Choosing the Right Gear
Here are our suggestions for buying or renting your instrument
Keyboard Recommendations
You don't need anything super fancy to get started, and we recommend starting with a keyboard before investing in a traditional piano.
Recommended Brands
- Yamaha
- Casio
- Roland
Details to Consider
- You don't need 88 keys, 60+ keys is just fine.
- If you're spending more than $300, though, you should definitely find an option with all 88 keys.
- Make sure the keys are weighted -- that way, it will feel more like a real piano.
Buying Locally
- We love American Music, which is located in Fremont. They have an excellent keyboard selection and their staff is very knowledgeable.
Buying Online
- Yamaha P45B Digital Piano - This is a great keyboard that many adults choose to purchase instead of a wood piano.
- Casio Inc. LK175 61-Key Lighted Key Personal Keyboard - This keyboard provides you with visual feedback as you're learning to play the piano. Great option for beginners!
Renting from Off the Wall
Piano Rentals
If you'd like to learn how to play on an upright or grand piano instead of a keyboard, you don't have to purchase a piano outright.
A-1 Pianos offers piano rentals for as little as $25/month -- and they even have a rent-to-own option.
Piano Tuning
On Site Tuner
We recommend Hak Bo Lee - 206-226-4941.
He's generally flexible with his rate depending on the size of the tuning job. Mention that you're a student at Off the Wall and he'll give you a discount!
Tuning it Yourself
Learning how to tune a piano is very useful -- often, only a couple of notes will be out of tune and it's not convenient or cost effective to have a tuner come out to tune the whole piano.
Guitar Recommendations
If you'd like to purchase a guitar, you can visit one of the following local shops to get some great advice from their experts:
For younger students, Taylor Guitars' Baby Taylor is a good choice.
Percussion Recommendations
When you're first learning how to play the drums, you don't need anything fancy -- in fact, you can make a set using chairs, buckets and boxes! Check out this guy's homemade drum set:
Details to Consider
- If noise will be an issue at your practice location, an electric set is your best option
- If noise isn't an issue, and you think it would inspire you to practice more, select an acoustic set
Buying Locally
- American Music (Fremont) - All kinds of instruments, run by musicians
- Ludwig LJR1061 Junior Outfit 5-Piece Drum Set - Recommended for ages 4 to 8 years; has all the features of a full-sized set. Includes hardware, cymbals and throne.
- The Drum Exchange (Wallingford) - An independent, drums-focused shop
- Trading Musician (Roosevelt) - You can often find great deals on used individual pieces here
Buying Online
- Craigslist - Check the For Sale > Musical Instruments section often to find great deals on used gear
- Amazon
- Drum Pad: Evans 2-Sided, 6-Inch Practice Pad
- Drum Pad Set: DW Drum Workshop CPPADTS5 Go Anywhere Pad Set with Stand - You can fold these up for storage, too.
- Drum Set: Tama Imperialstar 5-Piece Drum Kit - Includes 5 drums, hi-hats, crash, ride and seat
Brass & Woodwind Rentals
If you're brand new to brass or woodwind instruments, it does take a bit of time and patience to get the hang of them.
Instead of purchasing a new trumpet or saxophone, we suggest that you rent one first from local Wallingford shop Seattle Sound Repair.
We also have clean mouthpieces for the clarinet, trumpet, alto sax and tenor sax at the school; that way, you can try out your teacher's instrument during your first lesson to determine if it's the right one for you.
Violin Rentals
Our violin teachers recommend the following businesses for renting a violin:
- Ted Brown Music (formerly Capitol Music)
- Bischopfberger Violins Ltd
- Olsen Violins
- Kennelly Keys
Music Stands
Every musician, regardless of the instrument they play, needs a great music stand to hold their sheet music!
We recommend the Manhasset Model #48 Sheet Music Stand.