Recruitment & Retention

DRAFT – Spring 2013

Recruitment and retention are two sides of the same coin. One set of skills are required to recruit students and another set of skills are required to retain students over time. Both are critical to the successful building of a studio and or an ensemble. Below are some ideas gleaned from ECMS faculty which have worked as they have strived to recruit and retain students. As always, recruiting and retention require great care and sensitivity to the students and family needs as well as to fellow colleagues in the music education profession.

 

Recruitment (getting them in the door):

We believe that to be a good recruiter one must want to recruit students and make an effort to do so. Students won’t just land in one’s studio or ensemble in large numbers magically.

  • Self-promote:
    • Talk to people about joining your studio/ensemble – don’t be bashful, be enthusiastic about teaching and let everyone know you love teaching.
    • Have business cards and pass them out liberally
  • Perform out in the community – solo, chamber, jazz, RPO etc.
  • Record – get on radio / CDs
  • Word of Mouth:
    • Students want to go where their friends are going
    • Be an up-beat, exuberant recruiter in your daily life – don’t be shy about recruiting
    • Some classroom teachers are able to attract their classroom students into their private studios
      • Honor NYSSMA but keep it separate from ECMS curricular levels
    • When you are out performing in the community, make sure that you let the audience know that you are an active teacher and love teaching at all levels.
  • Recruit ensemble students through current ensemble students:
    • Talk to your current ensemble students about your ensemble needs to see if they know of anyone who would fit the bill. For example, if you need a trumpet player in your ensemble, let all members of your ensemble know that that is what the ensemble needs and ask them to refer people they know who are good trumpet players to you.
    • When you hold a studio class, let your current student know that they are welcome to invite their friends who might be interested in checking it out.
  • Communicate quickly and positively:
    • Be quick in communicating with your students or potential students – by doing so, it lets them know you really are enthusiastic about teaching them. A large number of students go elsewhere each year because the teacher took too long to get back to them to set up a lesson.
  • Connect with area school teachers:
    • Find out where your students go to school and who their music teachers are. Communicate with those teachers via email and let them know what you are working on with their students and when they are performing on recitals etc. Ask the public school teacher what he/she would like you to work on with their student (school ensemble material). Connecting with your student’s school music teacher while at the same time having your student’s improved skills noticed by their school teachers will encourage that public school teacher to recommend other students study with you too.
    • When the above relationship is established and you suddenly have an opening in your studio, you can email that teacher to let them know you have an opening and to please pass that information to all of their students of that particular instrument – and how to get in touch with you.
    • Once you have connected with a school teacher, you may want to offer to come in once or twice per year to work with their section in preparation for concerts and or NYSSMA events (All-County, Area All State, All State and solo and audition preparation).

 

Retention (keep them coming back for more):

Once students are in your studio or ensemble, then the challenge will be to retain them over a period of time. The ECMS works hard to recruit students each year into all areas of the school. For many years now, the ECMS has lost about 450 students per year and gained about that many or just a little more. If we could find a way to keep 200 of those 450 lost students per year who would have otherwise left, our enrollment would sky-rocket!

 

  • Get your students into ensembles: students gravitate to being on a “team” and they enjoy the camaraderie and social interaction of being in an ensemble. They won’t want to miss rehearsals / performances and they will want to grow into the ensemble leaders over the years as their skills improve. They will be less likely to leave if they have these kinds of connections.
  • Get students performing regularly on recitals / studio classes – in most cases wanting to perform is why they have come to us in the first place. They will be less likely to leave if they have regular solo performances to look forward to. Also, they will have something they can play for their family and friends and they will want to improve and grow in terms of solo performance.
  • Take your ensemble out into the community for performances
  • Take your ensemble to competitions
  • Take your ensemble to performances/competitions in other cities
  • Always be courteous and friendly and always be professional.
  • Always maintain 100% focus on your students and their musical needs – it’s about them, not you.
  • Be willing to go above and beyond the normal duties in helping your students achieve musical goals.
  • Communicate regularly with your students. Sending an ensemble a weekly email note is appropriate and keeps them engaged. Send your studio students regular email updates about campus performances and master classes they might enjoy. These kinds of regular communications connect students more to you and to their ECMS experience as a whole.
  • Learn how to motivate students who are only mildly interested and who haven’t discovered the joy of practice or the feeling of making regular improvement from their diligent practice. Many of our teachers are used to being in an environment of highly motivated music making. They need to develop a “bag of tricks” to gently get students on the path of making progress and thus developing self-motivation. Here is a list of tricks that might work:
    • Instead of just showing students briefly what to practice – actually practice with them during the lesson
    • Focus on beautiful but simple pieces with an emphasis on producing beautiful tone – a single beautiful tone is something almost everyone can be inspired by
    • Have them listen to recordings – take the time to listen to full pieces during lessons commenting on important compositional, technical or tonal aspects
    • Have students play along with recordings (Wynton Marsalis has a saying: “Imitate, then Create”). Be able to copy every inflection of a particular master
    • Have your students just clap time with recordings – gradually emphasizing different beats 1+3 or 2+4 or in 3/4 time have them clap 1 and the + of 2 etc….
    • Play duets with your students
    • Spend time sight-reading with your students during lessons
    • Have your students improvise simple melodies with recordings (find the key etc)
    • Have them come to your studio classes to hear your other students
    • Bring them to a special performance at ESM / ECMS
    • Communicate deeply with your students, set goals – find out what they hope to accomplish with their lessons
  • If your students are quitting because of cost, ask them to fill out a scholarship form. Or, have them come once every other week or even once per month.

Last updated: May 24, 2013