Hope you find these to be helpful. I recommend and stand by all of these suggestions…they are both useful and FUN for musicians!
Joshua Brown, MM, Co-Director
- Cordoba “Coco” Guitar ($150.00) – This acoustic nylon string guitar joins the body at fret 14 to give you a bit more range, and is decorated like the guitar from the movie “Coco”. It comes in all sizes, so you can fit a 5 yr old up to an adult. I had a blast playing on it. For $150.00 it sounds great and it’s pretty darn cool! This would be great for any music student, not just guitarists.
- Casio CTK 2350 Keyboard ($100.00) – This is a fun, entry level keyboard. Personally, I think EVERY musician should have a keyboard or a piano. Especially singers and people who play monophonic instruments. There’s no better way to learn how harmony works than seeing it laid out on a keyboard. Many acoustic pianists will have fun with this as well.
- Concert Tickets ($35.00 and up) – Taking a young music student to see world class musicians is one of the best gifts you can give. Although there are many venues and concert series in Tucson, I wholeheartedly recommend UA Presents. I guarantee that you will see some of the finest musicians in the world. For example, this season has Jazz artists Wynton Marsalis and Joe Lovano, Classical Violinist Joshua Bell, Guitarists, Andrew York and Alex DeGrassi, etc. Here’s a link to the concert series: http://uapresents.org/season
- Snark Clip on Tuner ($10.00- $20.00) – This is super handy for anybody who plays a guitar or bass or violin, cello, ukulele, etc. There is a guitar specific version which is about $10.00, but if you play another instrument, you’ll want the model ST-2 which is made for all instruments. The nice thing about a clip on tuner, is that it picks up the vibration of your instrument and not any other ambient noises. That way you can tune your instrument even in a loud environment (like in the warmup room at the allegro recital!) I have used these for years.
- Manhasset Symphony Music Stand ($50.00) – A music stand is an essential item for anyone who is not a pianist. The Manhasset is rugged, it will basically last forever. It’s what most professional orchestras use. I have used one for many years. The downside to a Manhasset, is that they do not fold up, and cannot be easily transported. For a permanent music stand for your home, it’s the best.
- Subscription to Apple Music or Spotify ($5.00 per month for students, $15.00 per month for families) – Listening to music is very very important. And it’s fun. I have Apple Music for our family. The kids listen to music every day on the way to and from school. “Siri, play Bohemian Rhapsody”, is a very common phrase in our car! It’s great, with Apple Music you can listen to almost anything you want. It’s a great way to share your musical tastes with your kids and vice versa. Of course, parental discretion is advised and here’s a link for how to remove any swear words from songs in Apple Music and enable parental controls: https://www.cultofmac.com/327969/how-to-remove-swears-from-apple-music/
Where to buy?
Although you can get all of these items online, I suggest the following local Tucson businesses:
Southwest Strings sell the Manhasset Stands and Snark
Instrumental Music Sells the Guitars, Keyboards and Tuners
