|
All About Us (Including Directions for Using the Store)
Contact Us
Policies
Instrument Sources
Instrumental Information
Store Directory
Brass Wind Instruments
Drums and Percussion
Ethnic & Early Instruments
Free Reed Instruments
Keyboards
Orchestral Stringed Instruments
Western Folk Instruments
Woodwinds
Query Page
Special Orders
Links
|
 |
All About Us
About Me (Kathryn)
About Spirit Guide
About the Store
About Shipping and Payment
About Me (Kathryn)
Hello! My name is Kathryn LaMar, and I am the founder and maven of Spirit Guide Musical Instruments! Here is a little bit about my musical background, and how I came to be doing this. By the time I was 6, my grandmother was teaching me to play the piano. In school, when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, we began an instrumental program (with the school providing the instrument--weren't those the day); because I was in the middle of the alphabet, most of the fad, popular instruments were already taken, so I chose the cornet--as the only girl and one of only three students who wanted to learn the cornet/trumpet, I got it! For the next three years I was in seventh heaven, and even got to play some solos (I particularly remember playing the Panis Angelicus in a band concert, and not telling my parents about it). I also started to learn the French horn. But alas, in "real" junior high school, scheduling conflicts forced me to choose between playing an instrument in the band or singing in the choir (choir won). Thus ended my instrumental career until college. But singing in a choir was also incredibly fun, and gave me a "reference group" to identify with. Today, I sing in two community choirs that specialize in working with "untrained" singers.
In college, although I was a biology major, since I was at Indiana University, arguably the best music school in the world, back I went to studying instruments--this time the piano and the French horn!
Graduate school (University of Minnesota) introduced me to the idea of music as fun--learning to play the guitar for pure enjoyment and relaxation! That continued through the next 30-plus years (through my "real" career as a medical and technical writer/editor), with time spent rewarding myself with new instruments (mandolins, recorders, pennywhistles, accordions, concertinas, and finally Appalachian dulcimers) and learning to play them. As we say in almost every "folkie" group I'm affiliated with, "so many instruments, so little time ... what will be next!"
At the end of 2003 I was laid off from my last technical communications job. Intense soul-searching eventually led me to realize that the corporate world was no longer for me (yes, change is hard for me), and went back to school to become a sonographer (ultrasound technician). The classes and learning experiences were wonderful, but alas, physical limitations (arthritis in my right shoulder) precluded me from actually being able to practice! What to do, where to go, was woe me ?!?
Finally, it hit me from out of the blue! With the craze in "e-commerce" continuing to grow, and the possiblility of being able to set up a business with no (well, hardly any) start-up capital or inventory, what could I do? Why, sell musical instruments, of course! Music has literally allowed me to maintain my sanity, and has given me incredible joy over the years. But I have also seen friends take up instruments and give them up in frustration sooner rather than later, because the ones they chose were almost unplayable, or they had not thought much about the physical requirements of playing. So, I hit on the idea of Spirit Guide Musical Instruments.
About Spirit Guide
When I decided to set up an online business, I wanted to do it correctly. I set up an overall business as a Nevada Type S Corporation called KRLM Enterprises, Inc. The very first "KRLM Enterprise" to be launched was Spirit Guide Musical Instruments.
The "store" is a virtual store, which means that it is not a "brick-and-mortar" store, but an online store. All of the instruments I have listed in the store are actually housed at the distributor. When you order and pay for the instrument, I place the order and pay for the instrument within 24 hours of receipt of your confirmed payment, and the distributor ships your order (usually within 24 hours of receiving it) to your address. Although the instrument is actually sent from the distributor, it will come with my formal business name (KRLM Enterprises, Inc.) and my California address as the return address.
Here at Spirit Guide, you can explore different kinds of instruments, and find one that's right for you! Maybe you want to learn or relearn an aspect of your ethnic culture. Perhaps you just want to learn an instrument because you have heard that it's a great way to keep your brain from atrophying! And maybe you would like to play with other people--in a jazz or Klezmer ensemble, in a swing or bluegrass band--to share the joy with others as you explore new areas and avenues of musical communication. You don't really have a million dollars to throw away on failed experiments, but you are willing to spend a reasonable amount on what may become your new favorite life-companion.
You will find a wide selection of musical instruments here at Spirit Guide. Almost all of them are made by, or are overseen by professional musicians, who understand that an easy-to-play, fine-sounding instrument is what you want. Visit the Instrument Sources page to see profiles of the companies supplying Spirit Guide with instruments. Most of these companies supply merchants only, but some (such as Sunreed and Carvin Guitars) do sell directly to consumers.
A lot of the instruments you can get here come with everything you need to get started. For example, the guitar packages come with a gig bag (soft-sided protective carrying case), extra strings, a capo, a chromatic tuner (so you can tune the strings to the correct notes) and some beginner instruction materials.
Check out the Links page to find links to websites that list teachers of the various instruments, or to sites that teach various aspects of music theory, interval training, and sources of additional learning materials. If you have any questions, please email or phone me, and I will try to research the available information thoroughly, synthesize it for you, and answer your questions. See the contact information on this site for my phone number or email address--I will try to respond to all reasonable requests for information within a day of receiving them.
If you already know what kind of an instrument you want, look it up by browsing through the store. The instruments are arranged in "categories", then into "subcategories". If you are not sure of what category to look in, visit our Store Directory to see a complete outline of the categories, subcategories, and a list of the specific instruments in each one. Within the store directory, when you click on a category or subcategory, you are immediately taken to the "department" of the store where those instruments can be found.
About the Store
When you click on the link to the store, you will be taken to a page that lists all of the categories of instruments. These categories are currently:
- Brass Wind Instruments
- Drums and Percussion
- Ethnic and Early Instruments
- Free Reed Instruments
- Keyboards
- Orchestral Stringed Instruments
- Western Folk Instruments
- Woodwinds
Don't worry if you don't know what's in the categories. The Store Directory page contains a complete outline of all of the categories, subcategories, and instruments, and they are all linked directly to the appropriate pages within the store.
When you click on a category, you will be taken to another page that lists all of the subcategories within that category. Each subcategory is a link to just those instruments, or to additional subcategories. Individual instruments are listed within the lowest level of subcategory into which they fall.
For example, when you click on the category "Brass Wind Instruments" you will find the following subcategories:
- Alto Horns
- Bugles
- French Horns
- Miscellaneous Horns
- Trombones
- Trumpets
- Large Horns
When you click on a subcategory you will find a list of available instruments in that subcategory--for example, when you click on "Trombones" you will be taken to a page that lists the available trombones. These instruments appear with a "title" and a "thumbnail" (a small picture of that instrument). When you click on one of these titles or thumbnails, you will be taken to a "product page," which is an individual page with a larger picture and a complete description of the instrument, and everything that comes with it. At the side of the product page is a link for adding the instrument to your shopping cart. When you click on that button, you will see a confirmation of the item in your cart, and you can choose to "continue shopping", "clear cart", or "checkout". When you click on "checkout", you will be taken to the next step, which is to supply the billing and shipping information. Complete the billing and shipping information, then click on the "next" button.
|
|
|
|
