Recruitment & Retention: A Music Educator’s Guide

Recruitment and retention are key to building, growing, and maintaining a healthy music program.  Getting students excited and enrolled is a top priority, and next is ensuring that they continue coming back.  Between academic pressures, scheduling challenges, summer breaks, and ongoing extracurriculars, even passionate students can feel tempted to step away from their music education.  Developing a strong recruitment and retention strategy is a great way to keep students and parents engaged and to keep your program thriving.

In this article, we’ve compiled some tried and tested recruitment and retention strategies, tips, and guidelines. 

Tuning Up Your Recruitment Strategy

Build a Recruitment Timeline 
Recruitment efforts should begin long before sign-ups are on most student’s and parent’s minds.  It is important for all program directors to look far in advance when building their schedule.  Here are some tips for building your timeline:

• Review your school’s academic calendar.  This is key to avoid future scheduling conflicts and to ensure space and facility availability for your recruitment initiatives and year-round events.  

Build key events into your schedule:

• Program Demonstration Concert - Schedule your demonstration concert about one month prior to enrollment.  Scheduling a 15 minute concert at a student orientation or Back to School night is a great way to get increased visibility for the program and generate appreciation for the process of learning to play a musical instrument.
• Recruitment Events & Instrument Fittings - Calendar recruitment events and instrument fittings at least 1-2 weeks in advance of enrollment day.  These events are your opportunity to introduce the program - highlight the rewarding benefits of learning an instrument and what your program has to offer.  These are also opportunities for students to get to know the instruments, test out their options, and get information on the instrument rental process.
• Parent Meetings - Schedule at least one Parent Meeting for the beginning of the year.  Parent Meetings are your opportunity to share more in-depth program details, expectations, and key dates.  This is also a great time to encourage parents to sign-up to volunteer for future events.
• Year-Round Concerts - Students will be excited and inspired by performance opportunities.  Scheduling dedicated music program concerts is a must, but don’t stop there!  Seek out opportunities for your students to play at assemblies, parent nights, open houses, and other school events.  A fun, high-energy performance is a great way to bring the program to life and inspire new students to join.

Get Organized!
Organization is key to both recruiting and retention.  Some key things to remember throughout the year are:

• Keep your website up to date - include new program information, key dates, educational resources, and enrollment information for future semesters.  
• Keep an updated contact list for all existing students and incoming students.
• Prepare and organize all printed program materials - program hand outs and flyers, take-home materials for parents, program contact lists (including information for your Music Retail Partner), instrumental rental information, etc.
• Create sign-up forms online, so that students and parents can RSVP to recruitment events and reserve time slots for instrument fittings.
• Add calendar reminders for recruitment follow ups.  Plan to follow up with all families after recruitment events to ensure that all interested students are converted to enrolled students.  
  • Email digital versions of your program information to all attendees within one week after your recruitment events.  When possible, try to include personalized messages based on your interactions with the families at recruitment events.
  • For those families who RSVP-ed but were not in attendance, follow up to reconfirm their interest and offer to schedule a make-up instrument fitting and orientation.      

Recruitment & Retention: An Ensemble Performance

It’s important to remember that you are not all on your own.  There is a network of people you can rely on for recruitment and retention support year-round.  Below are some key groups to align with:

School Administration: Your school’s administration is going to be equally invested in wanting your program to thrive, so don’t be afraid to rely on them for assistance.  

• School Secretary - Your school’s secretary can help facilitate ongoing communication with your families and the school community.  They can provide you with an updated contact list, as well as information on incoming students.  They will also be your point person for the school’s newsletter, social media, and fundraising opportunities.
• Understand your school’s calendar - Your school’s administration can provide you with key academic calendar dates, as well as the schedule for existing school enrichment and sports programs.  They can help you schedule your practice times and year round events, ensuring that you’re avoiding major scheduling conflicts with student schedules, testing periods, and other school events.
  • Pro Tip: Get your music program events approved and added to your school’s calendar ASAP.  
• Keep Your Principal In the Loop - Invite your principal for a standing in-class observation or check-in meeting — best practice is monthly but find out what cadence is best for your principal.  Share data about student growth, student achievements, and program updates.  Keep them apprised of the latest research regarding how music supports academic and emotional success.  When they see measurable outcomes, they’re more likely to advocate for funding and flexibility.   

Music Retailer: Working with a local, full-service music dealer allows you to have support when it comes to the instrument rentals process, as well as ongoing repairs and on-site, weekly support.  Here are some key things to look for when selecting a retailer:   

• A large inventory of instruments from trusted brands, loaner instruments, accessories, and educational materials
• Readily accessible service and repairs department
• Education representatives who are committed to regular on-site check-ins.
• Order, delivery, and collection systems that are flexible and adaptable to your school’s unique schedule
• A network of private lessons instructors for additional student support
• Summer rental options, to ensure that your students have access to their instruments year-round

Your Music Retailer can also be a great resource.  Retailers have experience working with a variety of programs and educators and can help with things like instrument demonstrations and testing, sign-ups, and tips for how to keep students engaged all year long.

Feeder Schools: Engaging Feeder Schools is a great way to connect with your incoming students.  Contact your local Feeder Schools and inquire about the possibility of hosting on-site recruitment events.  Plan to bring a group of students to perform and to share why they love your music program.  Include a Q&A and opportunities for the students to interact with various instruments.  And if there is a music teacher at that school, be sure to get them involved.  Their participation can further inspire their students, and they can also make you aware of which students are most likely to sign up.

Be sure to share your program materials and recruitment event information with your Feeder Schools so that they can distribute it to their student body.  As students start to RSVP, follow up with their instructors to let them know and thank them for their help. 

Retention Strategies: For the School Year & Beyond

Student Engagement:
For students, it’s important to remember that enjoyment is key!  While a focus on education and training is great, your program should also prioritize the joy of music education, making students feel celebrated and supported.  Passionate students will go the extra mile to prioritize their instrument studies.

• Foster Pride & Celebrate Accomplishments - provide consistent group recognition, as well as individual student recognition.  

• Celebrate musical excellence, accomplishments, awards, and achievements.
  • Highlight students in your newsletter.
  • Share performance clips or competition results.  
  • If possible, ask the Principal to send students personalized congratulatory letters, or to make special shout outs at school assemblies.  Students will be honored to receive a special commendation, and your Principal will appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the celebration.  

• Highlight growth, effort, leadership, and perseverance.
  • Give shoutouts during rehearsals or create “Musician of the Month” boards.
  • Create progress goals and charts; highlight and celebrate students as they move from one goal to the next.
  • Promote dedicated and enthusiastic students to the role of Student Leader.  Student Leaders can be great role models for the program and can assist with things like classroom management, recruitment, and student engagement. 
    

• Engage their interests - The classics are great, but letting students have the option to learn music they enjoy (pop music, video game music, movie soundtracks, sports themes) can be a great way to keep their attention and engagement.  

• Provide aides - Students learn in a variety of ways and on their own timelines.  Be prepared to provide students with additional materials, charts, books, videos, etc. tailored to their unique learning style or challenges.  Work with your Music Retail Partner to create a list of materials for at home practice, so that parents can easily access helpful tools which have been endorsed by their instructors.

• Check in with students at the end of the year - Make time to meet with each student to talk about what they liked during the year, if there were any challenges, and what their future goals are with their music education. For interested students, encourage them to continue next season or school year and let them know how the program can support their growth.  These conversations are a great way to show that you genuinely care about their individual experience and their continued participation in the program.  They can also help identify any barriers early on and allow you the opportunity to offer solutions.

• Emphasize the Importance of Summer Practice & Opportunities - Inspire your students to keep their practice ongoing throughout the summer break.   
  • Back To School Concert Preparation: Assign your students a selection of songs to study over the summer, in advance of your Back To School Demonstration Concert.  This gives the students a fun challenge and an invitation to keep their skills in tune.    
  • Practice Schedules: Provide students with a summer practice schedule; create manageable goals and take-home assignments to help them structure consistent at-home practice.
  • Have Students Set Individual Summer Goals: Encourage students to identify what they want to achieve, like mastering a difficult section, improving tone quality, or increasing practice consistency.  Setting summer goals helps students take ownership of their independent learning and stay motivated throughout the summer months.
  • Share Summer Music Opportunities: Prepare and share a list of summer music programs, camps, and conservatories.  Encourage students to pursue these opportunities and send audition dates and applications to your families throughout the school year.  Emphasize the importance of engaging their music skills consistently, and the benefits of attending summer programs. 
     

Parent Engagement:
Parents are key players in a student’s decision to continue their music education.  Engaging your parent community is a great way to ensure that their excitement and support for the program continues year after year.

• Parent Volunteer Program: Recruiting parent volunteers is a great way to get parents excited about the program and bring them into your community.  Parents can serve as chaperons for offsite events, as well as assist in fundraising efforts.  And if you have parents with music backgrounds, invite them to come help out in the classroom or at rehearsals.  If a parent is skeptical about the significance of the program, having them volunteer is a great way to let them observe the positive impacts first hand.  

• Invite Parents to Events: Directly invite your parents to all concerts, competitions, and program events.  Consider featuring your musician parents in your concerts; not only will it be fun for the students to share the experience with their parents, it is a great way to remind parents about how rewarding music programs can be.

• Program Feedback: At the end of each semester, send parents a short survey asking what they love and what they feel can improve.  This builds trust, helps parents feel involved, and can help you build an even stronger program next season.  

• Summer Practice Partners: Make the importance of summer practice clear to all parents, while also making it an easy thing for them to manage.
  • Share articles about the importance of consistency in music education.
    Before the year is up, distribute a list of local private lessons instructors.  Your Music Retail Partner can usually provide you with a list of great instructors.  
  • Share articles on at home practice tips for parents so that they can understand how to help set their students up for summer practice success.
  • Share student’s summer goals, assignments, or homework with their parents, so that they can help monitor their student’s practice.
  • Keep in touch with parents throughout the summer; send check-in emails, additional at home practice activities, and updates about student summer achievements
    
     

• Invite math classes to a rhythm lesson; rhythm is rooted in mathematical concepts like fractions, ratios, and patterns.  Observing a music lesson offers them the real time opportunity to put those concepts into practice, and to learn more about music education in the process.
• Engage the art classes to help design concert posters or photograph program events.
• If your school has a student newspaper, invite student reporters to observe practice or to cover some of your program events and concerts.