Learning to play a musical instrument can be incredibly rewarding for children of all ages and abilities, plus, it’s great fun! Whether it turns into a future career, or a life long hobby; the proven benefits to child learning and development mean it’s great to encourage children to learn to play from any age.

However, with so many instruments and so much information to sift through, it can be hard to know where to start.

With Learn to Play Day on Saturday 12^th March fast approaching, we thought it would be great to write a blog about the ways we can help you get your child started.

Which Instrument?

There are so many instruments to choose from, it can sometimes be hard to know what will inspire your child. Often children will express an interest in a particular instrument, but if they’re not quite sure, a little encouragement can go a long way. A family trip to a concert, a chat with a school music teacher, or a trip to our Manchester store to view our wide range of instruments might help spark their interest!

We stock an extensive range of quality student instruments - everything from Trumpets, Flutes and Saxophones to Violins, Electric Guitars and Pianos. We also stock less commonplace instruments – why not try Oboe, Bassoon or

Trombone? Our knowledgeable staff can guide you though any questions you may have, and with all our instruments professionally set up on site by our luthiers and technicians, you can be sure you’re getting a quality instrument, which will be reliable and easy to play.

Why not bring your child along to ‘Learn To Play Day’, in our store on Deansgate in Manchester on Saturday 12^th March.We have over 100 free lessons available. To avoid disappointment we would recommend booking in advance by phoning (0161 834 3281 ext 100) We will be offering the chance to have a go on a wide range of instruments including Piano, Violin, Cello, Guitar, Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Recorder, Ukulele, Trumpet and French Horn. You are also very welcome to call in on the day for a lesson or join in with a group ukulele session at 11am or 2pm.

Help with the cost

We understand that the initial expense of getting a first instrument can be daunting. There are a lot of instruments available out there, and it’s difficult to know what you’re getting for your money. Whilst some cheap entry level instruments can be a great way in, we would always urge you to go for the best quality student instrument possible. Often cheaper instruments are made from less durable materials, making them difficult to fix when things go wrong, and often, much harder for children to play. We’ve found that young people are much more likely to stick at an instrument if they have a reliable, good quality model.

We have a team of experienced staff who are happy to advise and guide you through the process, whether you’re thinking of buying a school recorder, a bassoon or a grand piano! We also have a number of schemes to help with the initial cost of buying your child’s first instrument.

Take it Away interest free finance

Take it Away is a Arts Council backed interest free loan scheme dedicated to enabling young people to purchase musical instruments. You can borrow between £100 and £5,000 towards the purchase of an instrument for a child or adults up to the age of 25. You can find out more on this website http://www.takeitaway.org.uk/

VAT Assisted purchase

More often than not, state schools are willing to run a VAT-assisted purchase scheme to help students get started. Once you’ve chosen the instrument that’s right for your child, we then reserve the instrument for you until we receive a purchase order from your child’s school. Once we’ve received payment and confirmation from the school you can either collect the instrument, or have it shipped directly to the school. It’s an easy process, which saves you the 20% VAT from the retail price of the instrument.

What if they don’t stick at it?

Whilst we always want to encourage children to get into music, sometimes it can be hard to know whether your child will stick to a new instrument. Our Student Hire Purchase and Student Buy Back schemes allow your child to start learning straight away on a quality instrument with the option to return the instrument if things don’t quite work out.

Student Hire Purchase Scheme

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether a child will stick to a new instrument. On certain student woodwind and brass instruments, we can offer a hire purchase scheme. For a reasonable rental price, instruments can be hired for up to 3 months. After this period you can either return the instrument to us in good condition for no further cost, or, if your child wants to continue, you can pay the remaining balance to buy the instrument outright.

Student Buy Back Scheme

Certain student instruments are also eligible for our Student Buy Back Scheme. This simply means that if things don’t quite work out, you can return an instrument on the scheme within 3 months and receive up to 70% of the retail price back, depending on the condition and wear of the instrument.