Your Order

Backorders & Out of Stock Items

Most items you see displayed on this website are currently in-stock and available for immediate shipment. An exception is Orchestral Parts, most of which are special ordered for you; and a few other items. Items that are out of stock typically have a note in parenthesis stating "Ships in x Days" where x is the number of days we estimate it will take to obtain the product from the publisher or manufacturer. When you place your order with us, there is a good chance that everything will be in stock and your order will be sent complete in one package. Sometimes, despite our best efforts an item may not be in stock for one reason or another. If this happens to you, the out-of-stock item can either be backordered or cancelled. When you place your order online, you are given some choices about how you would like us to handle any out-of-stock items. Since we need to charge shipping on each package sent, you may wish to instruct us to either send all your backorders in one package, or to hold your entire order until it is complete. Here are the options as they appear on the on-line order form:

    Split Once.
    • In-Stock items are sent today.
    • Out-of-Stock items are backordered are sent later, together, in one package.
    • Backordered items that become unavailable are cancelled.
    • Backorders that arrive to us within 90 days are shipped unless you tell us in advance to cancel them.
    • Backorders that arrive after 90 days will be sent with your approval only. We will contact you via e-mail to see if you still want the item(s).
    • Except for custom orders and instruments, your credit card will NOT be charged for backordered items until they ship.
    • Backorders will be shipped via the most economical/expedient method, which may not be the same method that you chose during Checkout.
    • Note: Second package will incur a shipping charge.
    Split As Needed.
    • In-Stock items are sent today.
    • Out-of-Stock items are backordered and sent individually as they arrive.
    • Backordered items that become unavailable are cancelled.
    • Backorders that arrive to us within 90 days are shipped unless you tell us in advance to cancel them.
    • Backorders that arrive after 90 days will be sent with your approval only. We will contact you via e-mail to see if you still want the item(s).
    • Except for custom orders and instruments, your credit card will NOT be charged for backordered items until they ship.
    • Backorders will be shipped via the most economical/expedient method, which may not be the same method that you chose during Checkout.
    • Note: Each package will incur a shipping charge.
    Ship When Complete.
    • All items are sent in one package, when possible.
    • Orders with out-of-stock items will be held for up to 60 days awaiting completion.
    • After 30 to 60 days, available items will be shipped. Item(s) still out of stock will ship when available.
    • Backorders that arrive after 90 days will be sent with your approval only. We will contact you via e-mail to see if you still want the item(s).
    • Except for custom orders and instruments, your credit card will NOT be charged until your order ships.
    • Note: Recommended for International orders
    Cancel Backorders.
    • In-Stock items are sent today.
    • Out-of-Stock items are cancelled.

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How to Order

Ordering online is a simple process at Hickeys Music Center Online. Once you have arrived at a page with the product you want, follow these simple steps:

  1. Click the "Add to Cart" button to the right of the item you want to order. The page will respond telling you that your item was added to your cart.
  2. To view the contents of your cart, you can click any of the various "View Shopping Cart" links that you see.
  3. If you wish to order more than one of an item, simply change the number in the Qty box before clicking the Add button.
  4. If you wish to delete anything, simply click one of the "View Shopping Cart" buttons. You will see a list of items that you have selected. Click the word "Delete" adjacent to the item you wish to remove.
  5. After reviewing your order, click the "Checkout" button below the list of items.
  6. Fill out the customer info form and click "Submit Order." Remember, all information provided is strictly confidential.

And, since we are a real live music store, you can also call us and place your order over the phone, or even visit our store in person. Here is our contact information in case you wish to order in this manner:

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Order Confirmation

You will receive three or four confirmations from us.

  1. The first is automatic and will occur immediately after clicking the "Submit Order" button. It will say "Your Order Has Been Submitted!" followed by "Order Confirmation Number: " and your nine digit confirmation number. Write this number down, in case you wish to contact us about your order in the future.
  2. The second confirmation is in the form of an e-mail. It is automatically sent from our server to the e-mail account you provided when you clicked the Submit Order button. It lists the items you ordered plus the address information you gave us. If you see an error with either, send us an e-mail right away and we will try to correct the problem. If you do not receive this e-mail, there may have been a problem with your e-mail address.
  3. The third confirmation will occur when your order has been processed (either shipped, placed on backorder or cancelled). The third confirmation will be in the form of a short e-mail with an attached PDF of your invoice or backorder form.
  4. The fourth confirmation will be in the form of an e-mail from UPS or the Postal Service. This e-mail is from either UPS or the Postal Service's server and will provide you with your tracking number and a link so that you can follow your package's progress.

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Payment of Orders

CREDIT CARD: In order to give you the fastest, most efficient service, we request that payment be provided for at the time of the order. You can do this by entering your credit card number on the Secure Order Form. If you have ordered from us in the past, and used your credit card then, we may still have the number on file. If that is the case, you can tell us when filling out the order form to reuse the existing number. NOTE: When paying by credit card, it will not be charged until your order is shipped. If there are any backorders, your credit card will not be charged for those items until they ship. It is our policy to charge you for only those items which are actually shipped to you.

If your credit card is declined or otherwise invalid...
Sometimes the credit card number provided to us does not work. This can be caused by anything from a simple typing error to an overlimit account. When this happens, we will e-mail you. Alternatively, we may telephone you (if you are a USA customer) or send you a postcard explaining the problem. Once notified, it is important that you contact us as soon as possible. If we contact you by e-mail or phone, your order will be held for a maximum of three days until we hear back from you. After three days have passed with no response, your order may be cancelled and the merchandise returned to stock. Once cancelled, you can reorder by placing the order a second time via our website as usual.

PERSONAL CHECK/MONEY ORDER: If you do not use credit cards, you may place an order by mailing us a personal check or money order along with a printed copy of your order. Do Not click the Send button. We will process your order when we receive it in the mail with your payment. Be sure to include enough to cover shipping charges. Any overpayments will be credited to your store account for future purchases. If you are outside of the USA and are sending a check or money order, please note that your payment must be in USA dollars drawn on a USA bank. If there are any price increases between the time that you place your order and the time when we receive it, we will contact you via e-mail about how to handle the difference.

PURCHASE ORDERS: We welcome purchase orders from Schools, Churches and other institutions. You can shop online, call, fax or mail your order in to us. If you shop online, use the Purchase Order Number box to cite your PO number. You may also print out your order and mail or fax it to us along with your PO. Purchase orders can be mailed or faxed to our store if your school requires them. If your school does not require POs, simply place your order and instruct us to bill the appropriate office. All such orders may be subject to review and confirmation before shipping.

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Tracking Numbers

All packages shipped via UPS and most via the Post Office are assigned a unique tracking number at the time they leave our store. Customers who request UPS will automatically receive an e-mail from our UPS server when their order is shipped. At the current time we do not have a method to automatically inform Post Office customers of their tracking numbers. Post Office customers wishing to know their tracking number should send an e-mail to orders@hickeys.com with your request. We will look up your order, retrieve the USPS tracking number and e-mail it back to you. You can then use that number to see your package's in-transit progress by using USPS's Tracking webpage. As Post Office tracking numbers are more difficult for us to obtain and transmit to you, we ask that you do not request these unless the package seems to be running late and you wish to use it to confirm its progress.

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Woodwind Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our Wind Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

Description Price
Rimsky-Korsakov
Quintet in Bb [1011-1 w/piano]
Item: 26746		 $28.75

The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The first number stands for Flute, the second for Oboe, the third for Clarinet, the fourth for Bassoon, and the fifth (separated from the woodwinds by a dash) is for Horn. Any additional instruments (Piano in this example) are indicated by "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.

Flute   Oboe   Clarinet   Bassoon   —   Horn

This woodwind quartet is for 1 Flute, no Oboe, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Horn and Piano.

Sometimes there are instruments in the ensemble other than those shown above. These are linked to their respective principal instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Whenever this occurs, we will separate the first four digits with commas for clarity. Thus a double reed quartet of 2 oboes, english horn and bassoon will look like this:

0,2+1,0,1-0

Note the "2+1" portion means "2 oboes plus english horn"

Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:

Brass Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our Brass Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of five numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

Description Price
Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man [343.01 w/tympani]
Item: 02158		 $14.95

The bracketed numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Trumpet, the second for Horn, the third for Trombone, the fourth (separated from the first three by a dot) for Euphonium and the fifth for Tuba. Any additional instruments (Tympani in this example) are indicated by a "w/" (meaning "with") or by using a plus sign.

Trumpet     Horn     Trombone   .   Euphonium     Tuba

Thus, the Copland Fanfare shown above is for 3 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, no Euphonium, 1 Tuba and Tympani. There is no separate number for Bass Trombone, but it can generally be assumed that if there are multiple Trombone parts, the lowest part can/should be performed on Bass Trombone.

Titles listed in our catalog without bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:

People often ask us about "PJBE" or "Philip Jones" instrumentation. This is a special instrumentation adopted and perfected by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. It consists of the forces 414.01, and often includes Percussion and/or Tympani. In addition, there are often doublings in the Trumpet section - Piccolo and Flugelhorn being the most common. While this instrumentation has come to be common, it is still not "Standard" as many Brass Dectets use very different forces, most often with more Horns than PJBE.

String Instrumentation Codes

Following many of the titles in our String Ensemble catalog, you will see a set of four numbers enclosed in square brackets, as in this example:

Description Price
Atwell
Vance's Dance [0220]
Item: 32599		 $8.95

These numbers tell you how many of each instrument are in the ensemble. The first number stands for Violin, the second for Viola, the third for Cello, and the fourth for Double Bass. Thus, this string quartet is for 2 Violas and 2 Cellos, rather than the usual 2110. Titles with no bracketed numbers are assumed to use "Standard Instrumentation." The following is considered to be Standard Instrumentation:

Orchestra & Band Instrumentation Codes

Following some titles in our Orchestra & Band catalogs, you will see a numeric code enclosed in square brackets, as in these examples:

  Order Qty Description Price
Beethoven
Symphony No 1 in C, op 21
[2,2,2,2-2,2,0,0, tymp, 44322] 		$150.00
Jones
Wind Band Overture
[2+1,1,3+ac+bc,2,SATB-2+2,4,3+1,1, tymp, percussion, double bass] 		$85.00
MacKenzie
Hines Pond Fantasy (DePaolo)
[2d1+1,1,2+1,1-2,2(+2),3,0, perc, tymp, 44322, Eb clarinet, SAATB saxes, trombone solo] 		$75.00

The bracketed numbers tell you the precise instrumentation of the ensemble. The system used above is standard in the orchestra music field. The first set of numbers (before the dash) represent the Woodwinds. The set of numbers after the dash represent the Brass. Percussion is abbreviated following the brass. Strings are represented with a series of five digits representing the quantity of each part (first violin, second violin, viola, cello, bass). Other Required and Solo parts follow the strings:

Woodwinds—Brass,   Percussion,   Strings,   Other

Principal auxilary instruments (piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, wagner tuba, cornet & euphonium) are linked to their respective instruments with either a "d" if the same player doubles the auxiliary instrument, or a "+" if an extra player is required. Instruments shown in parenthesis are optional and may be omitted.

Example 1 - Beethoven:

[2,2,2,2-2,2,0,0, tymp, 44322]

The Beethoven example is typical of much Classical and early Romantic fare. In this case, the winds are all doubled (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets and 2 bassoons), and there are two each horns and trumpets. There is no low brass. There is tympani. Strings are a standard 44322 configuration (4 first violin, 4 second violin, 3 viola, 2 cello, 2 bass). Sometimes strings are simply listed as "str," which means 44322 strings.

Example 2 - Jones: (concert band/wind ensemble example)

[2+1,1,3+ac+bc,2,SAATB-2+2,4,3+1,1, tymp, percussion, double bass]

The second example is common for a concert band or wind ensemble piece. This ficticious work is for 2 flutes (plus piccolo), 1 oboe, 3 clarinets plus alto and bass clarinets, 2 bassoons, 5 saxes (soprano, 2 altos, tenor & bari), 2 trumpets (plus 2 cornets), 3 trombones, euphonium, tuba, tympani, percussion and double bass. Note the inclusion of the saxes after bassoon for this band work. Note also that the separate euphonium part is attached to trombone with a plus sign. For orchestral music, saxes are at the end (see Saxophones below. It is highly typical of band sets to have multiple copies of parts, especially flute, clarinet, sax, trumpet, trombone & percussion. Multiples, if any, are not shown in this system. The numbers represent only distinct parts, not the number of copies of a part.

Example 3 - MacKenzie: (a fictional work, by the way).

[2d1+1,1,2+1,1-2,2(+2),3,0, perc, tymp, 66432, Eb clarinet, SAATB saxes, trombone solo]

In the third example, we have a rather extreme use of the system. It is an orchestral work for piccolo, 2 flutes (1 of whom doubles on piccolo), 1 oboe, 2 clarinets plus an additional bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets (plus an optional 2 cornets), 3 trombones, no tuba, percussion, tympani, 6 first violins, 6 second violins, 4 violas, 3 cellos, 2 double basses, Eb clarinet (as an additional chair, not doubled), 5 saxes (soprano, 2 alto, tenor & baritone) & a trombone soloist.

Note: This system lists Horn before Trumpet. This is standard orchestral nomenclature. Unless otherwise noted, we will use this system for both orchestra and band works (in most band scores, Trumpet precedes Horn, and sometimes Oboe & Bassoon follow Clarinet). Also, it should be noted that Euphonium can be doubled by either Trombone or Tuba. Typically, orchestra scores have the tuba linked to euphonium, but it does happen where Trombone is the principal instead.

Saxophones, when included in orchestral music (they rarely are) will be shown in the "other instrument" location after strings and before the soloist, if any. However for band music, they are commonly present and therefore will be indicated after bassoon as something similar to "SAATB" where S=soprano, A=alto, T=tenor and B=baritone. Letters that are duplicated (as in A in this example) indicate multiple parts.

And finally, here is one more way to visualize the above code sequence: