Every musician has a list of gear that they love more than anything. Today, I will be sharing with you my personal favorites when it comes to instruments and accessories. I do want to first make a disclaimer that I am not pressuring you to go buy any of these products. I am not in any way being paid to write about these products. This is just what I love to use for my playing.you are more than welcome to try these products, but there is no need if you choose not to.
I decided to structure this post by gear for specific instruments and general gear.
GENERAL
Music Stand. I have the cheapest music stand out there from Guitar Center. I do not need anything more than that. It works fine and I use the better stands when I am playing at school.
Tuner, Metronome, & Audio Recorder. I grouped these into one group because I have them all on one app on my iPhone. The app is called Musicians Kit. It is a free app and I really like it. If you do not have a smartphone, or if you don’t want to download an app, there are physical tuners, metronomes, and recorders that you can buy.
Crochet Hook. I got this idea from Bret Pimentel’s blog (www.bretpimentel.com). He said he uses a small crochet hook for when a spring on one of his woodwinds gets out of alignment.
FLUTE
Case Cover. I have a case cover by Protec that I love. I really like the fact that it has one big pocket for your flute and a small pocket for your accessories and/or piccolo.
Flute Stand. I recently purchased a flute stand by Hercules called the Travlite Flute Stand. If you can’t tell by the name, it is good for travel since it folds up and fits in the foot joint (even C-foots).
CLARINET
Reeds. I use Vandoren strength 3 reeds for clarinet. Reeds are definitely a necessity, but not all reeds work for all players, so it is worth it to try out a few different reeds.
Cork Grease. This is self-explanatory. You need cork grease to keep the corks on the clarinet from drying out.
SAXOPHONE
Neck Strap. I have two by Rico, one padded, one not. I like the one without the padding better because it doesn’t grab at my neck as bad. It is worth looking for a better neck strap than the one that comes with the saxophone because they are not the best quality.
Dollar Bill. I like to keep a dollar bill in my saxophone case because it is good for cleaning sticky pads. I only use it for saxophone, because flute and clarinet pads are too sensitive.
I hope you liked reading about my favorite gear! I hope you found it helpful and maybe got some ideas about what gear to purchase for yourself.
Thanks for reading!