Be Part of the Band is a comprehensive recruitment tool designed to help those new to the profession or new to a school be able to easily begin the recruitment process. Tools include videos, recruitment website, Recruitment Blueprint, advocacy letters and more.
Find out more at Be Part of the Band
The Army Field Band provides resources in forms of audio, videos, and other great resources.
Find more information about the Army Field Band
The Remarkable Farkle McBride, written by John Lithgow, introduces the instruments of the orchestra through a talented boy who masters a new instrument every night but is satisfied with none.
Available for purchase on Amazon
Listening test given in four parts: Pitch Recognition, Chord Memory, Melody Memory, Rhythm Memory.
Videos and worksheets may be found here.
The Musical Aptitude Profile (MAP) is the world standard in music aptitude testing. The MAP test is by far the most researched aptitude test on the market today, with more than 30 years of history as the most comprehensive test of music aptitude ever published.
MAP is a complete test with seven components: tonal imagery (melody and harmony), rhythm imagery (tempo and meter), and musical sensitivity (phrasing, balance, and style). The entire test takes about 3.5 hours to administer.
Revised in 1995, MAP now features remastered recordings and an updated manual. The test must be scored manually with a set of scoring masks available from the publisher.
The MAP kit includes manual, recordings, 10 class record sheets, 100 answer sheets, and 100 profile cards. Scoring masks, however, are not in the kit. A school purchase order is required to purchase the scoring masks.
Short on time? For those who need only tonal, rhythm, and composite scores, we recommend the PMMA, IMMA, or AMMA tests (depending on the ages of the students). These tests take from 20 to 40 minutes to administer.
Available through GIA Publications
This video is a valuable tool that will augment a band director’s ability to recruit and will bring students into the first band rehearsal with an all new level of excitement and enthusiasm. This 20-minute program is the main recruitment section of the DVD. It breaks down the fun, friendship, and teamwork involved in being in band with live footage of bands performing and rehearsing and interviews with students. The funky “Band Rap” is the exciting conclusion of the DVD that will put your students in the perfect frenzy to join band! It is a 5-minute tour through the instruments of the band including short audio demonstrations of each instrument in an upbeat style that will be sure to get your students excited about the instrument they choose. Additionally, this video can also be played in its own, independent of the Band Blastoff recruitment program.
In addition to the DVD, you are provided with a supplemental worksheet for student assessment. The page includes three written challenges that help to test rhythm memory, identification of like/unlike melodies, and high/low/same notes (the video can also be ran without these assessments, if desired). Finally, the worksheet allows a student to choose his/her top choices for a potential instrument before a teacher collects for survey and assignment.
Available through Focus on Music