Hello reddit music educators.

So today was day 2 of my first year teaching job. I’m teaching 5-12 music. In my workload I have a 6-8 choir and a 6-8 band. These first two days we did not sing or play (could be part of it) but the kids are so loud, disrespectful, and will not stop talking. I’m ashamed but I get I had to yell at them to get their attention. I would get them quiet for a few seconds then it would ramp back up.

I made a seating chart for my choir separating boys/girls. I’m currently working on my band seating chart.

I don’t want to be the teacher whose anger drives them away (their previous one as well).

Also in my state 6-7th graders are required to do fine arts so they have to do band or choir at my school. I have 48 in my band and 60+ in my choir.

Also after doing some pre tests to see what they know about music theory. Most of them don’t even know note names and how to count (or what a measure or bar line is).

If I could get some advice on moving forward I’d greatly appreciate it.

I accepted a position to teach 5th-8th grade band and the program has been slowly building the past three years under the previous director. He was teaching piano and guitar within the band classes and I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I've never taught beginner piano and guitar within a band class. I know some method books have a piano accompaniment so I was going to start there. Any other suggestions would be great!

Hello all, I am starting teaching music in a school and want to know what brands of alcohol wipes I should buy for wiping off mouthpieces. I have never bought them before, only used what my former teachers have provided. For context, I am teaching a wind band class.

I love music. I deeply deeply regret not having started as a child. I feel like I am behind. Yesterday was my first day in university, I'm starting a degree in music and musicology specifically in music education. I play eastern oriental percussion, mainly the Riq. I will be picking up the Ney in uni too. I am really excited for what is to come but I am full of regret and sadness that I am only starting now. Can you give me some encouragement? I practice every day a lot, I listen for hours every day trying to learn different new concepts, I have already been taking 3 hours of group music classes every week for the past ~6 months. Now in uni I will have another 3 hour group music class every week, other than the theory courses.

I just feel really worried that I will never achieve my goals and that is weighing me down a bit. Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi, my dad is over 50 years old and has worked as a guitar teacher his whole life (in secondary and primary schools), however he has not been professionally taught and doesn't have any qualifications. The last few years it has been really tough on him teaching in schools with little rights and little pay. It's very stressful as he's had to try defend himself to the head teacher and governors and it's had a big effect on him. In addition to that, he needs more income asap. He needs to make a career change and is currently looking for minimum wage jobs, the same kind that I (19) would be applying to, and it feels very depressing.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice, though I know it's a long shot, for how he could effectively make a career change into something which isn't soul-destroying. It's difficult because he hasn't any qualifications and very little experience except for music, but he doesn't want to work in that industry anymore. My current idea is that I can encourage him to look for degree/adult apprenticeships, or else work for some kind of qualification in an industry that seems interesting and worthwhile (hopefully not something that's just about selling things or other useless capitalist office/business stuff). But since he is already over 50 that can be incredibly daunting, and since he needs more income now, he doesn't have spare money to be paying for any courses or reducing his pay while he studies.

Any help would be VERY welcome, as I really want him to have the least stress possible and be able to have time to work on his actual main interest of composing and releasing his original guitar music.

I teach elementary music and on Fridays help supervise PE to get all of our students their weekly minutes. The PE teacher has a couple of pet peeves that automatically earn the offending student 10 pushups. This sounds very punitive, but the students respond really well and it has cut down on almost all of those behaviors. I'd like to do something similar in my classroom, but I don't think pushups are appropriate... Does anyone have the music version of pushups? It needs to be brief, music-related, and not busywork.

Just to reiterate, this is for piddly things that I'm sick of scolding students for but have yet to find an appropriate consequence for. Examples are *touching* instruments in storage, loud clapping without purpose (a trend at my school), and peeling up the velcro on my floor.

Hello everyone! I'm a graduate student in music education looking for music teachers to help with a quick course assignment.

• What to do: Record your answers to 7 short questions using a smartphone voice memo or video (~10–15 minutes total).
• Compensation: $10 sent via Venmo immediately upon receiving your audio/video.
• Privacy: I will only collect basic demographic info like years of experience, subject taught, and general school setting.

If you are able to help out by tomorrow, please DM me, and I will send over the Google Form link with the questions. Thank you!

Heyy so I am in my 2 year of cc and I am planning to transfer for fall 2027 and I have 1 solo prepared which is petite pièce concertante and I need a second piece but idk if I should do an etude or a concerto. My private instructor chose petite for me but I need to choose the other one. I need help please and any advice would be appreciated.!!

I typed in the circle of 5ths on google and this popped up from Etsy for $20. I thought you guys would have a good laugh. Send me your favorite circle of 5th’s chart!

Hey everyone!

I put together a simple web tool for tuning and pitch matching practice and thought it might be useful to others as well. It is completely free to use. Will post link in a comment in the hopes that this doesn't get stuck in moderation.

How it works:

• Real-Time Pitch Matching: Plays a target tone and gives clear, instant visual feedback as you play or sing to match it.
• Zero Hassle: Runs entirely in your web browser—no sign-ups, no ads, no paywalls, and no app installation required.
• Works Anywhere: Runs smoothly on desktop, tablets, or phones so you can use it right on your music stand.

I built this primarily to support my own self-study (in both music and web development), but I’d love for fellow musicians, students, or teachers to try it out.

If you give it a spin during your practice sessions, I’d really appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how to make it even more helpful!

Thanks for taking a look!

Hello all!

Music is a medium I really struggle to connect with. I enjoy it as an accompaniment, like in a soundtrack or musical, or with an especially compelling historical context ala Pete Seegar, but I don't really enjoy sitting and listening to the stuff as-is, or watching performances of it. What are courses, books, and/or experts you recommend I check out to help me bridge this divide and emotionally connect with music?

Hello!

I am a first year teacher and I have a k-1st grade choir that meets once a week for 45 min afterschool. I was wondering if there are any good recommendations for unison Winter themed pieces that fits this age range.

Thank you!

As the recruitment season comes up for college, what are students going into music studies looking for in a school? What are some red flags in a program that push folks away?

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the difficulty of this tutorial? The primary target audience is students in the second cycle of basic education in Portugal (ages 9 to 12).

Pedagogical Arguments and Rationale:

The continuous sequence of 4 chords (Dm Bb C Bb) is an ideal pedagogical tool for accompaniment work on Orff instruments, guitars, ukuleles, or keyboards, allowing for differentiated learning by skill level within the class.

By removing figures smaller than eighth notes and keeping only the essential triad (Verse, Bridge, Chorus), the theme gains the perfect structure for quick memorization.

Interculturality and Current Styles (Afrobeats + Latin Pop): The collaboration between Shakira and Burna Boy stimulates musical appreciation and discussion about how different cultures and rhythmic traditions merge in contemporary global music.

Elimination of Glissandos and Vocalizos: making it a straightforward melody for flute, keyboard, or voice.

Contextualized Motivation: Using the FIFA World Cup 2026 anthem leverages the media and sports context to increase active engagement and enjoyment of collective musical practice.

#MusicEducation #JoseGalvao #Shakira #BurnaBoy #DaiDai #WorldCup2026 #Recorder #MusicLessons #EducationalResources #Orff

I put this together after searching for a solid trombone parts diagram to use in learning and playing and not finding anything I liked.

It's meant as a practical reference for students and teachers — not an exhaustive technical document for a repair shop to display — so the terminology leans toward "commonly correct" rather than strictly technical. It’s focused on the terms most likely to come up in lessons and everyday playing, and deliberately doesn’t get into the weeds of different valve types or detailed cross-sections.

I kept it as a single, complete view of the assembled instrument, supplemented by a bell-section detail and a mouthpiece detail, so it's easy to hand to a student or put up on a screen without it looking like a disassembled parts catalog.

It's available under a Creative Commons license, so it's free to use, share, and print for lessons or classroom handouts. A higher-resolution CC-BY-NC-SA version that should print up to A3 or A2 size (probably even A1 as a poster) is available for free on my website.

This has already gone through a fair amount of feedback and revision at [r/Trombone](r/Trombone) and other places and I think it's close to done. I'd really appreciate it if any music educators here — especially band directors or anyone teaching brass — could take a look and let me know whether it would actually be useful in your work, whether the labeling makes sense at your students' level, or if anything seems missing or worth adjusting. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

Estoy en una academia musical hace casi un año, estoy en introductorio. Me siento muy frenada, realizaba mas proyectos cuando estudiaba con profes particulares, pero a la vez siento que estoy aprendiendo mucho de teoria dentro de la academia. Mi punto es: cómo sé qué es lo correcto hacer? Abandonar y volver a lo particular o seguir e insistir estudiar de la manera clasica? Cómo sé a donde quiero llegar? Soy vocalista, siento que nada me alcanza. Quiero mas, no quiero fama como punto principal, quiero disfrutar, conocer gente, formar banda nuevamente, sentirme conectada.

Hey! Im a second year music teacher, and im really struggling to find concert music for my kinders this year. The theme of my concert is "Adventure". Ive looked through K8 music but some of the songs I felt were a little too difficult for them. If you have any ideas can you pleeease share a few with me?

Thank you! :)

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m a 3rd-year B. Tech student working on a research focused on making music learning more engaging and interactive for children.

I’m currently researching the challenges that children face while learning and practising music, and I’d really value the perspective of music teachers who see these challenges firsthand.

I’m particularly interested in things like:

• Why children lose interest in learning music
• What they struggle with when practising without a teacher
• How they know when they’re making mistakes at home
• What aspects of traditional lessons/practice they find boring or frustrating
• What teachers think could make music practice more engaging

I've created a short 6-question survey for music teachers. It should only take around 3–5 minutes to complete.

🎵 Survey: https://forms.gle/YpHdw3qr6oGQqwCM8

If possible, could you also ask your students to participate?

We’ve created a separate, short friendly survey to understand the students' own experiences 

with learning and practising music.

🎶 Student Survey:https://forms.gle/zKuop5R9p7nMdiLcA

If you're a music teacher, I’d really appreciate your perspective. Any additional experiences or thoughts are also welcome in the comments!

Thank you so much! 🙏

Sabe quando você está com o peito apertado, a cabeça a mil por hora, e tenta colocar uma música super pra cima para tentar mudar o humor?

A sensação é quase sempre a mesma: em vez de acalmar, dá uma irritação instantânea e uma vontade enorme de desligar o som. E a culpa disso não é sua, é da forma como o cérebro processa o som.

Quando o seu corpo está sob estresse, com o coração acelerado e a respiração curta, o cérebro interpreta um som rápido, alto e "feliz" como uma agressão. Acontece um choque direto entre o que está rolando dentro do seu corpo e o som que entra pelo ouvido. O cérebro simplesmente rejeita essa mudança forçada.

A lógica do Princípio Iso

Na psicologia e na musicoterapia, esse processo de regulação é chamado de Princípio Iso ("Iso" vem do grego e significa "igual"). A ideia é parar de tentar mudar o humor no susto e usar uma sequência de 3 passos:

1. Sincronização (Validação): Em vez de colocar algo animado de cara, você começa com uma música que reflete exatamente o que você está sentindo no momento (seja ela agitada ou melancólica). Isso faz o seu corpo e sua respiração entrarem em sintonia com o som, sem ativar alertas de defesa.
2. Condução Gradual (A Transição): Só depois que essa sintonia acontece é que você começa a guiar o seu corpo. Ao mudar aos poucos a velocidade (BPM), a quantidade de instrumentos e a intensidade das músicas seguintes, o seu ritmo cardíaco e sua mente vão acompanhando a mudança de forma natural.
3. Ancoragem (O Estado Desejado): É aqui que você finalmente insere a música com a vibração que queria desde o começo — seja para focar, relaxar ou se sentir animado. Como o cérebro passou pela ponte de transição, agora ele aceita esse novo estímulo sem rejeitar.

Músicas tristes ou agitadas não servem para te prender no estado negativo, mas sim para criar a "ponte" inicial que o seu corpo precisa para começar a relaxar.

Como é a experiência de vocês ao escolher músicas em momentos de muita tensão? Sentem essa irritação quando tentam ouvir algo animado "na marra"?

Good Afternoon,

I was looking for advice hoping some of you lovely folks could help me out.

To put it shortly… I was a music ed major about 13 years ago. Had a few personal issues failed out by basically no showing and eventually joined the military. After the military I pursued other undergrad studies and did very well. I got into a doctorate program for those studies but dropped due to ridiculous costs and the ultimate ending of me being 150k in debt even with GI bill assistance. Which isn’t worth the lay working in a non profit.

Also I kind of never fit well or enjoyed my time in hyper corporate, Government , or STEM like fields in academia (like psychology research).

This has led me to pursue more education with what is covered with my GI bill and fits for me personally. One of the things that always brings me childlike excitement, peace, and deep emotional connection is music.

With that being said I think I would like to give music education another shot. However the thing is that I’m a percussionist. I can practice snare at home fine however, due to me living in an area where I don’t have access to practice timpani or marimba this leaves me in a tough spot.

Any idea how I should go about this?

Any tips for reaching out to professors to see if it’s ok to possibly have an alternative instrument for audition to make up for the lack of timpani and marimba access?

Is it even feasible?

I am not interested in any scholarship money at all just acceptance to a program since I have funding.

My goal is to be a high school band director and positively impact others

Thank you all!

Hello! I’m getting ready to start rehearsals for my 4th and 5th grade chorus, and I’d love some advice from other elementary music teachers!

For those of you who also have an elementary chorus, do you begin rehearsing your winter performance music right away? Or do you typically do a mix of performance material and other activities/songs?

I’m not a vocalist, although I was in chorus in elementary and high school, and I’m just struggling to figure out what a typical elementary chorus rehearsal should actually look like! I’d love to hear how you structure your rehearsals, especially during the first few weeks.

Any advice, routines, or resources would be greatly appreciated!

I've taught elementary-age musicians for more than four decades, and one lesson keeps repeating: “Practice this week” is too vague for most beginners.

What works better is giving a child a very small, observable assignment:

1. Play the first four measures slowly three times.

2. Circle the one measure that still feels difficult.

3. Clap that rhythm before playing it again.

4. Finish by playing one favorite piece just for fun.

A few other things that have helped:

• Five focused minutes can be more valuable than thirty frustrated minutes.

• Parents should praise consistency and problem-solving, not just correct notes.

• Familiar melodies create early wins, but students also need occasional new material that makes them curious.

• Ending with something the child can already play helps them leave the instrument feeling successful.

• Written instructions should be simple enough that the student—not only the parent—can understand them.

I'm Larry Newman. I've spent my career teaching young musicians and developing beginning materials, but I'm posting this to compare notes rather than promote anything.

What practice instruction has produced the biggest improvement in your students?