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Re: clarinet for dummies :)

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2010-10-10 14:06

I would second the warnings about fakes' and misrepresented items' being offered online at auction sites. Many music stores that rent student instruments to beginners have a very low introductory rate - often 3 or 4 months for very nearly the same fee as the monthly charge after the introductory period is over. Even if you plan to shop for the best deal on a purchase, the initial rental can buy you some time while you and your daughter get to know the teacher and perhaps get more ideas from him/her about possible instrument sources.

In my 30+ years of teaching instrumental music in a school setting, I saw many, many students trying to play on completely unplayable instruments that their parents got "on the web." You can get relative bargains online from reputable, established music dealers (there were a couple of them that I was comfortable about recommending to parents who didn't want to spend what the local store was asking), but the price difference is not what you will get from "the" (or an) auction site. The likelihood that an auction-purchased instrument is either ersatz or in worse condition than promised is in my experience very high, and **unless you know what you've actually gotten when it arrives,** you could waste a lot of your daughter's energy and enthusiasm (not to mention the cash you will have spent) on an instrument that will be a serious obstacle to her success.

Best of luck,
Karl

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