shaped objects: the tuning is unfixable, the pads and valves fail in weeks, and repair shops refuse them because parts don't exist. Worst of all, a beginner can't make one sound good — and quits believing they're the problem. If the budget is tight, a used name-brand instrument beats a new no-name, every single time.
Buying used: the best value in the market
Our calculator usually points here for year two and beyond. Where to hunt: Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist (search brand names — "Yamaha trumpet", not just "trumpet"), eBay and Reverb with brand filters, local shop consignment, and school swap boards. Every garage in America holds a trumpet; your job is finding the Yamaha among them.
The used-buying ritual: pay $40–80 for a check-and-clean at a repair shop before or right after buying any used wind instrument. A serviced $250 used student horn will outplay a new $150 mystery brand for the whole of middle school.
Frequently asked questions
Should I rent from the shop at the school's instrument night?
Usually yes, for year one. The school-partnered dealer (often Music & Arts or a local shop) services instruments on-site or via the school, which matters when something bends or sticks. Compare their monthly rate against our calculator first, and ask how much of the rental credits toward purchase — at list price or street price.
Is it safe to buy a beginner instrument on Amazon?
Only with extreme care. The very cheap unbranded instruments ($80–150 trumpets, flutes and saxes) are what band directors call 'instrument-shaped objects' — badly made, impossible to tune, and most repair shops refuse to touch them. A child cannot sound good on one, and many quit believing it's their fault. Buy known student brands (Yamaha, Bach, Jupiter, Selmer, Armstrong, Eastman) from reputable sellers.
Where do I find a good used instrument?
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist (search the brand names, not just 'trumpet'), eBay and Reverb with brand filters, local music shop consignment, and school band swap boards. Budget $40–80 for a repair-shop check-and-clean on any used wind instrument — a serviced used Yamaha beats a new no-name every time.
Don't forget the ongoing supplies
All three retailers above also stock strings, reeds, valve oil, and sticks — you don't need a separate supplier. See what those typically cost and how often they need replacing, by instrument family.
Independence note: MyMusicKid currently earns nothing from any store linked here — these are plain links to the places band families actually use, not affiliate links. If we ever add affiliate links, the recommendations stay exactly as they are, and we'll say so plainly on this page.