Confessions of a mail-order shopper

ByBret Pimentel

I’m not sure I can recall the last time I walked into a music store and bought something.

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).

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    Sometimes when I struggle with a musical passage it’s because I can’t quite play it—maybe my fingers or tongue won’t move quite fast enough yet, or there’s a difficult slur or interval leap that I’m still mastering. The solution is methodical practice, which of course takes significant time and effort.

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    Taking reading out of the picture when necessary can save many hours of frustration and tedium. Try it!

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  • Basic tuplet math

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    A young music student with some basic competencies might be comfortable with these kinds of rhythms:
    tuplet-mathBut these are a little trickier to pull off well:

    tuplet-math-1 tuplet-math-2

    Divisions of the pulse into twos and threes is simple enough conceptually, but in most cases we really learn those kinds of rhythms better by ear—we just learn what eighth notes or triplet eighths sound like against a quarter note pulse. A division of the pulse into fourths, like sixteenth notes against a quarter note pulse, is something that could ostensibly be derived: you could start from a duple subdivision, then make the mental shift to hearing the subdivided pulse as the new pulse, then subdivide that. But the quadruple subdivision is common enough that I think most of us ultimately learn to play it by ear, too.

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    One approach to this problem is to simply learn the less-familiar subdivision by ear. Music notation software is the perfect tool for this; with a little skill you can usually enter rhythms as complex as you like, and hear them played back with the utmost precision against a pulse of your choice. But here are a couple of other useful tricks.

    Trick #1: Subdivide long-duration triplets

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    tuplet-math-1

    …can be derived in this way:

    tuplet-math-3

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    This, for instance…

    tuplet-math-2…could be approached like this (with a slight acceleration effect on each tuplet)…

    tuplet-math-4…or like this (with a slight deceleration effect on each triplet:

    tuplet-math-5Rewriting the rhythms into duple/triple/quadruple subdivisions of the pulse makes it easier to practice these rhythms methodically and consistently with a metronome, and allows for some anchoring which ran really solidify longer runs. Even if the intention is eventually to play the tuplet with more exact evenness, practicing them this way can help to shore up technique in the early stages.

  • Review: ReedGeek “Universal” reed tool

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    reedgeek-1_mini

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    • Scraping bassoon reed channels. The concave parts of a bassoon reed blade are all but impossible to get at with a straight knife, and I find round files or sandpaper to be only a little less clumsy. The ReedGeek’s slightly curved tip works very well for this. Mr. Di Gioia describes this as being similar to using a pencil eraser—you just “erase” the cane you don’t want.reedgeek-4_mini

    I’m not currently using the ReedGeek for:

    • Balancing the corners of the tips of single reeds, though it certainly can be used for this. I’m still used to sandpaper and glass, which at this point feels more controlled to me. If I have both tools available I still grab the sandpaper but if I’m away from my reed desk and traveling light, the ReedGeek will do the job. The ReedGeek can, I think, be used effectively to target specific spots on a reed’s profile (using either the square or the curved end), but I personally do very little of that.
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    The ReedGeek is very portable, won’t be confiscated at an airport security checkpoint, and doesn’t need sharpening like a knife or replacing like sandpaper. (When I spoke with Mr. Di Gioia he joked that he has to hope that people lose them so they will have to buy more.)

    The ReedGeek has a hole drilled though one end (visible in the oboe reed picture), which I thought might be a way to attach some kind of handle, or perhaps to put it on a lanyard or keyring. In my follow-up call with Mr. Di Gioia, he explained that the hole has to do with the ReedGeek manufacturing process, and that keeping the ReedGeek on your keyring would likely damage your keys as it is much harder than the metals keys are made from. Also, the ReedGeek’s edges feel sharp to me, but not really in such a way that I would cut myself on them; Mr. Di Gioia recommends handling it with care but isn’t aware of people injuring themselves with it. He has an idea for a sleeve or sheath that may become available at some future date, and that could make carrying the ReedGeek in your pocket more feasible.

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  • Five little things that will make a difference in your next performance, audition, or competition

    ByBret Pimentel

    When I listen to young and advancing woodwind players at the high school level (masterclass participants, scholarship or honor band auditionees, competition participants), I often think that there are some small fixes that would make a big difference in their success. There’s no substitute for lessons with a qualified teacher, but these improvements are easy and set you apart from the rest:

    • Slow down a little. Speed is only impressive if your playing is clean, even, and precise. If taking a slightly slower tempo gives you better accuracy and control, do it.

    • Breathe intentionally. Where you breathe in the music makes a huge difference in your phrasing. Never just play until you run out of air. Find places to breathe that sound natural. If you’re not sure, listen to a recording of a good player and copy their breaths, or record yourself and notice what sounds right or wrong. Mark the breaths in (all of them!) and practice them carefully until they are a habit.

    • Do bigger dynamics. Even if you think you are already following the dynamic markings, make your softs softer and your louds louder.

    • Choose reeds wisely. I hear lots of ambitious young players using reeds that are much too hard. If a little softer reed allows you to play with ease and comfort, you will probably sound better. And a performance isn’t the time to use a brand-new one, or one that is past its prime. A week or two ahead, break in some new reeds and pick the best 2-3 to have on hand.

    • Relax. Tension is the biggest thing that tanks even well-prepared performances. Practice releasing the tension in your body. As you feel tension creep back in, release it again. Take advantage of rests or other pauses in the music to release once more. Try a pre-performance ritual like box breathing to reduce your adrenaline response, focus and calm your mind, and steady your hands.

    Sometimes the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference. If you are an advancing player, which of these do you think would help you the most? If you’re a teacher, what small fixes do you recommend most?

  • Buying a new instrument

    ByBret Pimentel

    I went saxophone shopping with a student yesterday. We picked out a nice instrument that suits his playing style and personal tastes, meets my requirements, and ought to serve him well for years to come. Here are a few thoughts on picking out a new horn.

    • 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!

5 Comments

  1. I believe that specialized consumer products of many sorts are best sold, and purchased, on line. In some of my marketing classes I give the example of the choir robes store. In about 1980, I was working on South Market in San Francisco. Nearby, there was a store that specialized in choir robes, and apparently stocked little else. I presumed that they drew customers from a large area, probably all of Northern California. My students agree that there is not enough potential volume in the choir robe market to have a choir robe store in every town.

    A key advantage of selling over the internet is the “death of distance.” It is no longer necessary to have a substantial potential market within a particular geographical area.

    I needed some 18th Century clothing for an event. There is a website that specializes in that. I cannot think of any single metropolitan area that could adequately support a brick and motor establishment dedicated to 18th Century clothing.

    So kudos to Dr. Pimentel for seeing the situation clearly and not succumbing to the implied (or declared) virtue of shopping local if that does not fulfill his needs. By naturally following the evolution of the market, he helps to optimize it.

    Reply

  2. When I moved into my dorm at one of the biggest music schools in the country I was very surprised to find that there was not a music store in town that stocked band or orchestra supplies. A few years later I opened just such a store and found out why.

    -There’s no profit to be made in professional instruments. Once you match the online price, pay your overhead and your payroll, you’re lucky to make anything on the sale.
    -All of the major big-name vendors require significant buy-ins – 30, 40, 50 thousand a year. Multiply that by all of the different manufacturers that customers want you to carry and you’re talking big numbers (especially for a college dropout like myself).
    -The real money to be made is in rentals to beginning students. The rent-to-own plan is a VERY expensive financing option with a lot of profit built in for the dealer.
    -All of that profit is necessary to counteract the folks who skip town with their rental instrument (more than you would think).

    It’s very, very expensive to operate a store with professional level instruments, and with the competition from online stores the margins get thinner every day. I think at this point there simply is not room for more than a few big warehouse stores in the professional market.

    I do see an opportunity, however, for local music stores that service the school band market. School band directors value their road reps who visit regularly, offer rental plans and help new band parents decode the supply list for band class. Often times the local store is a little more expensive than buying online, but the service after the sale is a major issue with middle and high school kids.

    The real advantage to the professional is the “right now” sale. When you need a box of reeds for tonight’s gig, or a spring breaks at rehearsal right before the concert, you need to have a place to go. As more stores disappear those places are becoming harder to find.

    After 6 years in business I closed down my store last year. I’m now working for a different music store in the same area focusing more on the school market (hardly and pro horns here!). We’re opening a new location in a few months with a full repair facility and a cafe/performance venue – online stores can’t compete with that!

    Reply

  3. Thanks Ron (aka Dr. Pimentel, aka “Dad”) and Chris for your unique perspectives.

    @Chris—I would have guessed that pro instruments weren’t profitable for typical music stores, but I would have had no idea that the buy-ins were so expensive!

    I try to stay well enough stocked on reeds and repair supplies that I don’t have “right now”-type emergencies. Are there really a lot of pros coming into music stores who don’t have reeds for tonight’s gig?

    Sorry to hear your store isn’t around anymore. If it’s not profitable running one where you’re located (based on your email address), then I expect there aren’t many places where it is.

    Reply

  4. Chris, if you are who I think you are, I was sad to hear about your store closing last year. It was one of the things I really missed about that town- I could order a box of reeds from you online at 5:00 pm and you would bring them to my dorm room a couple hours later for a $1 delivery fee! It was incredible! Since moving, I have yet to walk into a store and find the reeds that I want. We all bought reeds from you, but I remember being only vaguely aware that you had horns for sale. When it came time to buy a horn, the first place we turned was always the community- someone on campus was always selling a Mark VI or an R13.

    Reply

  5. @Matt – the delivery service was fun, but expensive – originally designed only to build a customer base before opening the store. The horns we had for sale for the most part wouldn’t have interested you anyway as they were almost all beginner or intermediate horns. Pro horns were just way too expensive to keep in stock for the only occasional sales we would’ve gotten.

    @Bret – you’d be surprised at how many professional gigging musicians would run into my store (and you’re correct about the location) on the way to a gig for a box of reeds or bottle of valve oil. There were a few who came in several times a week. How anybody can go through reeds that fast I don’t know, but they were some of my favorite customers. About buy-ins, it’s really a crazy amount of money. Many of the big-name manufacturers are also very hesitant to deal with specialty stores. They don’t so much want to sell you a dozen pro-level saxes, they want you to buy a variety of instruments of all levels.

    What it really comes down to is money, unfortunately. If I had a half-million dollars to put into a new business, I could have a nicely stocked store with pro-level horns and maybe make a decent living at it. Maybe someday.

    Reply

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