Advice on Buying Other Popular Instruments

Although Ritz Music specializes mainly in guitars, drums, keyboards & woodwind instruments, we also stock a wide range of other popular instruments such as:

Trumpets | School Recorders | Banjos | Mandolins | Ukuleles | Glockenspiels | Hand Percussion | Novelty Instruments | Harmonicas

Trumpets

The trumpet is by far the most popular member of the brass family, and is suitable for children from the age of approx. 9 years old… as long as their second set of front teeth have grown. At Ritz Music, we stock reliable & affordable beginner instruments from brands such as Stagg, Artemis & Mistral, whilst superior instruments (e.g. the well-known Yamaha YTR1335) are available to order at discounted prices. Trumpets are also available as part of our Rent-to-Buy Scheme.

We stock a range of trumpet cleaning materials as well as practise mutes, which dramatically reduce sound levels

The trumpet is a fairly robust, durable instrument compared to woodwind instruments, although problems with sticking valves, stuck mouthpieces and dents are quite common… our woodwind workshop can help with all these repairs.

Recorders

We stock Aulos recorders, which have for many years been the preferred choice of nearly all schools in the UK. Recorders come in various sizes/pitches from sopranino (smallest & highest pitch) thru descant, alto, treble and bass. Nearly all school children start on the Descant recorder, which Aulos offer in 2 popular models – the 303N and the A205. The A205 has a more advanced tone chamber, offering the potential for better tone as the student improves. It’s worth noting that these recorders (and other brands such as Yamaha) are nowadays made of high quality plastics; This material, though not tonally as good as wood, can be very accurately engineered resulting in excellent intonation and ease of playing. Wooden recorders are still available, but are far more expensive and only offer real advantages to the advanced player.

Banjos

The characteristic sound of a banjo is produced by a ‘drum’ like metal/wood sound box with a drum skin stretched over it. The most popular versions are the 5-string banjo (usually tuned to GDGBD and particularly associated with Bluegrass music) and the Tenor banjo (usually tuned to CGDA and much used in traditional Irish music). Other popular variations are hybrid instruments like Ukulele-banjos and Guitar-banjos. At Ritz Music we stock good quality entry-level 5-string banjos, self-teaching books and replacement strings.

Mandolins

The mandolin is a member of the lute family and, although there are many variations, the commonest design today has a tear-drop shaped body with F-holes and uses 8 metal strings in 4 pairs tuned to GDAE (like a violin)… The mandolin has for many generations been extremely popular in the traditional folk music of England and Scotland, but has also been used a great deal in rock music of various genres since the 1960′s. At Ritz Music we stock standard electro-acoustic mandolins, self-teaching books and replacement strings.

Ukuleles

Originally a 19th century Hawaiian instrument, the ukulele is a very small member of the guitar family which uses 4 nylon strings, usually tuned to GCEA. Over the past 2 years, there has been an explosion in the popularity of the instrument, due in part to groups like The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (www.ukuleleorchestra.com) who’s repertoire includes material ranging from Tchaikovsky to Nirvana via Otis Redding! At Ritz Music, we stock mainly entry-level ukuleles, such as the popular and colourful range made by Ashton, as well as more serious, higher quality instruments. The Ukulele is now one of the best-selling instruments at Ritz Music – it appeals to adults as an affordable additional instrument, whether used seriously or as a bit of fun; and is also a perfect introduction to guitar for very young children.

Glockenspiels

The glockenspiel is a member of the tuned percussion family, the sound being produced by striking pre-tuned metal bars with a beater. Because the bars are laid out in the same arrangement as on a piano/keyboard, it’s an excellent first instrument (pre-piano) for very young children as it helps develop both co-ordination and musical ears. At Ritz Music we stock compact and affordable models made by Angel.

Percussion Instruments

Ritz Music stocks a range of popular educational-quality instruments such as bongos, tambourines, guiros, cowbells, shakers, triangles, claves and wood blocks.

Novelty Instruments

At Ritz Music we stock a range of popular novelty instruments, including:

• tin whistles
• kazoos
• swannee whistles
• jaws harps
• pocket harmonicas.

Harmonicas

Harmonicas are played by blowing/drawing air through pre-tuned metal ‘reeds’, all contained within a compact body which can be made of wood or plastic. There are several types but the most popular are as follows:

Diatonic ‘Blues’ Harmonicas

These instruments usually have 10 holes and are designed only to play the notes of one particular key… for example, a blues harp in the key of C will only offer the notes of the major scale of C. For that reason, these instruments are available in a variety of keys, so that the player can choose the correct instrument if accompanying other musicians.

At Ritz Music we stock diatonic harmonicas by Hohner, the worlds best known maker, including classic models like the Blues harp and Big River harp. If you are just beginning, we also offer budget instruments and a variety of self-teaching books.

When used for blues/rock playing, diatonic harmonicas are nearly always played in ‘crossed’ or ‘second’ position… this basically means that whatever key the song is in, the correct harmonica to choose is 5 semi-tones above it. The following table is a quick guide to choosing the correct harmonica depending on the key of the song:

Key of Harmonica in relation to
Song Key

SONG KEY	HARMONICA KEY
A	D
B flat	E flat
B	E
C	F
C sharp	F sharp
D	G
E flat	G sharp
E	A
F	B flat
F sharp	B
G	C
G sharp	C sharp

Chromatic Harmonica

As used by Stevie Wonder and jazz legends like Toots Thielmans and Larry Adler, the chromatic harmonica is capable of playing all 12 semi-tones in the standard Western chromatic scale and is therefore musically a far more versatile instrument than the diatonic blues harp. By the same token, it’s not such an easy proposition for a complete beginner, so therefore many would-be players start on the blues harp first.

Tremolo Harmonicas

The tremolo harmonica’s distinguishing feature is that it has two reeds per note, with one slightly sharp and the other slightly flat. This provides a unique wavering or warbling sound created by the two reeds being slightly out of tune with each other. This instrument is widely used in traditional folk music, where it is often used to play the lead melody lines.