Before the Rental Meeting

In some schools the band director may begin meeting with prospective beginners immediately after they express interest. Such situations offer an excellent opportunity to maintain their enthusiasm, check for physical characteristics appropriate to the instruments they have chosen, work out a balanced instrumentation, and even get a head start on instruction.

During these preliminary meetings it’s important to remember that these students are not band beginners until their parents have obtained an instrument for them or otherwise made a commitment to the band. It’s a good idea to spend these days before the rental meeting on activities designed to maintain their enthusiasm. Some activities often used for that purpose are: learning to march in step with the music, handling the instruments, making the first notes, learning and practicing proper band room and concert etiquette, and basic music theory games.

Instrumentation can be balanced by dividing the class into groups by instrument and asking for volunteers from groups that are too large to join groups that are too small, in order to help the band.

Each day collect the meeting letter return slips and ask who needs help in talking to their parents. Remind them continuously of the meeting date and of the importance of having their parents attend.