Clarinet rentals for school band.
School-year rental
Rent to own (A Line)
Free school delivery
Three lines to choose from: a brand new house clarinet that becomes yours after three years, a recognized name brand, or the same house clarinet restored on our bench. Every one is cleaned, sanitized and set up in our shop before it goes out. Recommended by professional clarinetists and approved by educators and band directors.
Our four clarinet lines
Every clarinet we rent goes out ready to play. The lines are not ranked against each other. They differ in what the instrument is, not in how it is cared for. More about our band instruments and lines.
A Line: our house clarinet, brand new
Brand new, still sealed from the factory. Never played, never rented, not a scratch on it. Our house clarinet is built to specifications we set, written to match or exceed what the major brands put into their student models.
It is built on the same student designs the big-name brands use, in the same manufacturing world that now builds for the famous names too, and our own musicians vetted the model before we stocked it.
Rent it for three school years and it is yours to keep. It carries no brand marking, which is deliberate: once the instrument belongs to your family it should not be stamped with the name of the company you rented it from.
B Line: the name brands
Before house instruments existed, this is what every shop rented, and it is still what many families picture: a recognized manufacturer with a familiar name on the bell. Some directors ask for one specifically.
These have been played before, and they are well-known brands like Buffet, Jupiter, Selmer, Yamaha and Gemeinhardt. We buy them individually rather than by the crate, and each one is restored on our bench and inspected before it goes out again.
If your director has asked for a particular manufacturer, tell us and we will say what we have and what we can find.
C Line: our house clarinet, restored
The same house clarinet as our A Line, back from a previous rental and rebuilt by our technicians. A technician sits with each one and makes the playability adjustments a factory production line does not stop to make.
It is the least expensive way to get a student started. If you are collecting at our shop and would rather have a different one, say so and we will swap it while you are there.
Premium Yamaha Line: Yamaha YCL-255
Among brand-name instruments, Yamaha is the standard, and the YCL-255 is the model school clarinet programs most often specify.
A limited collection, and it does not restock quickly. If a Yamaha is specifically what you want, this is the way to be sure of getting one.
Not sure which to choose?
Choose A Line if you want a new instrument and intend to own it after three years.
Choose B Line if you or your director want a recognized manufacturer.
Choose C Line if your priority is the lowest cost to get a student started.
Choose the Premium Yamaha Line if a Yamaha is specifically what you want.
These are suggestions rather than requirements. Call us and we will tell you what is currently in stock in each line.
Rent for three years and the clarinet is yours to keep.
If your student sticks with it, you’re not renting forever. Keep an A Line rental going for three years and the clarinet becomes yours for life, with no balloon payment and no buyout decision to agonize over. Want to own it sooner? You can purchase at any point with a 10% discount on the remaining balance. And if your student moves on to something else after a year, you simply return it.
A Line only · Yours after 3 years · Also available on flute, trumpet, trombone, alto & tenor sax, baritone and French horn
About our house clarinet
A Line and C Line are the same instrument: our own house clarinet, new or restored. It is a standard B♭ soprano, the clarinet every school band program starts students on. More on what condition our band instruments are in.
Durable brushed ABS body
It looks like a traditional wooden clarinet, but the brushed ABS body won’t crack in a cold car or a dry winter classroom the way wood does. For a student instrument that lives in a locker and a backpack, that durability matters more than wood ever would.
Key layout suited to smaller hands
The key spacing suits smaller hands, and the instrument speaks easily, so a new player is not fighting the horn to get a note out. The tone stays even across registers, so it still works when your student is playing harder music two years later.
★★★★★
“The key layout is ideal for beginners and intermediate players. It’s easy to play and offers a nice even tone. I especially like the exterior, the brushed ABS material makes it look like a traditional wooden clarinet, but it’s durable and long lasting.”
Joanne Kim
Professional clarinetist and teacher · BA Mannes College of Music · MM Manhattan School of Music
Everything your student needs for day one of band.
Whichever line you choose, the rental arrives complete, with no extra trip to a music store before the first rehearsal.
- The clarinet, new or shop-restored, depending on your line
- Hard case
- Reed
- Cleaning cloth (swab)
- Cork grease
- Name tag
Reeds are a consumable, your student will go through them, so plan on picking up a box once the first one wears out.
Reeds: the thing nobody explains to band parents.
The reed is the small piece of cane that clips onto the mouthpiece and actually makes the sound. It is also the single most common reason a clarinet stops working, and almost never an instrument problem.
- Reeds wear out and they chip. A cracked or chipped reed makes the clarinet squeak or refuse to sound. Before you assume the instrument is broken, try a fresh reed.
- They come in strengths. Beginners usually start around 2 or 2½, softer reeds are easier to blow. Your band director will tell you which they want; follow them over anything else.
- Always take the reed off after playing. Left on the mouthpiece it stays wet, warps, and grows mold. Store it in a reed case to dry flat.
- Keep a spare in the case. Reeds break at the worst times, usually right before a concert.
Two minutes of care after every practice.
Moisture is what damages a clarinet. Getting it out before the case closes prevents most of the problems we see on the bench.
Every time it goes back in the case
- Swab it out. Drop the swab’s weight through from barrel to bell and pull it through, a couple of passes. This removes the saliva and warm moisture from inside.
- Take the reed off and store it in a reed case to dry.
- Dry the tenons (the joints) after pulling the pieces apart.
- Cap the mouthpiece and close the case. Let the swab dry before it goes back in.
Now and then
- Cork grease, sparingly. Rub a little on the corks with your fingers when they feel dry or stiff. Over-greasing weakens the corks and makes them fall apart. This is the mistake we see most.
- Wipe the keys with a polishing cloth to lift fingerprints and grime. Skip the metal polish; it isn’t needed.
- Check the tone holes for grime where fingers cover them.
- Bring it in if a key sticks or a pad leaks. Small adjustments are free and quick. A leaking pad makes a clarinet feel impossible to play.
Clarinet rental questions
Answered by the luthiers and technicians who repair these every day. Browse all clarinet questions.
My child has braces. Can they still play a brass or wind instrument?
Usually yes, but the honest answer is that it depends on the child, because every mouth is different and so are the braces. Most students play straight through, with orthodontic wax on the brackets and a few weeks of patience, and the orthodontist is worth asking alongside the band teacher. Traditional steel brackets, Invisalign, and lingual braces (mounted behind the teeth) each interact with a mouthpiece completely differently. Our founder had lingual braces and played trumpet without a problem. Another student with the same instrument and front brackets might have a rough month.
How do I clean a clarinet?
Every time it goes away: drop the swab's weight through from barrel to bell and pull it through a couple of times. Take the reed off and store it flat in a reed case. Dry the tenons after pulling the joints apart. Cap the mouthpiece, let the swab dry before it goes back in the case.
How do I tune a clarinet?
A clarinet is tuned by adjusting how far the barrel is pulled out from the upper joint. Out to flatten, in to sharpen. Small movements: an eighth of an inch is a lot.
Why is my child’s clarinet squeaking?
Start with the reed. It is the most common and cheapest cause: reeds chip, warp, and wear out no matter how good the clarinet is, so put on a fresh one, seated straight and level with the tip of the mouthpiece, and the squeak often disappears right there. If it doesn't, the cause is the mouthpiece fit, a leaking pad, an assembly slip, or technique, and telling those apart takes a person who plays.
What’s the most common avoidable damage you see?
Five habits would prevent most of it: use a sturdy case and treat carrying the cello as part of playing it, run a humidifier in winter, oil brass valves and grease the slides, grease clarinet corks before assembly, and swab the flute every time. Here is what we see when those don't happen.
Questions every rental family asks
Should we rent or buy our child’s first instrument?
Rent, in almost every case: beginners can't yet handle an instrument safely, children outgrow sizes and switch instruments, and renting turns those surprises into a phone call instead of a buying mistake. And we would say that even if we didn't rent instruments.
What happens if my child quits after a few months?
Then you return the instrument. That is the whole point of renting instead of buying, it happens in every school year, and nobody here will make it awkward.
Will I be charged for normal wear and tear?
No, not for normal wear: strings wearing out, rosin used up, bow hair breaking strand by strand, a case zipper giving out. That is expected, and it is never charged to you. Damage is different: dents, cracks from drops, a broken bow, carved initials. We always tell you which side of the line we think something sits on before any chargeable work happens, and the insurance exists for the genuine accidents and the gray areas.
Ready to rent a clarinet?
Start the rental online and we’ll follow up within one business day. Free delivery to schools across Connecticut and New York in the fall. Nothing is charged until we confirm.