I hope your summer is going well and you are as excited for the new school year as I am. I am looking forward to meeting your son or daughter and starting our music journey together. If for some reason your son or daughter is signed up for band but does not know what instrument to rent, please contact me. Here is some information that you may need before the summer is over.
INSTRUMENT RENTAL: Meyer Music is the company that we use to provide band instruments, books and accessories. They used to be located in Holland but have recently closed that location. At any point you may rent an instrument through Meyer Music online athttps://www.meyer-music.com/. The online process is very easy and they even deliver your child’s instrument and band book right to Creekside so that they are prepared for school! Parents who need assitance with a school instrument should email Mrs. Bier at [email protected].
CAUTIONARY TALES: If your child has their instrument at home please help them resist the temptation to play with it. It is unfortunate when the instrument has to go in for repairs before the class has even started. If you would rather buy an instrument and skip the rental phase please pay close attention to these suggestions. There are several stores and online retail outlets currently selling brand new instruments for low costs. These stores are not musical instrument dealers; they are stores where you could also buy clothes or food or online platforms that sell everything. I caution anybody interested in buying these instruments. They may work fine at the beginning, but when they break, there are no new parts to replace the broken parts and no area repair departments will fix them. They are often made of thin or cheap material and keys often break off. The size of the instrument tends to be slightly different than the standard size, which makes it impossible to replace broken mouthpieces or other detachable parts. Not all used instruments are bad, however if you find an instrument at a garage sale or way back in grandma’s closet, make sure to get it into Meyer Music and have the repair department take a look at it. Nothing is more frustrating to a beginning instrumentalist than a malfunctioning instrument. You can call or text them at 616-975-1122 to schedule maintenance.
BAND BOOK: Everyone will need a band book that can also be purchased through Meyer Music. The book you need is called Essential Elements Book 1 for the specific instrument like flute, trumpet, etc. When renting at Meyer they will include the book with your rental. If you rent online it will also be included! For those who are not renting, please plan to order one from Meyer Music or Amazon. The book costs about $12 or $19 for percussion (combined percussion book for snare and mallets). If you did not rent an instrument, you still need to buy that book. You can call or text them at 616-975-1122 to make a purchase.
PERCUSSIONISTS: All students who have been placed in the percussion class have been contacted by Mrs. Garcia. Those students need to rent a percussion kit which includes a small bell set, a snare practice pad, drum sticks and keyboard mallets. If you can find a used kit, buy it! These instruments are only used for practice and stay at home. The students use the school equipment during class and performances. It is good to purchase new drum sticks every year. Please buy the Vic Firth SD 1 drumsticks with wooden tips. (Those sticks are included with the kits that are rented from Meyer Music.)
LAST THOUGHTS: All students will start playing during the third week of school. Nobody needs to bring their instruments on the first day of school. Once your instrument is home, make sure to fill out the name tag on the case since many instruments look identical. Feel free to put something on the case that distinguishes your instrument from another kid’s instrument. Also, it is good to have your name in your new band book. I hope this information helps you prepare for the upcoming school year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me. Feel free to call Meyer Music if you have questions regarding instrument rental or repair.
Musically,Mrs. Nichole Bier Director of Bands, Creekside Middle School[email protected]
