Renting An Instrument
Materials Needed
Music and Arts
Watertown Schools hosts a rental night each year for students who are in need of an instrument. This rental night is presented by Music and Arts, one of our main instrument distributors. You are able to rent online or in person at the shop in Newton Centre if you are not able to come to the rental night. This year's rental night will be held on Monday, September 23rd at Watertown Middle School from 6-8PM.
Click here for the Music and Arts online rental site
Johnson Strings
Students can also rent from local luthier Johnson Strings. Though we do not host a rental night with this business, they are. available as an option for online or in-store rentals.
Buying An Instrument
It can seem really cost-efficient to simply purchase an instrument outright from Music and Arts or online retailers like Amazon; however, renting is a really fantastic option for beginning string students. Here's why:
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Renting allows the instrument to grow with your child. Third graders are small and aren't playing on full-size instruments. Kids shouldn't play on instruments that are too big for them because it could lead to muscle and tendon strain, and if they're playing on an instrument that's too small they won't be able to play in tune because their fingers will be too big. Renting allows the instrument to grow with your child, with trading the instrument for a bigger size having no additional cost.
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If anything happens to the instrument, the repair is easy because we can send the rental back to the store, and they'll repair it. Part of what you pay each month is an insurance fee, which covers the cost of repairs. Once you own the instrument, repairs are going to cost an extra fee.
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Some instruments, especially the ones at a discounted price on sites like Amazon, aren't set up correctly. They're not made well and they won't make a sound that inspires or encourages your child to practice or continue playing. In order to want to play, and to enjoy playing, they need a fighting chance at making a decent sound.
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If cost is an issue, please get in touch with Mr. Boynton or Ms. Byham. We can work something out so your child can play on a quality instrument!
All students will need the following items:
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Essential Elements Book 1 (for their specific instrument, available at rental night)
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Folding music stand (available at rental night)
Instrument/Grade Specific:
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4th - 12th-grade students need a 1/2" black binder
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Violins in 5 - 12 who play on a 3/4 or 4/4 size instrument need a shoulder rest (Kun or Everest brands recommended)
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Violas in 6 - 12 who play on a 15 - 16" viola need a shoulder rest (Kun or Everest recommended)
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Bass players need their own cake of Pops Bass Rosin
Shoulder Rests:
The shoulder rest helps the player support the instrument on their shoulder. When younger players don’t use the shoulder rest or sponge, they often put too much tension in their shoulder to keep the instrument in place and it compromises posture and left-hand position, often causing them to lie their left-hand flat, which inhibits them from playing in tune, maneuvering the fingerboard, etc. The two brands I recommend are Kun and Everest because I’ve used them most frequently, but there are quite a few options. You can get one from Music and Arts, Amazon, etc. When purchasing, please be sure to get the right shoulder rest for your child’s instrument, and one that is adjustable so it can grow with your child’s instrument. Violas shouldn’t purchase one until they get to a 15” viola.
String Resources
Strings, Rosin, and more
If you need a place to get an extra set of strings, new rosin, a shoulder rest, rock stops, etc, there are plenty of places to find those things.
Music and Arts in Newton Centre will have most of these items, and you can go to the store to pick them up. You can also order online.
Johnson Strings is a locally owned business (also in Newton) that will have all of these items.
You can also order from Shar Music, which is a strings retailer based out of Michigan. They're one of the larger instrument retailers and carry just about everything.
Of course, in this growing world of online shopping, Amazon generally has many quality products available for purchase as well. It is suggested you read through some of the reviews or email the link to Ms. Byham or Mr. Boynton just to double-check if you have questions.