Recruiting New Players
- Thread starter Mike Edge
- Start date
StellaJohnson
Active Member
You are in quite a saturated area for bands. Have you thought about getting in contact with local schools in the area? Ypu're not contesting so what have you to lose? I would have thought there are a few kids that are having music lessons already.
My previous band have been very successful at this and gets quite a bit of funding also.
My previous band have been very successful at this and gets quite a bit of funding also.
lannerfalcon
Member
Never an easy task! I have just spent some time looking at Reddish Prize Band website, this is often the first place any potential players may look, it's your shop window. With no disrespect to whoever maintains this there is an awful lot of negativity within it and very little to encourage or inspire people to come along.
The Blog is an excellent idea to keep people informed of what is going on but maybe you need to be a little bit more creative in exactly what is said, focus on the positives... talk yourselves up even.
Obviously not knowing the area at all but are there opportunities to get the band out performing more regularly? (the events diary consists of 1 concert, Whit Friday and the AGM) I can't imagine you have a huge following for formal concerts so is it a case of taking the band to the people. (even if it is a band of 8-10 players, there is loads of good music available for reduced numbers).
Just a few thoughts, good luck with it.
The Blog is an excellent idea to keep people informed of what is going on but maybe you need to be a little bit more creative in exactly what is said, focus on the positives... talk yourselves up even.
Obviously not knowing the area at all but are there opportunities to get the band out performing more regularly? (the events diary consists of 1 concert, Whit Friday and the AGM) I can't imagine you have a huge following for formal concerts so is it a case of taking the band to the people. (even if it is a band of 8-10 players, there is loads of good music available for reduced numbers).
Just a few thoughts, good luck with it.
Euphgit
Member
The poster above speaks a lot of sense
The Website is not very good. The theme is pretty rancid (Lime green and grey?!?! yuck!), there are spelling mistakes all over the place, generally it just needs an overhaul (for instance with the blog, it makes more sense to have the most recent post at the top rather than the bottom.
Eccles have a great website http://www.ecclesboroughband.org/ and I'm sure Graham would point you in the right direction for getting a decent website
Schools are also a great idea, but you need a system in place that keeps children interested in playing once they start attending. All too often bands attract younger players but they quickly stop attending because the band don't commit enough time and effort towards keeping them.
The more concerts and events you do the better. If you have a smaller ensemble then things like oompah nights can work extremely well, you can talk to local pubs and clubs etc.
Personally I would love to play with a band that aren't contest crazy but in general there are two obstacles.
1) Standards are often very poor, Not saying that your bands are but from past experience non-contesting bands seem to completely forsake playing well.
2) I won't be in Manchester much longer!!
The Website is not very good. The theme is pretty rancid (Lime green and grey?!?! yuck!), there are spelling mistakes all over the place, generally it just needs an overhaul (for instance with the blog, it makes more sense to have the most recent post at the top rather than the bottom.
Eccles have a great website http://www.ecclesboroughband.org/ and I'm sure Graham would point you in the right direction for getting a decent website
Schools are also a great idea, but you need a system in place that keeps children interested in playing once they start attending. All too often bands attract younger players but they quickly stop attending because the band don't commit enough time and effort towards keeping them.
The more concerts and events you do the better. If you have a smaller ensemble then things like oompah nights can work extremely well, you can talk to local pubs and clubs etc.
Personally I would love to play with a band that aren't contest crazy but in general there are two obstacles.
1) Standards are often very poor, Not saying that your bands are but from past experience non-contesting bands seem to completely forsake playing well.
2) I won't be in Manchester much longer!!
StellaJohnson
Active Member
It takes time to establish yourself as a band that does this. Whatever your stragegy a queue of players wanting to join your band isn't going to happen and it won't happen over night. Word does exventually get round. Toby Hobson and Mark Wilkinson I'm sure teaches at schools around your neck of the woods maybe worth sending them a pm??
I started a new band in September and now have 16 players. It has not been easy but with perseverence and plenty of use of sites like this and ibew, who let you advertise for free, many trips around the local libraries, music shops, community centres etc ii can be done. There is the Young person/children's act to contend with if you go down the schools route so you need to have their parents on board as the regs are stricter now. That, however should not put you off. It is hard work and they do not immediately appear but it is proving worth the trouble for me. Good luck with your venture.
towse1972
Active Member
Nice!....Good Lord....
longlivetuba
New Member
Its always good when you get support like that. I clicked on this thread as I have just become Conductor of a brad new band in North London, NLB Edmunton and thought that I might get a few tips on how to get more bums on seats.
Its sad how some bandsmen are so negative. I have yet to find a band that doesnt struggle to find players so wouldnt it make more sense for us all to encourage as much as we can.
kennywenny
Member
Was that a serious post ? ........Ironic name :clap:
needmorevodka
Member
Goodness, that's rude, it was only a couple of days until Mike checked back after asking the question, give him a chance!! 'Normal Life' makes it tricky for everyone to sit glued to their computer screens waiting for replies you know. Fine one to talk about having decency.....
I clicked this thread as my previous band needs recruitment ideas and I still manage their website. Always interested to hear ideas on recruiting, certainly some good ones here, thanks
kennywenny
Member
Goodness, that's rude, it was only a couple of days until Mike checked back after asking the question, give him a chance!! 'Normal Life' makes it tricky for everyone to sit glued to their computer screens waiting for replies you know. Fine one to talk about having decency.....
I clicked this thread as my previous band needs recruitment ideas and I still manage their website. Always interested to hear ideas on recruiting, certainly some good ones here, thanks
:clap::clap:
I clicked this thread as my previous band needs recruitment ideas and I still manage their website. Always interested to hear ideas on recruiting, certainly some good ones here, thanks [/quote]
We hold a regular (once a year-ish) recruitment workshop. Anyone is invited to drop in and try (in fact that is how I got back into playing after 40+ years off). Has some success as this year we took on 4 new members who are still playing after 6 months, last year not as successful but we did get one player and 2 junior learners
Its worth a try and if you can get the local paper interested it is good publicity for the band.
[/quote]We hold a regular (once a year-ish) recruitment workshop. Anyone is invited to drop in and try (in fact that is how I got back into playing after 40+ years off). Has some success as this year we took on 4 new members who are still playing after 6 months, last year not as successful but we did get one player and 2 junior learners
Its worth a try and if you can get the local paper interested it is good publicity for the band.
Andrew Norman
Active Member
The re-growth of my own band, Cowes Concert Band, has mainly been through older players. There are already bands catering for youngsters and older players sometimes feel left out. This can be a good area to try and recruit from ( and is often neglected). Older players are often more committed.
We also resrict the majority of our concerts to rehearsal nights - not always the best night to attract an audience but it gets us out and noticed. Lots of church concerts which we do on a split of the collection.
Finally a shameless plug for my own music which mostly works well with "incomplete" bands and won't shred your solo cornet players' lips.
www.pdfbrass.com
We also resrict the majority of our concerts to rehearsal nights - not always the best night to attract an audience but it gets us out and noticed. Lots of church concerts which we do on a split of the collection.
Finally a shameless plug for my own music which mostly works well with "incomplete" bands and won't shred your solo cornet players' lips.
www.pdfbrass.com