Nearly every new percussion parent asks themselves whether they should rent or purchase a practice marimba. We generally recommend parents of new percussionists start with an inexpensive monthly marimba rental for at least the first year. This low-investment option gives you and your child some time to determine if percussion is the correct instrument and see if they truly get use out of the practice marimba at home.
If your child enjoys percussion and plans to stick with it after the first year, then you may consider purchasing a practice 3-octave practice marimba. We suggest searching for a good used one on Facebook Marketplace, Reverb, Craiglist or Ebay as you can generally find one for around $800. Our favorite 3-octave marimbas are Marimba Warehouse MPM, Demorrow M1 and Adams APMD30 but there are other good ones as well.
Keep in mind that your student percussionist will likely outgrow the 3-octave practice marimba at some point. Once they start with 4-mallet exercises, generally around early high school, they’ll need a 4.3-octave or larger. If your percussionist is more advanced, then you might consider jumping right to the larger marimbas. These can be found used on the same sites for around $2500.
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