With Austin heralded as the Live Music Capital of the World and the University boasting the third-best music program in Texas, UT cultivates a vibrant music scene. The Butler School of Music offers more than 30 ensembles open to all University students, each allowed to check out their respective instruments. However, non-music major students who don’t have room in their schedule to commit to an ensemble or class are not given the same opportunity under Butler’s current checkout program.
UT should expand its instrument check-out program for non-music majors not formally registered in ensembles or classes.
“People who are engaged in the fine arts have a better time focusing in class,… understanding and things of that nature,” said Audrey Arellano, history senior and IT director of EChO, the student-run engineering orchestra at UT. “(If students could rent instruments), (EChO) would get a lot more signups, and with those signups, we’d have a better retention rate.”
Instrument accessibility hinders student participation in what can be an invigorating and stimulating hobby. For EChO, students who don’t own their instruments must be turned away because the organization can’t rent out instruments themselves, says Arellano.
Most of these issues arise during recruitment at the beginning of each semester. Dean Leyva, a computer science junior and president of EChO, explains the complications of outreach during tabling.
“About 30% of the questions are, ‘Do (you) have an instrument (for me)?’” Levya said. “We probably have 80 to 100 people, depending on the semester, but we’d have more if we (were) able to rent (instruments) or find a solution.”
Currently, Butler cannot provide instruments to students not affiliated with Butler due to the cost of maintaining the instruments. Given current budget constraints, Butler does not foresee this changing anytime soon.
“It would be the dopest thing in the world if there were access to instruments to play with for anybody who is curious, but that model would not (be) reasonable for the budget, staff labor (or) space to hold them,” said Page Stephens, assistant director of operations for the Butler School of Music.
With its current inventory, UT should partner with local instrument rental companies to provide students with more affordable instrument access. Since funding may be challenging, UT could implement a refundable down payment system. Students would pay an initial deposit to rent an instrument, which they would get back at the end of the year if the instrument is returned in good condition. This encourages responsible use while lowering financial barriers for students who can’t afford high rental fees.
“It’s an unfortunate reality about classical music and jazz,” Stephens said. “It has this accessibility issue (inherently) because of the cost of the materials to make those things.”
Opponents argue that students can rent instruments independently. However, renting an instrument can quickly become a financial burden, especially for students on a tight budget. Monthly rental fees typically begin around $30 and sometimes reach upwards of $80 for larger or specialized instruments, totaling a minimum $200 yearly expense.
“It just makes it inaccessible to people who want to play music,” Arellano said. “A lot of the time, lower-income communities just are not able to afford it because they’re trying to afford college, tuition or even the price of living in Austin.”
UT’s music culture should be for everyone, not just those in classes or ensembles. Expanding instrument access would break financial barriers and give more students the chance to play. A partnership with local rental companies and a refundable deposit system could make this a reality.
If UT values its vibrant music scene, it should ensure all students can participate.
Lam is a computer science freshman from Mansfield, Texas.
