by Len Morse

Created on: April 29, 2009

Buying a trumpet as a gift is not as easy as it sounds. Before you run to your local music store and whip out your credit card, consider certain details: Is your intended recipient a beginning music student or a professional, experienced musician? How do you plan on choosing the instrument manufacturer and model? Do you know what trumpet gear is necessity as opposed to luxury?

As with any major purchase, you should research to create an optimal gift-giving scenario and avoid any nasty surprises. The trumpet is a very popular instrument, so to make the buying process easier on yourself, whittle down your prospects before ordering or purchasing.

== Musical Instrument Purchases ==

Many professionals can become quite loyal to certain manufacturers. Purchasing a musical instrument for an experienced musician is similar to buying clothes or a car: Usually, the prospective owner must try it out personally and see if it feels and/or sounds comfortable.

If you want to follow this "test drive" concept, yet you don't want to lose the surprise aspect of gift giving, tell your intended recipient your intentions when you would normally give the gift. Then the two of you can schedule a time to visit a reputable instrument dealer, and you can buy whatever model s/he picks out. If you're worried about spending too much, set a specific, yet reasonable price limit. Do you homework ahead of time by searching the Internet or your local musical instrument shop for trumpet prices.

Also, this purchase deserves a major event, such as a birthday, or a traditional gift-giving occasion like a graduation, wedding, or holiday gathering. Therefore, you should plan ahead: If you've decided to do without a "test drive," give yourself enough time to research, buy, and wrap/package the trumpet so your recipient will get it on time and in pristine condition.

TIP 1: Consider yourself lucky that the instrument of choice is a trumpet. Yes, it can be loud and obnoxiously grating when the beginning trumpet student starts practicing, but financially, you're on the low end of the spectrum. Other instruments with more brass tubing (French horn, trombone, tuba) or lots of keys, pads, and other small parts (flute, saxophone, clarinet) can cost much more than a trumpet.

== Buying For A Child ==

Make sure the prospective student (or parent) has definitely chosen an instrument to learn, since there's no use buying a trumpet if s/he is indecisive and suddenly wants an oboe or xylophone, instead. Even if the child

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