About our site

Ackerman Music was started in Hove in 1994 by Brian Ackerman. Today, Brian and his wife Lynne have expanded the business to include 2 shops and a large warehouse and dispatch centre in Sussex with a successful online presence. Brian has had many years experience of playing, making and repairing woodwind instruments and was awarded an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for services to music. Lynne has been involved with music most of her life and is an active member of the local musical community and specialises in sheet music. Together they head a team of friendly and knowledgeable staff who aim to provide you high quality products at competitive prices with excellent service.

Instruments

Ackerman Music has the largest stock of woodwind, brass and orchestral stringed instruments & sheet music across Sussex. The Hove shop includes a digital piano showroom which includes all models of Yamaha Clavinova. We are one of the largest suppliers of Yamaha and Casio keyboards in the whole country. With shops in Hove and Chichester, there is not much that we don't have in stock.

We specialise in orchestral instruments such as clarinets, flutes, trumpets, cornets, violins and cellos. We also have a large range of saxophones, digital pianos, acoustic and classical guitars.

Clarinets are our speciality in Hove. Brian (Director) has worked on and played clarinets for most of his life, including many years spent making clarinets and mouthpieces individually from scratch! This detailed level of knowledge on an instrument is rare and so we pride ourselves on being one of the only clarinet specialists in the country. If you are looking to buy a student, intermediate or professional clarinet then our Hove store is the place to come to get the best information around... and clarinets at the best prices!

We have extremely competitive prices. Our buying power means that we usually have much better prices than an average music shop.

We are main agents for most of our suppliers, including Yamaha, Buffet, Keilwerth, Bach, Selmer Paris, Jupiter, Yanagisawa, Paesold, Stentor, Trevor James and Pearl.

Sheet Music Specialists

As well as a vast selection of music (over 35,000 on this website), we re-order at least once a week from most publishers, so music is quickly obtainable even if it is not in stock. We have twice won the MIA award for 'Printed Music Retailer of the Year'.

Full Workshop Facilities

Our workshop checks over all new instruments before they are sold. We do not sell "out of the box" as all new instruments need careful checking and regulation.

We have full workshop facilities for carrying out repairs and adjustments on most woodwind, brass and string instruments.

UK Delivery

FREE UK Standard or Saver Delivery until further notice on any order over £10! - Please note: Digital Sheet Music purchases do not count towards free shipping eligibility.

Orchestral Instruments - Delivery is FREE within Great Britain for all instruments. The price you see is the price you pay.
(Instruments over £100 are always sent by our Express service, regardless of the service selected in the checkout.)

Pianos - Delivery is FREE within Great Britain for all pianos. The price you see is the price you pay. We use a courier service and aim to have most things delivered within 3 working days.

Doorstep Drop-off only. Pianos are delivered flatpack, usually on a pallet, for self assembly. Please be aware that if you choose our courier service for larger items such as digital pianos, the courier is not contracted to carry items up any steps or stairs. If there are stairs leading to the front door of the delivery address, or you live in an apartment which is not on pavement level, it is your responsibility to arrange for transportation from the pavement level to the delivery address. Please be aware that the box can weigh 60Kg to 120Kg. We recommend that that you have help to move the box to the room of your choice from two or three able-bodied persons. In this instance, the delivery driver may, at their own discretion assist you in carrying the parcels into the delivery address, but they are not contracted nor obliged to do so.

Piano deliveries in Sussex - Subject to availability, we are often able to offer a free, pre-arranged timed delivery and setup service within 50 miles of our shops. With this option pianos are delivered and assembled in your home and the piano is left ready to play.

Sheet music, accessories & gifts - We offer 5 services:

• Standard: £2.00 for all orders under £10.00 - FREE for all orders over £10.00 (usually 1-3 business days)
• Saver: £1.00 for all orders under £10.00 - FREE for all orders over £10.00 (usually 3-5 business days)
• Tracked: 2.99 for all orders under 1kg - £3.99 for all orders over 1kg.
• Express: £5.99 for all orders (usually 1 business day)

Please select your preferred option in the checkout.

Please note: Digital Sheet Music purchases do not count towards free shipping eligibility.

If you require any special arrangements, this will be charged at cost, please contact us for details.

Delivery Schedule

We aim to send your order within 1 business day. Orders received before 1pm will normally be sent the same day, however we cannot guarantee this.

Small instruments over £100 are sent by next business day courier (Saturday delivery can be arranged for an additional cost).

Music, accessories and gifts will be sent by the method selected in the checkout.

The information above regarding shipping is our best-case scenario however, we have learned from experience not to make binding promises regarding delivery times. Our aim is to provide you with a quick reliable service at a reasonable cost. Delivery dates and times are based on information from our couriers and their normal service information. The number of days for delivery stated in the checkout is not a guarantee and is subject to circumstances beyond the control of Ackerman Music.

We do not hold large stocks of every item (but can usually source in two to three days), and this can mean that no matter how good our stock control is there will be, very occasionally, times when a particular item is not immediately available. Sometimes this will be due to overwhelming demand and sometimes due to circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes titles have gone to reprint or are out of print or products are inspected and found to be not good enough for sale.

Please be aware that your payment is taken automatically online when you place the order. If there is a problem with shipping your order, we will do our best to contact you and inform you of any delays or other issues. You may of course cancel your order at any time if you are not willing to wait.

UK Royal Mail 1st Class

Under normal circumstances the Royal Mail 1st Class service should only take 1-2 working days. However, this is not guaranteed and there are inevitable delays due to Royal Mail backlogs, staff shortages etc. We are despatching orders straight away but please be patient if your order hasn't arrived as quickly as you would expect it to.

Collect from Branch

You also have the option to collect from our Hove or Chichester branches during checkout. We will contact you by email when your order is ready for collection.

Return Carriage Charge

We charge £10 for the carriage and handling of a rental instrument return and for piano returns.

Please click on the link below and add the Collection Carriage Charge to your basket.

Enter the address details required, pay the charge and we will contact you to arrange collection by our selected courier.

https://www.ackermanmusic.co.uk/collection-carriage-charge-8434654.html

Our Web Site

Website Stock Level Information

Our website includes regularly updated stock level information however this may occasionally be incorrect due to system updating times.

If we receive an order for multiple items that are in different branches, we will try to collate before sending out (within a day or two).

Our system will also allow you to order more items than we have in stock at a particular time and allows you to place items on backorder.

If you require an urgent delivery of a large order, please contact us to confirm current stock levels and delivery times.

We are open from 9.30am until 5:30pm Monday to Saturday. Our general enquiries number is 0333 344 0070

Buy securely online, all card details are processed through the Opayo powered by Elavon gateway and we never have access to them. You will see the golden padlock when you enter your personal details, indicating that all information is encrypted on our site.

Hove Shop		Chichester Shop