[Trombone-l] Trombone for new elementary school player

[Charles DePaolo]

> Hello list, my youngest son is 10, in 4th grade, and 
> is expressing an interest in playing the trombone...

My advice as a music store owner - use a good quality student horn, not
something "better."  Yes, that's right, I'm encouraging you to spend
less, not more.  Why?

1. Student horns are built stronger and can handle the stress your kid
and others will put on it.  Even if your kid is a perfect angel, the kid
sitting next to/behind/in front of them in band was raised by wolves and
will sooner or later interact unkindly with your kid's axe. 

2. Student horns generally have lightweight, super durable cases that
can really take a beating. Think "crowded school bus, Friday afternoon,
warm spring day."

3. Student horns have the right combination of mouthpiece, leadpipe,
bore and bell size to make it easy for a beginner to get started. And
that's the whole point--to get off to a rapid start. Think of beginner
horns as first gear in your car--great for getting started from a
standstill (but probably not want you want to use to drive all the way
to the grocery store--see below). Sorry to overuse the "--". This will
help your kid be more successful and help keep them from falling behind
their peers. If that happens, they may feel like "you know what" and
toss the idea of playing the horn and instead join the <insert your
worst nightmare here>. 

4. Use your Visa, make a few payments to the card company and avoid
rent-to-own to save beacoup bucks.

5. A few years from now, your kid or you, depending on who's doing the
buying, will have an easy and affordable path to something "better."  If
you start them out on a Stradivarius, then you're on the hook for a
Thein (and the accompanying mortgage) by the 10th grade. To stretch the
car analogy too far, this would be their 2nd-3rd-4th gear horn. 

6. Assuming you upgrade along the way, your kid will have a beater to
play in marching band while using better horn for concert work.  If you
start on a Strad, then guess what goes onto the field and into the
stands?

7. Please stay away from cheap Chinese crap, known as ISO's in the biz
(Instrument Shaped Objects). If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
You're not doing your kid any favors by buying the cheapest thing out
there. Stick with King, Yamaha, Conn, Jupiter, Eastman, Bach and the
other standard brands. Besides, why support the "kids making things for
kids" and the "trash the environment" movements when there are so many
other excellent options?

--Chuck