We have an ongoing partnership with Eckroth Music, which has a great rent-to-own program to purchase instruments. They will also have all the supplies your child will need for band, which makes it a great one-stop-shop!

We have many families who choose to purchase used instruments online. If you go that route, we highly recommend having your instrument checked out by a repair technician before band starts to make sure it is in working order.

Please do NOT purchase an instrument at any big box stores like Walmart or Target, or on Amazon. Repair technicians will not touch them and they are not designed to last.

Every school and homeschool band is set up differently depending on the needs of your school or homeschool group, so you will be hearing directly from your child’s band director with information on specific lesson and rehearsal times.

Have a question for your child’s band director? Find their contact info in the PDF below.

In order to get the most from lessons, at-home practice is an important piece. Practice at home helps students to solidify what they have learned that week in their lessons, and will allow them to progress faster.

We recommend planning practice into your child’s weekly schedule. It can be scheduled into a homework routine, or in between after school commitments. Focused practice at least 5 days per week, 15 minutes per day, will help your child to succeed.

Your child’s Encore Ensembles teacher will provide them with ideas for how to practice and how to get the most out of their time. Your encouragement to use those skills, and also to work through something even when it feels difficult, will make a world of difference. We also encourage students to bring any specific questions they might have to lessons on band days.

Each instrument has specific supply needs. We have included a list of what each individual instrument needs for cleaning supplies, reeds, oil, etc.

Click on the link below to see the list of what you will need for your child’s instrument.

First, have a discussion with your child’s band director. They will have some good insight as to if the instrument is the right fit for your child. Your Encore Ensembles teacher will be able to help determine if a change is necessary. Keep in mind that each new instrument is played differently, so your child would be starting from the first notes again.

Stores like Eckroth Music will sometimes have programs where some of the rental money put towards ownership of one instrument can be put towards another.

There is an incredible amount of growth in the first year of learning an instrument. Students start from learning how to put the instrument together to reading music notation to learning the notes on their instrument, to playing full songs in their lesson books! We hope you enjoy seeing your child’s musical growth throughout this first year - it certainly is a fun experience!