Sorry if this has been answered before, couldn't find it in the group.
My child is going into 7th grad, 2nd year playing trombone. He is quite good, placed as 3rd chair in the highest level band. (The middle school has 4 different wind bands!??!)
The teachers push (with intense energy) that students need a trigger trombone. See below. This has felt like a propaganda campaign since November of this year, again, it is his first year playing. My child is basically convinced he needs a trigger trombone or he won't be able to be as good as the other kids.
The cost is double each month. Is this really necessary? I did band all through college, and don't even remember this being a thing.
Sanity check please :)
"1) Students in Wind Ensemble will be checked out an extremely nice trigger trombone to use in class each day. It is the expectation that they use these instruments in class and keep their own trombone at home as a practice instrument. I strongly recommend that any Wind Ensemble student who does not already have a trigger trombone that they personally own upgrade their owned instrument to a trigger trombone. Even though they'll have a trigger trombone in class, their home practice instrument being something else will make things harder for them, and they won't be allowed to take the nice one home. They will also need their own trombone in high school and not be assigned a school horn, so upgrading now is definitely the best idea. "