Should I get a pro horn for a 5th grader?

[Andy Del]

My goodness, so much waffle.

1. Is there a downside to playing on a better instrument. No. Intermediate instruments are built down to a price point (of the pro models are inflated vastly. Take your pick)

Could there be an issue with damage at school? Yes. (Make sure the band director knows you will rain holy hell on him and the school if there's malicious damage and that even accidental damage gets paid for by the person responsible. If the band director can't teach this to the kids, then find a better band director)

What to buy? Go bog standard, nothing special, nothing for jazz, or classical etc. I hate to say it, a Bach 37 or 43 or a Yamaha 6335/8335. Plain vanilla boring, and let your kid go build their playing.

After that, encourage your kid 10 000 % and let him make music.

cheers

Andy
_________________
so many horns, so few good notes...

[CaptPat]

[kehaulani]

Just an aside with brassnose. While some students' horns undoubtably do get dented, I also think this point is exaggerated. I'm not saying not to consider it, just to not be disproportionately so. I went from elementary through college, professionally touring, playing clubs etc., never got a dent. And, no, I'm not anal about protection, just normal use.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[yourbrass]

[kehaulani]

Two horns? Broh, I was lucky enough to have one.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[SterlingBell]

I was a middle school band director for 36 years. I’m also a trumpet player who got my first Bach Strad 37 in sixth grade. Yes, it had its share of scratches and dents(nothing major). I had it from sixth grade to the end of my Master’s program. By all means, just do it and have him be as careful as he can be, but expect some mishaps.

[Liberty Lips]

Mishaps can certainly occur in school band situations. When Wayne Bergeron was in junior high school, he played french horn in the band. One day he came to school and the bandroom had been broken into the night before, and his french horn was among the instruments that were stolen. That's how he became a trumpet player.

[jkrz]

Thank you all so much. This discussion is precisely what I was hoping for - eliciting opinions and reasoning of those that have gone through the experience and are far more knowledgeable than myself.

Since it was raised above, private teacher initially suggested an intermediate horn as a good next step, but then mentioned getting a Bach or a Xeno, which confused me and sent me into research mode. One of the reasons I'm seeking guidance from internet strangers is that the teacher is young and my impression is that all of his students are elementary school age learning how to play, so he may not have a lot of experience seeing what might work or not work as students progress. We may consider finding a more seasoned instructor in the future, but are currently happy.

Even if cost were an important factor, I'd still lean towards a used pro horn vs a new or used intermediate instrument, so looks like that's what we'll do.

As to durability issues - someone mentioned silver plated might be a better option vs lacquer. I'll do some research on this issue, but feel free to chime in if you agree or disagree...

[kehaulani]

[JayKosta]

[Irving]

Has your son expressed an interest in getting another horn? If not, Iw ould wait until he feels like he needs a better horn. By then he might know what brand of horn he is interested in. The horn he has now might be OK for the time being.

[jkrz]

[LittleRusty]

[Doug Elliott]

Never hurts to have two horns for the times one needs work and the shop has a 3 week backlog.

[Richard III]

[Bill Blackwell]

[spitvalve]

My $.02:

My son started playing in 6th grade on an old King cornet I had laying around. He was doing fine with it and tried to take good care of it, but one day he was digging through his case for something and had set the horn on the carpet next to it. Some goofball tuba player who was big for his age lumbered by and accidentally stepped on it. The horn was totaled and I had no budget to buy him another one. So I "loaned" him my spare trumpet, which was a 1983 Claude Gordon Selmer. He worked hard to take good care of it and now at age 29 is still playing it.

But my son is an anomaly, I think. Beginner horns are built tough for a reason, because a nice horn in the hands of the average kid (not the OP's kid, but the average kid) after a couple of years or so can end up looking like he used it for a catchers mitt!

I used to cringe at my son's band concerts when he'd walk on or off the stage with that CG Selmer and other kids would be shuffling around with chairs and stands and horns and I could hear the dings and clunks from all over the stage. And in spite of his efforts to care for it, we did need to have some major work done on the horn before he took it to college with him.

I'd recommend an Olds Ambassador from the 1960's. There are still some out there on eBay and occasionally in the TH marketplace. They can take a beating and they sound infinitely better and are more easy to play than a $100 trumpet that would likely be better as the base for a lamp. I would agree with the posters who said a Getzen 700 (I love mine!) would be good a few years down the road, and a Bach Strad or other pro horn would be a good choice for a serious high schooler.
_________________
Bryan Fields
----------------
1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1977 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
1995 UMI Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[LittleRusty]

[HERMOKIWI]

[stuartissimo]