Setting your child up for failure

Maintenance of your musical instrument is like the gas and maintenance for your car.

Before it finally dies the student will have picked up bad habits compensating for the deficiencies of the instrument. Bad habits that may take years to overcome,  if they haven't completely demoralized the student.

Tendinitis from pushing too hard on keys that don't close properly. TMJ and other jaw problems from biting on the reed as they try and force the tone out.

Some students will be forced to play on soft bad sounding reeds to overcome the leaks in the instrument.

Most will quit. Why play if it sounds bad and is a struggle?

As a professional musician I can tell you it's a lot of work to be a good musician but it shouldn't be hard to make the instrument go.

Basic maintenance.

$65 a year for a clarinet or flute

$75-80 for a sax

this includes cleaning and adjusting but does not include repairs to damage or

parts (parts will usually be a pad or two if the maintenance is done every year)

Then the student will always  be playing on a clean working instrument and all their hours of practice will not be wasted.

 It's less expensive to have annual work done than to wait.
and
It's less expensive to maintain your instrument than to replace it every 4 years.

Why?

A leaking instrument make the player push harder on the keys bending them and wearing out the pads faster.
An instrument that doesn't work gets treated worse,  out of frustration.
An instrument that is not cleaned grinds itself apart faster.

 IMPORTANT!
If you are renting an instrument from a store or your school
Ask when it was last overhauled or serviced. If they can't tell you when it was last checked by a real repair person or if it hasn't been done in years RUN!