Most of my private students get to a point where they deserve and really need a better instrument. It happens. They plateau on the instrument they have. I have "the talk" with their parents. They realize it is an investment. But, they are paying for lessons and already making an investment, so they want to keep going. I've seen kids get a Kamaka equivelent clarinet/flute in their hands and they have such a musical growth spurt. It is amazing. Maybe it is just the mindset that they can do more, or maybe they really have been held back on that student horn. Whatever it is, it has happened every time for my students. And, I do believe they deserve that horn. They've earned that horn. I want them to have that better horn. I once had a private student who couldn't really afford a professional clarinet, but she was beyond ready. It was time. Everyone in our band circle helped make that happen, some in small ways and some in bigger ways. She still has that clarinet. She still plays it. She still kicks butt with it. And she is now a private lesson teacher. Sorry to wax poetic, but once I get started..... oy...