The guide, one in a series of committee reports relating to school band performance, organization, and equipment needs, examines the relationship between microphones and tape recordings. The guide is presented in nine sections. Section I identifies types of microphones (carbon, crystal and ceramic, dynamic, condenser, and ribbon). Section II discusses microphone directional characteristics and designates the cardioid-type microphone as most effective for most musical performances. Section III examines microphone impedence characteristics, followed by discussion of frequency response characteristics in section IV. Section V presents guidelines for achieving the best tape recordings. These include providing a natural front to back perspective, duplicating the tonal balance of the group, and recording from a height above the group. Section VI elaborates general rules about microphone placement. Section VII discusses speed of tape recordings and suggests that music should be recorded at the fastest possible speed. Section VIII describes tape recorder maintenance. The final section assesses types of recording tape and concludes that very little difference exists among name brands of tape, as long as the bias voltage is set for the tape used. (Author/DB)