Be Part of the Band Survey Results

Hey everyone:

As promised a year ago, we have undertaken a study of the effects of Be Part of the Band. Last week we administered a nation wide survey to determine the efficacy and impact of Be Part of the Band. The survey concluded last Friday and the results are nothing short of AMAZING!

Our goal twelve months ago was to add 350,000 new students by providing high quality recruitment materials to every school in America for free. We believed that by adding five new students per school, we could make a substantial impact on every band room in America.

We not only met that goal of 5 additional students per school, but more than DOUBLED it.  Directors that utilized our materials showed a 20% greater enrollment in 2014 than in 2013 with an average growth of ELEVEN additional band students per school. Needless to say, we are ecstatic.

To see the highlights from the complete survey in an info-graphic, click here.  

If you know of any music educator that is not aware of the materials, please forward this on. The more people that are utilizing these free resources, the more students we can get to Be Part of the Band!

Thanks for your support, feedback, and continued efforts on this very special project.

Have a great week everyone!

p.s.  Our newsletters typically arrive on Wednesday, but the last month of travel and project deadlines have put us behind some weeks. We are sorry, and promise to do better.

If I Had a Million Dollars

BNL is one of my favorite rock bands. I would list their entire name, but it would likely trigger your spam filter and create a firewall issue that would make the Great Wall of China seem like my son’s Lego project. So let’s just leave it at BNL. I love this band as much for their catchy melodies as their snarky and amusing lyrics. Still stumped? Try Googling “Be My Yoko Ono.” That should solve the mystery for you, and explain why I can’t type the band's name.

One of BNL’s greatest hits is “If I Had $1,000,000.” Their answer to the timeless question of ”What would you do if you won the lottery?" will leave you laughing out loud. Don’t believe me? Click here.

Lately I have been thinking about the big picture of music education and how to ensure its viability for future generations. As a part of this process I asked myself, “If I had a million dollars to use towards making music education better, how would I spend it efficiently to get the greatest impact for every dollar spent?"

Do you know what you would do with the money? Would you lobby Washington? Would you hand out free instruments to disadvantaged youth? Would you invest in teacher training? How would you spend your million dollars on music education? What if I upped the ante to ten million? Would it change your answer?

For ten years I have been writing to you, now it is your turn to write to me. Click here and tell me how you would spend your ten million dollars. I might publish some of the answers in next week's e-zine.