# Chord & Case

> An honest starter path for a first musical instrument. Chord & Case publishes
> buying guidance for beginner guitars, keyboards, ukuleles, drums, violins and
> band instruments, written for the person holding the credit card rather than a
> spec researcher.

## What we do

We read published manufacturer specifications and manuals, cite every one, and
work out what they mean for a beginner's actual physical needs: the scale length
a seven-year-old can reach, the number of keys a method book assumes you own,
the bass drum diameter that puts the pedal where a child's leg reaches.

We have NOT physically tested these instruments and we say so on every page that
recommends one. There is no test lab and no review-unit shelf. A published,
reproducible method is a weaker claim than a testing claim, and it is one we can
stand behind.

## The Starter Path framework

Every instrument is read against the same four bands:

1. Below the floor - the instrument fails at something the player physically
   needs. Tuners that drift, a nut that binds, action too high to fret, a pedal
   out of reach, keys that do not respond to how hard you press. Not a cheaper
   version of the instrument; a different, worse thing.
2. The honest floor - the cheapest configuration that genuinely works, defined
   by a checkable list of specifications rather than by a price.
3. Enough - the buy-once tier. What a beginner will not outgrow inside a year or
   two.
4. Where overspending starts - the point at which more money buys capability a
   beginner cannot yet use. The band nobody else publishes.

## Instruments covered

- Guitars: https://chordandcase.com/guitars
- Keys (keyboards and digital pianos): https://chordandcase.com/keys
- Ukuleles: https://chordandcase.com/ukuleles
- Drums: https://chordandcase.com/drums
- Strings (violin and orchestral): https://chordandcase.com/strings
- Band and orchestra (woodwind and brass): https://chordandcase.com/band

## Where to start

- Which instrument at all: https://chordandcase.com/start-here
- Best beginner electric guitars: https://chordandcase.com/guitars/best-beginner-electric-guitars
- Best beginner acoustic guitars: https://chordandcase.com/guitars/best-beginner-acoustic-guitars
- Best beginner keyboards: https://chordandcase.com/keys/best-beginner-keyboards
- Best beginner digital pianos: https://chordandcase.com/keys/best-beginner-digital-pianos
- Best beginner ukuleles: https://chordandcase.com/ukuleles/best-beginner-ukuleles
- Best beginner drum sets: https://chordandcase.com/drums/best-beginner-drum-sets
- Best beginner violins: https://chordandcase.com/strings/best-beginner-violins

## The price-honesty cluster

Our signature content. What a first instrument should genuinely cost, band by
band, and where paying more stops helping:

- Guitars: https://chordandcase.com/guitars/how-much-should-a-beginner-guitar-cost
- Keys: https://chordandcase.com/keys/how-much-should-a-beginner-keyboard-cost
- Ukuleles: https://chordandcase.com/ukuleles/how-much-should-a-beginner-ukulele-cost
- Drums: https://chordandcase.com/drums/how-much-should-a-beginner-drum-set-cost
- Are cheap guitars worth it: https://chordandcase.com/guitars/are-cheap-guitars-worth-it

## Sizing references

- Guitar sizes for kids: https://chordandcase.com/guitars/guitar-sizes-for-kids
- Drum set sizes by age: https://chordandcase.com/drums/drum-set-sizes-by-age
- Violin sizing by arm length: https://chordandcase.com/strings/best-beginner-violins
- Soprano vs concert vs tenor ukulele: https://chordandcase.com/ukuleles/soprano-vs-concert-vs-tenor

## How we are funded

Chord & Case earns a commission through the Amazon Associates program when a
reader buys via our links, at no extra cost to them. We accept no free products
and no sponsored placements, and the commission does not determine which
instruments we recommend or in what order.

Prices are fetched live from the retailer and displayed with the date they were
checked. Where a figure cannot be verified, the site says "check price" rather
than showing a stale number. No price figures appear in this file, deliberately -
they would be out of date the moment it was written.

## Trust pages

- How we pick (the full method): https://chordandcase.com/how-we-pick
- About: https://chordandcase.com/about
- Editorial policy: https://chordandcase.com/editorial-policy
- Affiliate disclosure: https://chordandcase.com/affiliate-disclosure
- FAQ: https://chordandcase.com/faq
- Contact: https://chordandcase.com/contact

## Contact

info@chordandcase.com

Published by Fathom & Foundry (https://fathomandfoundry.com).
Written by Sawyer V., an enthusiast who reads the manuals and does the math.