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Step 1
Beg. Seriously. If you can’t get a pro sponsor, see if you can get a local sponsor--like your parents or other family members. It helps if you have a demo tape and some long-term plan for the band. You don’t necessarily need a business plan, but conveying your hopes and ambition, and showing off your talent, can get people excited about pitching in for gear.
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Step 2
Borrow. You’d be surprised what people have lying around in the attic. Does your uncle have a guitar that he hasn’t played for decades? If your band’s got four or more members, that’s a lot of potential relatives or friends that could lend an instrument.
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Step 3
Steal. Not really.
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Step 4
Raise funds. It helps if you have instruments first to play a benefit show, but you could rent or borrow instruments to play benefits to raise money to buy instruments. You could buy an instrument from a store with a 30-day return policy and then return the instrument after using it for one show, but you have to make certain that the instrument is immaculate. You could also sell off other items like books or CDs. It’s not technically “free” but you won’t be buying instruments out of pocket.
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Step 5
Trade. Do you have a saxophone but no sax player? You can trade instruments online. Start with Craigslist. You might also find classified listings in your local paper for “free musical instruments.”
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Step 6
Look into non-profit charities. Charity Music is a non-profit group that provides musical instruments to people who can’t afford it.
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Step 7
Join a school band. You’ll be able to used instruments owned by the school. Not every school program will let you take the instrument home, but some will.
