TIPS FOR AVOIDING THE BACK-TO-SCHOOL RUSH FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENT RENTALS
The short list:
#1) RENT EARLY - in spring or summer
#2) START LESSONS NOW!
The Details:
When you've signed up your child to start orchestra at school or string lessons beginning with the next school year, this elective comes with a ream of information and new responsibilities: obtaining an instrument, establishing a practice routine, finding a good teacher, and much more! Many parents only learn at the beginning of fall term that they'll need to rent or purchase an instrument and supplies. Here are Quantum Bass Center's tips for the easiest, most effective beginner stages for both you and your child.
1) Ask questions immediately when you decide on orchestra/string lessons for next year: find out what the teacher requires in the way of the instrument and supplies, and what her expectations are.
2) Foster your child's enthusiasm for music, and your knowledge of his studies. Get out to the many free outdoor concerts in our area, locate the stage door, and don't be shy about meeting musicians and asking questions! Look up online videos about your child's chosen instrument, and on related topics such as reading music and learning about composers and the great classical works. Music is very experiential, and the more your child is exposed to music and musicians, and the broader understanding he has of the several aspects of musicianship such as listening, reading music, singing along, etc, the easier it will be for him to navigate the beginner stages of learning to play.
3) As soon as possible, bring your child in to see us and arrange for your rental instrument.
What happens when string shops run out of rental inventory at the beginning of the school year?
- Delays of up to weeks for receiving an instrument, during which the student attends orchestra class but can't participate.
- Hastily set up instruments that are not as well-done as those prepared with more time.
- Backordered required books, supplies and accessories
- Good private teachers' schedules fill up, and parents resort to paying for lessons with less-qualified teachers, which imposes a long-term handicap on the young player.
- Parents can't acquire all the supplies in one place, so they end up paying more to mail-order individual items from scattered suppliers.
- Parents start mail-ordering instruments sight-unseen and discover the instruments need setup work to be playable, only to find the local shop's repair staff is booked up!
- Parents are compelled to purchase an instrument, at a much higher cost than renting.
Some shops advise picking up your instrument only at the beginning of the school year, and in fact will facilitate this by delivering your reserved instrument to your child's school. While this may seem uber convenient, you sacrifice all your options, and any delays/exchanges/special requests/errors/misdeliveries disrupt your child's progress in class. Therefore, we advise:
4) Get equipped with YOUR CHOICE of a rental instrument and find a good teacher well before school starts. Some orchestra teachers advise waiting to even handle the instrument until you are in class, as they want the students properly directed, without bad technique habits that are difficult to retrain. Here at QBC, we offer you the advantage of a staff of high-level string players dedicated to supporting your child's musical growth from the first time he picks up the instrument. We schedule sessions throughout the summer to show you and your child the correct and safe way to handle fragile stringed instruments, and get started learning to play. We can provide referrals to excellent teachers, and you can sign up for lessons and group classes here at QBC too.
- You won't have to be standing in line the week school starts - we have seen as many as FIFTY as in 50 parents standing in line in a string shop, and a friend in another shop has reported 75 people in his lobby, with a line out the door and down the entire side of the building.
5) Start beginning orchestra as a superstar. String teachers report their biggest teaching challenge is getting beginning orchestra off the ground, and it's harder on the students when they are confused in a large group and on a complex task. When you come in already outfitted and with proper background instruction, your child can move through the earliest stages much more easily.
6) Use Quantum Bass Center as your support team for your musical life! QBC isn't a profit mill to generate the maximum number of rental contracts with minimal investment - it's a resource center for string players and string teachers.
7) When school's out for the summer, see us for our incentive programs to keep playing your instrument and growing all summer! It's certainly to a musician's advantage to practice year-round...if your child is eager to set the instrument aside as if it's a school obligation, we can help him find ways to connect with music and re-discover his passion for playing!
FAQ:
Isn't it more expensive to start renting 3 months before my child is required to have the instrument?
A: the amount you save by having a selection in the more economical price categories, and having to make only ONE TRIP to see us, with no taking off work or waiting in line, and being able to bring your child with you to be sized for an instrument, often offsets the entire cost of the summer rental!
#1) RENT EARLY - in spring or summer
#2) START LESSONS NOW!
The Details:
When you've signed up your child to start orchestra at school or string lessons beginning with the next school year, this elective comes with a ream of information and new responsibilities: obtaining an instrument, establishing a practice routine, finding a good teacher, and much more! Many parents only learn at the beginning of fall term that they'll need to rent or purchase an instrument and supplies. Here are Quantum Bass Center's tips for the easiest, most effective beginner stages for both you and your child.
1) Ask questions immediately when you decide on orchestra/string lessons for next year: find out what the teacher requires in the way of the instrument and supplies, and what her expectations are.
2) Foster your child's enthusiasm for music, and your knowledge of his studies. Get out to the many free outdoor concerts in our area, locate the stage door, and don't be shy about meeting musicians and asking questions! Look up online videos about your child's chosen instrument, and on related topics such as reading music and learning about composers and the great classical works. Music is very experiential, and the more your child is exposed to music and musicians, and the broader understanding he has of the several aspects of musicianship such as listening, reading music, singing along, etc, the easier it will be for him to navigate the beginner stages of learning to play.
3) As soon as possible, bring your child in to see us and arrange for your rental instrument.
What happens when string shops run out of rental inventory at the beginning of the school year?
- Delays of up to weeks for receiving an instrument, during which the student attends orchestra class but can't participate.
- Hastily set up instruments that are not as well-done as those prepared with more time.
- Backordered required books, supplies and accessories
- Good private teachers' schedules fill up, and parents resort to paying for lessons with less-qualified teachers, which imposes a long-term handicap on the young player.
- Parents can't acquire all the supplies in one place, so they end up paying more to mail-order individual items from scattered suppliers.
- Parents start mail-ordering instruments sight-unseen and discover the instruments need setup work to be playable, only to find the local shop's repair staff is booked up!
- Parents are compelled to purchase an instrument, at a much higher cost than renting.
Some shops advise picking up your instrument only at the beginning of the school year, and in fact will facilitate this by delivering your reserved instrument to your child's school. While this may seem uber convenient, you sacrifice all your options, and any delays/exchanges/special requests/errors/misdeliveries disrupt your child's progress in class. Therefore, we advise:
4) Get equipped with YOUR CHOICE of a rental instrument and find a good teacher well before school starts. Some orchestra teachers advise waiting to even handle the instrument until you are in class, as they want the students properly directed, without bad technique habits that are difficult to retrain. Here at QBC, we offer you the advantage of a staff of high-level string players dedicated to supporting your child's musical growth from the first time he picks up the instrument. We schedule sessions throughout the summer to show you and your child the correct and safe way to handle fragile stringed instruments, and get started learning to play. We can provide referrals to excellent teachers, and you can sign up for lessons and group classes here at QBC too.
- You won't have to be standing in line the week school starts - we have seen as many as FIFTY as in 50 parents standing in line in a string shop, and a friend in another shop has reported 75 people in his lobby, with a line out the door and down the entire side of the building.
5) Start beginning orchestra as a superstar. String teachers report their biggest teaching challenge is getting beginning orchestra off the ground, and it's harder on the students when they are confused in a large group and on a complex task. When you come in already outfitted and with proper background instruction, your child can move through the earliest stages much more easily.
6) Use Quantum Bass Center as your support team for your musical life! QBC isn't a profit mill to generate the maximum number of rental contracts with minimal investment - it's a resource center for string players and string teachers.
7) When school's out for the summer, see us for our incentive programs to keep playing your instrument and growing all summer! It's certainly to a musician's advantage to practice year-round...if your child is eager to set the instrument aside as if it's a school obligation, we can help him find ways to connect with music and re-discover his passion for playing!
FAQ:
Isn't it more expensive to start renting 3 months before my child is required to have the instrument?
A: the amount you save by having a selection in the more economical price categories, and having to make only ONE TRIP to see us, with no taking off work or waiting in line, and being able to bring your child with you to be sized for an instrument, often offsets the entire cost of the summer rental!