Every school year, parents will be faced with buying musical instruments for every child that participates in the school band programs. Some parents luck out because the school band program provides the instrument and the child is only responsible for providing the music sheets and accessories that are used personally by them during each class. Most woodwind musical instruments will require wooden reeds to be replaced throughout the year. These mouthpiece accessories are gauged by the size of the instrument and are considerably cheaper than buying the instrument.



Some parents find it easier to rent band instruments from a local music store in lieu of buying musical instruments outright. Most parents choose the rental methods for the first year that a child is enrolled in a school band program. After the child has proven that they are interested in learning the instrument, then the parents will be more inclined to buying musical instruments at the end of the school year so that the child can practice playing the instrument over the summer break.

The monthly rental cost for any musical instrument a parent chooses will cover any repairs that are needed throughout the school year. Parents are always given the option to buy the instrument at the end of the rental period, which is ideal for families that will enroll a child in the school band program the following year. Renting instruments for the school year is common but additional costs for insurance on the instrument might increase rental costs significantly and it is up to the parents to decide if that cost will be worthwhile.

As children advance in the school band programs, parents will consider buying musical instruments with more features or accessories. A child that is taking piano will need one at home to practice on, but during the first year of classes, the parent might not consider buying musical instruments of this size. Parents can always use the pianos in a church auditorium at some point during the week for the child to practice on or they can use a piano of a friend who has been taking lessons for years. Buying musical instruments for personal use will require strict budgeting.

Some family members will routinely scan the personal ads in the local newspaper to buy musical instruments at reduced prices. This avenue of buying musical instruments can be a bargain hunters paradise but care should be taken to test out the musical instrument fully. Discounted prices on musical instruments are possible but they are usually offered because some mechanisms do not work properly. The buyer will often not be privy to how the instrument was treated or cared for on a day to day basis while the previous owner was enrolled in a school music program.

There are music stores that have established retail outlets on the internet. Buying musical instruments from these dealers is safer because if the instrument is not worthy of the price paid, people always have the option of returning them for a full refund, less shipping costs. The musical instruments are usually in excellent condition but are excess items in the inventories that must be sold to make room for newer models of the instrument being offered for sale through land-based retail outlets.