Band Instrument FAQ’s

It’s not easy to select the instrument that best suits you. Here are some basic guidelines to use to help you select which instrument is best for you. Plus check out the videos to learn how to put together the instrument once you’ve made your choice.

	FLUTE Good Finger Coordination Upper Front Teeth Without a Gap Ability to Reach with the Right Arm to Hold the Flute Parallel Good Breath Support  Medium Lips Without a Peak in the Middle  Closed Hole Flutes are preferred for beginners due to hand size and ease of playing Open Hole Flutes have better tone quality and the open holes make faster phrases easier to play The more silver in a flute, the better tone quality and projection (Beginner flutes are nickel plated, intermediate flutes generally have a sterling silver headjoint and professional flutes are generally all or sterling silver)
	OBOE Good Finger Coordination Strong Front Teeth Excellent Sense of Pitch Strong Breath Support Medium Thin Lips
	CLARINET Good Finger Coordination Strong Front Teeth Ability to Reach the Distance Between the Keys Fingertips Broad Enough to Cover Open Hole Keys Wooden clarinets tend to have a richer and deeper tone than the “thin” sound of a plastic clarinet.
	SAXOPHONE Good Finger Coordination Strong Teeth Medium to Large Lips Ability to Reach Around the Saxophone Strong Pinkie Fingers
	TRUMPET Even Upper and Lower Jaw Good Alignment of Front Teeth Sense of Pitch Thin to Medium Lips
	FRENCH HORN Even Upper and Lower Jaw Front Teeth in Normal Alignment Sense of Pitch Thin to Medium Lips Good Breath Support
	BARITONE/EUPHONIUM Even Jaw Structure Front Teeth in Alignment Sense of Pitch Medium to Full Lips Tall Enough Upper Body to Reach Instrument
	TROMBONE Even Jaw Structure Sense of Pitch Medium to Full Lips Right Arm Long Enough to Handle Slide Positions
	TUBA Even Jaw Structure Sense of Pitch Medium to Full Lips Tall Enough Upper Body to Reach Instrument
	PERCUSSION Excellent Sense of Rhythm Sense of Pitch Well-Coordinated Hands