How to choose a band instrument for grade 5 or 6

Most school bands start in grade 5 or 6. The usual first choices are the flute, the clarinet, the alto saxophone, the trumpet, the trombone, and percussion. The best pick is the one your child wants to play and can make a good first sound on. Size, cost, and what the band needs come next. This page walks through each point.

The usual choices

Instrument	Family	First sound	Size and weight	Good to know
Flute	Woodwind	Hard for some	Small and light	Many children pick it, so bands often have plenty
Clarinet	Woodwind	Medium	Small and light	Fingers must seal open holes
Alto saxophone	Woodwind	Easy	Medium, worn on a neck strap	Popular, and some bands limit the number
Trumpet	Brass	Medium	Small	Three valves. The lips do much of the work.
Trombone	Brass	Medium	Long	The slide needs a long reach
Percussion	Percussion	Easy	Varies	Covers drums and keyboard instruments such as bells

Some bands also start French horn, euphonium, tuba, oboe, or bassoon in the first year. Others add them in the second.

Start with the sound your child loves

A child practices more on an instrument they chose. Play recordings of each one. Go to a concert by the older band at the school. Ask which sound your child keeps coming back to.

The instrument picker quiz can help start the talk.

Go to the fitting night

Many schools and music stores hold a fitting night. A child tries a mouthpiece from each family, and a teacher watches.

Some children buzz a brass mouthpiece on the first try. Some get a clear tone from a flute at once, and others get only air. This first try is a hint and not a verdict. Most children can learn any of these with time.

Think about size

• Trombone. The far end of the slide is a long reach for a small child. Teachers have ways around it for the first year.
• Clarinet. The fingers have to cover open holes. Small or thin fingers can find this hard at first.
• Saxophone. It hangs from a neck strap and feels heavy to a small child.
• Flute. The arms are held up and to the side, which tires some beginners.
• Tuba and euphonium. They are large. Schools often keep one at school and one at home, or use smaller models for beginners.

Braces

Many children get braces in these years. Braces can make a brass mouthpiece sore for a while, and children get used to it. Orthodontists and band directors deal with this every year. Ask both before choosing. Read playing a band instrument with braces.

Think about cost

Families most often rent the common instruments by the month, and many stores apply the rent toward buying. Ask the store for its rent-to-own terms.

Schools often own the large and less common instruments, such as the tuba, the euphonium, the French horn, the bassoon, and the bass clarinet. A child who picks one of these may pay little or nothing for the instrument.

Reeds for the clarinet and the saxophone are a small, steady cost. Read renting vs buying an instrument.

Think about what the band needs

Most bands have plenty of flutes, saxophones, and trumpets. Few children ask for the low brass, the French horn, the oboe, or the bassoon.

A child on a less common instrument often gets more attention from the teacher, a part of their own, and more chances to be picked for honor bands later.

Percussion is more than drums

Band percussion includes the snare drum, the bass drum, and cymbals. It also includes bells, xylophone, and timpani, which play notes. Percussion players must read music and count without a slip. Many directors choose percussion players by a short rhythm test, and some like them to have had piano lessons.

Switching later

A first choice is not for life.

• Clarinet players move with ease to the bass clarinet or the saxophone.
• Trumpet players can move to the French horn, the euphonium, or the tuba.
• Flute players sometimes move to the oboe or the bassoon.

Directors often ask for volunteers to switch in the second year.

What about the violin, viola, and cello?

Those belong to the school orchestra, if your school has one. Read band vs orchestra.

Questions to ask the band director

• Which instruments does the school own?
• How many of each do you take?
• Is there a fitting night?
• Which store do you suggest, and which brands hold up?
• How much home practice do you expect?

Things to do together

Blind listening. Play short clips of each instrument without saying the names. Ask your child to rank them.

Buzz and blow. Buzz the lips like a motorboat. Blow across the top of a bottle. The first is how brass works. The second is how a flute works.

Go and hear the band. Sit near the front. Watch which section your child’s eyes follow.

Print and play

Read woodwind instruments for kids, brass instruments for kids, and percussion instruments for kids. For every instrument in one table, read band instruments for kids: the full list. For younger children, read how to choose a first instrument.

For all four families, see instruments of the orchestra for kids.