Are you interested in learning how to play a musical instrument, but don’t want to pay the high cost of buying one? Or maybe your child is about to learn a musical instrument, but you don’t want to make the commitment at this time to buy one.
Renting musical instruments is a great way for children and adults to try out an instrument and determine if they have an interest and talent for it.
There are a number of great websites that offer musical instrument rentals. For a modest monthly fee you can explore and learn how to play a wide range of musical instruments.
Here are some of the best sites to rent musical instruments.
Rent My Instrument
Renting musical instruments from rentmyinstrument.com is easy and affordable. They have all types of top quality, new or nearly new, teacher-approved instruments ideal for any student new to playing in school bands or orchestras.
Instrument rental prices start as low as $17 a month, plus, in some cases, a $5 to $10 maintenance fee.
Starting prices for these popular instruments as of this writing are:
Violin: $23/month (see link for most up to date info)
Flute: $19/month (see link for most up to date info)
Trumpet: $24/month (see link for most up to date info)
Drums: $20/month (see link for most up to date info)
Once the potential renter’s identity and billing information is verified, the rentals are quickly processed and the instrument is shipped the same day or the next day and delivered right to your door via UPS. Shipping is free.
Rent to Own: As you progress, you can sign up for their intermediate and professional rental programs. If you want to buy your instrument early, you get a 50% discount off the balance of your early purchase. You also receive up to 50% in equity from your rental toward the purchase of an intermediate or professional instrument.
There’s no minimum instrument rental period and renters can terminate the rental agreement any time they want by simply returning the instrument.
They claim that their instruments are clinically verified and validated to have up to 99.3% of biofilms removed and are 100% Covid -19 free.
All information sourced from rentmyinstruments.com.
Music and Arts
Music & Arts boasts the largest musical instrument rental program in the U.S.
They have over 200 stores and over 300 affiliate locations throughout the country and also offer nationwide online rentals. Their online rentals include: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone, French horn, baritone, percussion kit, bell kit, drum kit, violin, viola, and cello.
They offer an optional liability damage waiver plan that covers most repairs. They also have a rent to own program. You also have the option to buy your instrument early. As with many other programs, your rental payments allow you to accumulate credit toward the purchase of your instrument
Unfortunately they do not provide rental pricing on their website, so you will need to obtain specific pricing for your instrument from them.
All information sourced from musicarts.com.
Music Rental Central
Music Rental Central offers a wide selection of affordable band instrument rentals and has a fast and easy rental approval process. Just get on their site, click on the photo of the type of rental instrument you want, and place your order.
The prices start from $12.95 a month and they ship the instruments to all the 48 contiguous states. Whether it’s a keyboard, stringed instruments, woodwind, percussion or any other type of instrument you need, you can get it on the site at an affordable price.
Plus, they have school specials and many other programs to make renting instruments cheaper.
Starting prices for some of the most popular instruments as of this writing are:
Violin: $15.95/month (see link for most up to date info)
Flute: $16.95/month (see link for most up to date info)
Trumpet: $18.95/month (see link for most up to date info)
Drums: $12.95/month (see link for most up to date info)
The rental price includes insurance and all basic accessories the instruments needs for use and proper care. Once approved, the rental instrument will arrive in 2 to 4 days. They will give you an estimated delivery date and tracking information. All basic repairs are covered in the rental price.
They also have Rent-To-Own programs if you are interested in that option.
All information sourced from musicrentalcentral.com
Rent From Home
Rentfromhome.com seems exclusively focused on rental programs for school age students. They boast that all of their instruments are from educator-approved name brands.
They have a wide selection of musical instruments to choose from, including instruments that are sometimes difficult to find as rentals, such as baritones, euphoniums, French horns, soprano saxophones, cellos, and tenor & baritone saxophones.
They seem to have relationships with local music stores throughout the country, so you can pick up your instrument locally. They also offer delivery to your door.
Unfortunately, their pricing is not readily available on their website, so you will need to enter in some information on their form to find out how much your rental will cost.
They offer a Loss Damage Waiver Plus Maintenance Program (LDW) that protects your instrument against theft or damage beyond repair. You can bring your instruments in for needed repairs to a participating local shop in their network. Or if one is not near you, you can ship your instrument to Rent From Home and they will repair it.
You can exchange your instrument at any time for an intermediate model or different instrument. In some cases, up to 24 months of rent-credit may be applied toward the balance of the new instrument. Further, you can choose to continue making monthly payments on the remaining balance or take advantage of a cash-buyout discount.
If you want more details about their repair, exchange and return policy, check out their page on this here.
The rentals are month to month and you can cancel at any time with no further obligation.
All information sourced from rentfromhome.com.
IQ Instrument Rentals
IQinstrumentrentals.com is another site that offer nationwide online musical instrument rental. Their student-level instruments can be rented for as little as $20 a month. They also require a one-time deposit (typically $105).
Violin: $20/month (see link for most up to date info)
Flute: $20/month (see link for most up to date info)
Trumpet: $20/month (see link for most up to date info)
Drums: $20/month (see link for most up to date info)
Plus, they have a rental purchase option through which all rental payments go towards the purchase price of the instrument. Applications are approved within 30 days and a valid credit card is required.
The instrument rental agreement is month-to-month. The renter can cancel the agreement and return the instrument at any time.
All information sourced from iqinstrumentrentals.com.
Conclusion
Learning to play a musical instrument is an amazing way for kids to boost their cognitive abilities and increase their hand eye coordination. It also offers other great benefits, like enhanced discipline and concentration. Sounds like a pretty good set of benefits for adults too!
Renting your musical instrument allows you to take advantage of all of the benefits above at an affordable price. You can let your kid explore what they want, swap out their instrument if it isn’t a good fit, and even discontinue the instrument if there is another pursuit that is better-suited for your child.
We hope this guide to the best websites offering musical instruments for rent has been helpful in bringing you closer to renting that perfect instrument for you or your child.