Choose your instrument

Take the time to look at the following instruments and decide which one you would consider playing.
Let the instrument choose you as not all choices fit every student.

U of L Demo Videos

Woodwinds

Flute

Reasonably straight teeth, longer and somewhat thinner fingers, thin to medium lips. Flute players do not usually have many problems with playing while wearing braces, which is a consideration for many as their child enters middle school. Because of the way the lips are placed on the flute (called the "embouchure") students are usually more successful if their lips are thinner.

Clarinet

The main consideration for the clarinet is the length and width of the student's fingers. Clarinets are an "open holed" instrument, meaning that the student has to cover and seal the key holes with his or her fingers. Wider fingers are better, and usually fingers that are not overly long are better. Like the flute, this instrument also causes few problems with braces.

Saxophone

While there are several types of saxophone in the band, most beginners start with the alto sax, mainly because the others are too large for most sixth graders to handle. I can tell you that the sax is one of the easiest instruments to play, and one of the hardest to play well. It is naturally out of tune, requiring the player to make constant adjustments in order to make it sound good. Sax players need to have enough size to handle the instrument, as it is one of the larger instruments given to beginners.
Alto Sax
Tenor Sax
​Baritone Sax

Brass

Trumpet

I had a fair number of students over the years who looked at the trumpet and said "I want to play that. It only has three keys, so it should be easy." I always had the same answer for them about the trumpet as well as the other brass instruments: Only having three keys doesn't make it easier to play; it makes it harder.
Notes are produced on brass instruments by a combination of lip tension and key combination (keys on brass instruments are referred to as "valves"). So a student has to manipulate those valves while tightening and loosening his or her lips to produce the notes.
Despite various remedies to help students deal with playing brass instruments while wearing braces, none are tremendously effective because brass instruments require the lips to be stretched flat across the teeth, which can cause discomfort. There should be little if any pressure from the mouthpiece on the lips, but many, perhaps even most students who are early in their playing careers will press the mouthpiece against the lips, causing discomfort. Still, after an adjustment period, most students with braces will have no trouble playing the trumpet.

French horn

This instrument can be somewhat awkward to hold, and I have had some students over the years who were not large enough to hold it correctly. The main issue is braces. The French Horn has the smallest mouthpiece with the narrowest rim of all the brass instruments, and, like the trumpet it will be uncomfortable to play if the student puts too much pressure on the lips while playing.

trombone

A slide takes the place of valves. Trombone players should have longer arms, due to the need to extend the slide to reach sixth and seventh positions. The good news is that most authors of band instruction books understand their audience, and do not write any pieces that require seventh position in their first year band books. After a year or so of playing, most students have grown enough that reaching seventh position is no longer an issue. The larger mouthpiece of the trombone makes crooked teeth and braces less of a problem as well, as there is less pressure on the lips.

baritone

Also called the Euphonium, although technically they are two different instruments. Its mouthpiece is similar to the trombone's, but it has valves like the trumpet. It is a larger instrument, so the main consideration is the size of the student and whether he/she is able to comfortably hold it.

tuba

The tuba is the largest member of the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece. The tuba works the same as a baritone but it’s twice the length. The unique, low sound of the tuba can be beautiful while playing bass lines or the melody. Many students who like the tuba start out on the baritone with plans to switch to the tuba after a year or two of band. The baritone is a little easier to manage for most elementary students.

Percussion / Strings

percussion

You will notice that I say "percussion" and not "drums." I know that many band directors would disagree with me, but I have always believed that students who want to play drums should be percussionists, meaning that they know how to play all the instruments in the percussion section. Watch a symphony orchestra. They do not have one player stationed at a snare drum, another at a bass drum, yet another at a xylophone, and so on. The members of the percussion section will move around and play whatever is called for in the piece the orchestra is playing.
​The biggest requirement for percussionists from my point of view is an excellent sense of rhythm. This is also the one instrument where I always limited the numbers. Most band pieces do not require more than 3 or 4 percussion players. 

bass

The electric bass is another instrument not commonly used in standard concert band, but can be a great alternative if the band lacks any low sounding instruments. Student's should have an amp at home in order to practice the electric bass.
If your child is use to playing stringed instruments then this is a good choice.