--
"Right now, it looks to be an evaluation tool with some "cool" factor
built in, used by the teacher."
--

That's a very good description of what we're going for, I think :)

--
"However, I remain confused whether or not I have to "test" on a given
tune from a data base supplied by Plank Road, or whether I have the
option to import my own tunes for the kids to play, or even if I have
the option to use the scoring and printing options with no music
involvement at all from Plank Road."
--

IMO, Recorder Rock Star is a scoring/motivational tool, used to assist
the teacher (or another scorekeeper) in both keeping track of a
student's progress during a performance, and printing said score to a
pre-made certificate.

Recorder Rock Star doesn't play music itself, nor does it require any
sort of premade input, or programming. The only thing that is truly
required is someone to press the keys to score while a student plays.
You can use it to score a performance while another program (like
iTunes) plays the song. You can really use it to score whatever kind of
performance that you like, although we obviously have it geared more
towards recorders.

Although your expectations might be along the lines of Guitar Hero, with
specialized instrument controllers, programmed instrumental parts from
master tracks, and dozens of music licenses, the truth is that RRS is
not that complex. We don't require you to use Plank Road Music to use
the scoring and printing, and you don't have to worry about importing
music, because you'll use your own program, like iTunes, to play the music.

Hopefully that clears up some of the confusion. If you have any other
questions, let me know and I'll pass them along to others in the company
more directly involved in the project.

--
Kory Johnson
Mailing List Administrator
Plank Road Publishing
MusicK8.com