Three Things Every Local Music Store Wishes Music Teachers Knew
- Music Room
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
The local music store is a godsend for the instrumental music department. They always know when a concert is about to happen, because suddenly people come in and buy reeds. They also are notoriously ready and waiting for the elementary instrumentals music teachers to send their information sheets home to families- at the end of the school year and at the beginning of the next. They know how to answer questions about instruments, care and maintenance supplies and a ton of other little things that happen in the background, outside of the school music teachers’ knowledge.
But there are so many things that school music teachers may not realize, and music store owners and workers may not have the heart to tell the teachers. From a store owner that has been on both sides, here’s the scoop:
They don’t know what is on your supply list until someone comes in demanding certain items.
They don’t know what your favorite brand of valve oil is, that you want students to switch to a different brand of reeds, that you expect your brass players to have a specific mouthpiece size, or that your district switched method books this year.
THEY WON’T STOCK WHAT YOU NEED UNLESS THEY KNOW ABOUT IT!! This is because many music stores lack retail space (since commercial rent is too high to expand nowadays) and they can’t afford the space for items that won’t sell.
The fastest way to help everyone? Send them a quick email at the beginning of summer (so there’s time to work around supply chain issues and actually get the items ordered, processed and ready to be sold), of your students supply list. They will be SO grateful you have done this, and all it takes is a five-minute email.
The instruments they rent need to be cared for throughout the school year.
Teachers MUST instruct their students on care and maintenance, including valves and slide lubrication, the importance of cork grease, keeping instruments dry and at consistent temperatures, and to tell a teacher if a string instrument bridge is leaning, and that bows must be loosened. The list goes on, but that’s among some of the most important ones.
We all know what happens when something isn’t cared for. It stops working. The band doesn’t sound as good. Students are upset. Bridges can pop out and strings can break, which can be dangerous to students in some rare cases. When students aren’t taught what to look for, how can they possibly know, in order to prevent a worse situation? It’s very worth your time.
The fastest way to help? Include a care sheet with students at one of the first lessons, and maybe even have parents sign off on it. It’s also great to spend one lesson on “care and maintenance.” Students are proud of their instruments, and if they know that lack of care makes it not work, they will understand the importance. Each new school year after, have a quick ten-minute instrument maintenance review.
They need you.
Local music stores are dying and it is mainly because of two things: corporate music stores and the internet. They are contractually not allowed to sell many guitar brands because they aren’t large enough to turn over the required numbers. They have to go through distributors and the use of a “middle man” makes prices a little higher than internet pricing. Commercial rent, utilities and insurance keeps rising and sales are decreasing. Do not take your local music store for granted because when it’s gone, it’s gone. Recommend lessons, have students rent and shop locally for supplies. Get on a first-name basis with the owner. They want to be your colleague, but it can be difficult keeping up with shifts in school staffing each year.
This article was written by Music Room/Uplevel U: Music's owner and creator, Karen (Kay) Janiszewski. This article was written by Music Room/Uplevel U: Music's owner and creator, Karen (Kay) Janiszewski.
#musicteacher #musiceducation #musiceducators #musicprofessionaldevelopment #musicpd #musicedpd #musicpde #musicedpde #musicceu #musicedceu
Comments