I hear every so often that I should support local businesses and mom-and-pop shops, and I have to admit that this sounds vaguely like a responsible and virtuous thing to do. But here’s why I don’t—and can’t.

1. It costs too much. Prices are inevitably higher in local stores. I understand that so-called “full-service” establishments have overhead, but so do I. If they can justify charging higher prices, it seems fair that I can justify shopping around.
2. They don’t stock what I need. Other than a few scattered specialty shops, local music stores stock what they can sell in volume, and that’s inexpensive instruments and accessories for the beginning band market. I live in a small town, but even in the fairly large cities where I have lived, I have, more frequently than not, been unable to get what I like. A few months ago I made a two-and-a-half hour drive to go saxophone shopping with a student at a large music store in a large city. The store was large enough to have a saxophone specialist on staff. The store regularly stocks one brand of (arguably) professional-quality saxophone (and it’s not Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, or Keilwerth), and had exactly two major-brand instruments available, used. We also contacted a small saxophone specialty shop that was a little farther away, one that actually has “saxophone” in the store’s name. They had zero pro-line horns in stock.
3. As far as I can tell, the “superior customer service” factor is largely a myth. I think most woodwind players have experienced the frustration of going into a music store and being “helped” by the heavy-metal guitarist behind the counter. And even in specialty shops, I’ve rarely found a salesperson who can answer serious questions with much more than regurgitated advertising copy or a personal opinion. And, while I don’t doubt that specialty retailers are passionate about what they do, it’s important to keep in mind that they are businesspeople and subject to motivations other than getting you the best possible product for the smallest possible price.

I do not begrudge brick-and-mortar proprietors their profit margins, or salespeople their commissions (or their jobs). And on a neighborly level I hate to see a local shop go out of business. But the loss is a pretty abstract one for me—not much more relevant than the closing of a big-’n’-tall clothier (I’m neither big nor tall).

Since starting college as a music major, I have made almost all my music-related purchases from warehouse stores, by catalog and phone in the past, and now exclusively via the internet. The behemoth mail-order establishments stock nearly every product I use, charge the lowest prices anywhere, and often provide just as much product information on their websites as I could get in a local shop, plus customer reviews.

One of my favorite online retailers offers a virtually perennial free shipping promotion on orders over a certain, relatively small dollar amount. Since I’m usually in need of reeds in a half-dozen sizes, I don’t have any trouble qualifying.

I’ve tried in the past to offer brick-and-mortar stores the opportunity to match prices with the mail-order giants. This usually proves to be a hassle and often seems a little cruel, asking a small business owner to reduce their razor-thin profit margins to those of a volume dealer. A few have been willing, but most have responded with excuses about overhead. The excuses, presumably, are valid ones. But if they can’t budge on their price requirements, then why must I?

It’s sort of true that in a “real” store I can actually hold the product in my hands before I buy, but even this is a pretty slim advantage. Music stores that cater to intermediate-level students or professionals understand the need for musicians to try out things like mouthpieces before committing, but beginning-band stores or guitar-and-drums shops are less likely to allow this. The major online retailers all offer good trial and return policies, usually allowing you to obtain a number of mouthpieces, barrels, bocals, instruments, etc. for a small deposit, and return the ones you don’t want. If you end up purchasing one or more, most sellers will waive restocking/sterilization fees. The relatively minimal hassle and expense of return-shipping unwanted merchandise have, in my experience, virtually always resulted in a better product and a lower cost than purchasing at a store.

I’ve occasionally heard people extol the post-purchase service and support available from brick-and-mortar stores. This means repair service, which is another thing that I often find unsatisfactory unless I deal with a specialist, usually in a distant location. Many stores offer extended service contracts on purchased instruments, which, make no mistake, are designed to maximize the seller’s bottom line, not yours.

As a side note, I do think that there is one in-person shopping situation that can rival the benefits of online purchases, and that is conferences. A couple of years ago I bought a new oboe at the IDRS conference. I had a blast trying literally over a hundred oboes offered for sale by the vendors in attendance. Because the vendors were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the exhibit hall, most were offering special “conference pricing” to stay competitive. Some had repair specialists on hand to tweak instruments to potential customers’ preferences. I was also surrounded by conference attendees, many of them professional oboists, most if not all of them happy to offer opinions. When I picked out “the one,” the vendor refused to let me pay for it, instead recommending that I take it home for an extended trial period, and then return it or make the inter-state purchase via credit card, avoiding the local sales tax at the conference location.

If you are lucky enough to be near a great music store with excellent service and knowledgeable staff, then you have my envy. If they offer prices competitive with the warehouse dealers, then enjoy it while you can, because they will soon be a Starbucks (sigh).

• Do your research ahead of time. We made phone calls to several music stores in the region, and found out what instruments were available to try. We both familiarized ourselves with the various bells and whistles (so to speak) of the different models, and had some idea of the differences between the instruments the stores had in stock. This became important as we were evaluating a saxophone that seemed to be almost the right fit for the student—luckily we knew that model came from the factory with two different necks. We asked for the other neck, and sure enough, the horn turned out to be a winner.
• Bring a trusted set of ears. If you are a student, try begging or bribing your teacher to go shopping with you (they want you to have the best instrument you can afford!). Remember that what you hear when you play the horn is different from what a listener hears. When I picked out an oboe a few years ago, I found two specimens of the same model that seemed equally good to me. My oboe teacher listened to me play both, and immediately picked out “the one.” He could hear something out front that was escaping me back behind the reed.
• Put the instrument through its paces. How does it respond, feel, sound, and tune at fortissimo? At pianissimo? High notes? Low notes? Articulated notes? Check the pitch, stability, response, and tone of every single note, including alternate fingerings. Use your own familiar mouthpiece(s) and reeds. Spend a significant amount of time playing a new horn before you even think about buying it. My student and I each played some of our current classical repertoire and some jazz stuff before making a judgment on the instruments.
• Prioritize realistically. Remember that your tone will be a little different on an unfamiliar instrument, but that your individual sound will come through more as you gain comfort with the instrument. Intonation, however, is built into the horn for good. Get an instrument that will let you play in tune without unnecessary gymnastics.
• Don’t forget the old reliable. Bring your old instrument along for periodic reality checks, even if you know it has significant shortcomings. I was impressed enough with one of the instruments I tried yesterday that I briefly considered what would have been a rash and probably unwise purchase. I put the mouthpiece back on my own alto and realized that I am better off with what I’ve got.

Happy shopping!

Every now and then someone asks to borrow an instrument from me. Often it will be a saxophonist who needs a flute or clarinet for a gig they have already agreed to play. My policy, which I have upheld almost perfectly for several years now, is simple: I don’t loan instruments to anybody, for anything, period.

Most people who feel comfortable asking me a favor like this are people who I know well, and who I know would take good care of my instruments. It’s tough to turn down a seemingly reasonable request from a friend, and in the past I have made exceptions in moments of weakness (though I am getting dangerously good at saying “no”).

But it isn’t fair for me to save and sacrifice to have expensive instruments, and then allow others to use them freely to get gigs that perhaps should be rightfully mine. A saxophonist who doesn’t have his or her own flute or clarinet (at least a cheap student model!) likely isn’t a strong or committed enough doubler to be doing doubling gigs. It’s not surprising that people who make these requests often also want to borrow a fingering chart or ask for help with reeds. I spend serious time and money obtaining instruments and paying my dues learning to play them. If you want to get those gigs, you should, too!

I suppose it’s possible that a good doubler could at times find themselves without the gear they need for one reason or another, but I have taken all necessary steps to ensure that I have what I need, and that’s the cost of doing business. Woodwind playing is a bring-your-own-tools situation, and I am acquiring the tools I need while some of my colleagues are driving nicer cars than mine. I’ve made my choice, and they have made theirs.

On the other hand, I’m fairly willing to loan out instrument stands or other non-instrument gear to trusted friends when I can. Serious doublers should own these, too, but to me they are far less personal items, certainly less valuable, and are matters of convenience more than gig deal-makers or -breakers.

I have also had people offer to “rent” instruments from me; I have turned them down as well. While a few incoming bucks to defray the cost of owning and maintaining my instruments might take some of the sting out of loaning them out, there are additional intangible costs that come into play. Every gig that I play myself means additional networking and reputation-building, accumulated experience, and polishing of my skills; I sacrifice these when I enable someone else to play a gig for which I am prepared equipment-wise and they are not. I also enter the treacherous territory of charging my friends and colleagues money, which I am happy to avoid when I can.

So if you find yourself lacking an instrument for a gig, don’t hesitate to give me a call—I’ll be happy to take that gig off your hands.

The information on this page is intended for beginning and intermediate players, including woodwind doublers who already play another instrument. Here are some rules of thumb:

• Get the advice of a good teacher, preferably one that doesn’t get a sales commission from a music store. It’s okay to ask advice before starting lessons. A good teacher wants you to have a good, working instrument.
• In fact, be very skeptical of anything you are told by music store salespeople. My students frequently begin lessons with poor, non-working woodwind instruments that were highly recommended by the guitar player working behind the counter. Ask the salesperson to demonstrate the instrument. If they can’t do it, there’s little reason to take their recommendations.
• The most important consideration for a beginner’s instrument is its condition. Woodwind instruments use pads made of leather, skin, or cork that MUST seal properly. Poorly adjusted instruments are one of the top causes of frustration in beginning players. Don’t waste your time fighting with a leaking instrument. Cosmetic flaws like worn or scratched finish or small dents (except in vital spots such as a flute’s headjoint or saxophone’s neck) do not necessarily affect an instrument’s playability, but may be warning signs of larger problems. It is possible to buy a non-working instrument and have a good technician restore it to playable condition, but it would be a good idea to get their appraisal of the instrument before you buy it.
• Don’t buy musical instruments from department stores, megastores, or warehouse stores. These temptingly cheap instruments are made from inferior materials and are almost always in poor adjustment. Good repair shops won’t even work on them because they tend to break under the normal strains of routine maintenance.

Flute

• Materials: The most inexpensive flutes are made of nickel. Don’t be fooled if the salesperson says “nickel silver,” it’s still just nickel. Nicer flutes are at least plated with silver, or, even better, made of solid silver. Sometimes the headjoint will be solid silver and the body silver plated. Generally, it is thought that the more silver, the more “ring” there will be in the sound (though acoustical studies have failed to verify this). Professional instruments are sometimes made from other materials (platinum, “rose” gold, etc.), but the nuances of these metals are lost on all but the finest flutists. Some flutists experience irritation where the lower lip contacts the instrument; a gold-plated embouchure plate may help (for some extra money).
• Keywork options: The only significant options for flutists buying less than a custom instrument are inline versus offset G, and the split E mechanism. Some flutists find the inline G key more ergonomic, and some prefer offset. Hand size is one factor, but try both to see which is a more comfortable, less tense reach. Offset G flutes are much more likely to have the split E mechanism, which makes the difficult high E respond more easily.
• Keys with open holes are popular with American flutists, but realistically make little difference in the instrument’s sound. Still, many flutists insist that open holes improve tone and/or pitch, and facilitate some extended techniques like microtones and pitch slides. Closed holes are a little easier for beginning flutists to cover with their fingers. Removable plugs for open-holed flutes are commercially available, but if you have an open-holed flute you might as well learn to play it “unplugged.”
• Student instruments usually have a footjoint that is keyed down to a low C. More expensive instruments often (but don’t necessarily) have a low B footjoint, which stabilizes and adds resonance to some notes. The low B itself is occasionally used in flute solo music, but the beginner or casual doubler won’t miss it and might like the lighter weight of a C footjoint.
• For more information, see my flute page.

Oboe

• Materials: Generally, cheaper oboes are made of plastic, and more expensive ones are made of grenadilla wood. All else being equal, the tonal advantages of wood are minimal at best, but oboes of superior design and workmanship are almost always made of wood. (This doesn’t mean that just because an oboe is made of wood, it’s a good one!) Wood instruments require careful maintenance to avoid cracking. Previously cracked oboes, if expertly repaired, are perfectly playable but drop significantly in resale value. Keywork on cheaper instruments is nickel plated, more expensive instruments may have shinier silver-plated keys.
• Keywork options: Oboe keywork options are staggering. Pay for the most complete keywork you can afford. I would prioritize the “extra” keys in roughly this order: F resonance, left F, low B-flat, split-ring D, low B-flat resonance, third octave key. American oboists should avoid ring-key models, fully-automatic octave mechanisms, and thumbplate oboes.
• For more information, see my oboe page.

Clarinet

• Materials: The wood vs. plastic discussion in the oboe section applies here.
• Keywork options: Clarinets, thankfully, have little variation in their keywork. Beware “full-Boehm” instruments, which are favored by a few professionals but rarely used in the United States.
• For more information, see my clarinet page.

Bassoon

• Materials: The wood vs. plastic discussion in the oboe section applies here. Wooden bassoons are made of maple.
• Keywork options: Above the most basic student instruments, bassoon keywork options are perhaps as complicated as with the oboe. Advancing players will find use for a high D key, Ab/Bb trill, and whisper lock, and may find optional rollers to be handy.
• For more information, see my bassoon page.

Saxophone

• Materials: Saxophones are made of brass. Sometimes professional instruments are made with special alloys or plated with silver or even gold, but the differences, if they really exist, are too subtle to matter much to most players. The color of the lacquered finish has no effect on the instrument’s sound—don’t be concerned about a lighter or darker gold color. Cheaper instruments sometimes have nickel-plated keys, but this doesn’t affect playability in any way.
• Keywork options: A high F-sharp key is present on most newer high-quality instruments (but also some of lower quality), but is not a high priority for a beginner. Some professional saxophonists don’t use the high F-sharp key anyway, preferring alternate fingerings. An articulated low C-sharp key is usually present on higher-end instruments and eases navigation of the low register.
• For more information, see my saxophone page.