Tips That Cl i c k Phi Beta Mu
Recruiting and Retention (Part Two)
This installment is the second and concluding part of an article begun in the last edition of Ala Breve. We had many contributors and felt that we needed to give proper focus to this crucial topic. I hope you will find a new idea or two to help you start your year off successfully.
Our first contributor, John Bradley, is President of Rho Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, and while he is currently retired from a distinguished career as a band director and administrator, you will still find him most days helping music students and teachers. He gives us two insights from his many years as a band director at Monroeville High School. “ I always gave a traditional type of recruiting concert, but made sure that I had opportunities for the students to interact with me and the band members. I think one of the best things I used to do was have a student for the audience come up and “conduct” the band on a short piece. This really got everyone excited and had them buzzing. As for retention in the program, nothing helped the program at Monroeville more than my daily involvement with the feeder program. As the high school director, it was challenging trying to break away from the paperwork and responsibilities of that end of the program, but having the students in the middle school feel comfortable with my teaching style and the type of program they were moving to when they transitioned to high school really paid dividends. There are always a few kids that are “on the fence” and this seemed to help them feel confident in their decision to remain in band.”
ala breve
“You can’t teach an empty chair”
Chuck Eady is Past-President of the Alabama Bandmasters Association and has been a band director for over 30 years, currently teaching at Pleasant Grove High School in Jefferson County. He advocates using a recruiting concert, but with a few different “twists”. He takes the high school group and does two concerts – one for the entire elementary school and a shorter concert targeted specifically for the rising sixth grade class. “For the second concert, we play more songs that feature the beginning instruments, but I make sure that I allow enough time for the potential band members to ask questions of the CURRENT members.”. Eady adds:” I have found that while the elementary students will be polite and listen to me, the high school students definitely have more credibility with them and their answers inspire confidence that “taking band” will be the way to go!” As for retention, Chuck states: “ I have found that communication is the key. When I find that a student is considering leaving the program, I always investigate and try to find the reason behind this. If it is a financial problem, then we try to find a way to help the student arrange this so that they can remain in band. If there is a conflict with athletics, I try to work with the coaching staff to find out if the
student has the talent to be a contributor. I always make sure that the student knows that the door is open to return if the team does not work out”.
The members of Rho Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity hope that this information is helpful and that you have your best year ever! Please email
pemin@mac.com with any comments on this column or suggestions for future columns.
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