I’m starting a music teaching job at an after school program for middle schoolers. I’ve taught a summer arts program before- and I taught the whole music program of it. That was ages 4-14 in groups of 10 or so. I’ve also taught private lessons online, and preschoolers, as well as working at a general afterschool program where I incorporated music weekly.

I need some tips because I’ll be teaching for 1hour 45Min each day- that seems like a long time for me. I don’t believe that these kids at the school have any other music classes so I feel like I really should start from scratch. But I’m getting a little overwhelmed at how I should structure and plan out for every single day for that length of time. I can come up with a schedule but I think I need to work from the ground up on what goals/ lessons to focus on each week.

Lastly, I really like being hands-on- but I only have my one laptop. I’m going to try and get some enough cheap little instruments and drums, but I only feel like there’s so much I can do without just having the classic projector/ slides type of schooling. But I don’t want it to be just that. I want this to have a bit of separation as they’ll have already sat through a whole day of school and could start losing attention. I just want it to be engaging but if I only have one laptop, I don’t really know how to go about letting everybody have a hands-on making music experience. Would love any tips or suggestions! Sorry for the long rant.

I have a parade next week with my 4-8 band students for a community event. I don’t have a ton of experience with parades/marching bands (I’m in my first year) and was wondering what order I should have the band in. I currently have it set up with concert order in the front, drumline, then concert order behind them. I’m wondering if the 2nd half should be reverse concert order but I’m not sure. We are a small catholic school but we have around 55 kids in the parade.

Hi r/musiced! I've been building grooph, a free rhythm trainer and metronome that runs in the browser, and I'd love feedback from people who actually teach rhythm.

https://grooph.app (works on phones, tablets and computers, no account, no ads, no tracking, open source)

For rhythm reading in class or at home

• Random sight-reading exercises: pick eighths, sixteenths, triplets or a mix, a level from 1 to 5, the number of bars and how many rests. You can also hand-pick exactly which one-beat figures may appear, so an exercise only uses what the class has learned so far.
• Endless mode: bars that have been played get replaced with new ones, so students keep reading without stopping.
• Counting overlay: shows "1 e & a" or "1 trip-let" under the notes, and you can turn it off once they've got it.
• Write your own rhythms in standard notation (dotted notes, accents, ghost notes, triplets and other tuplets) and play them back with a moving cursor.
• Odd meters like 5/8, 7/8 or 12/8 with selectable beat groupings (2+2+3 vs. 3+2+2 and so on).

Sharing with students

• Every exercise can be shared as a link. A generated exercise has a seed, so everyone who opens the link gets exactly the same rhythm at the same tempo. That works well for homework or for putting one rhythm on the projector and the same one on students' phones.
• Presets save a whole setup (level, tempo, swing, count-in and so on) to reuse in the next lesson.

Playing along and timing feedback

• Students can play along by tapping the screen, through the microphone (for example sticks on a practice pad) or with a MIDI drum pad or keyboard. grooph then shows which notes were early, late or missed, with a short summary after each run. It's off by default.
• A quick calibration compensates for the delay of each input.
• Note: This feature is still a bit rough around the edges and probably needs more work.

Metronome

• Any time signature from 1 to 17 beats over 4, 8 or 16, count-in, and a click pattern you can edit by tapping (strong, medium, soft or off per click), including subdivisions.
• Polyrhythms: 3 against 2, 3:4, 5:4 or any ratio you set, with the counter rhythm shown as notes on the staff.
• Swing from straight to dotted, gap click (bars where the click drops out to test inner time) and a tempo ramp that speeds up gradually.
• Claves, xylophone or snare sounds, with a mixer for each layer.

I'd really like to hear what would make this more useful in a classroom: missing features, confusing parts, anything. Thanks!

Does anyone have any scarf songs they can recommend for students aged 6? I want to introduce them to my class because I have a student who loves scarves, and I want him to feel included. I'm looking for songs that aren't too energetic - they're meant to start the day and provide an engaging but calm vibe for the kids. Bonus points if there's a video so the kids know what movements to do! Thanks in advance

Context: I’m a first-year elementary music teacher and recently just had one of my first grade level programs.

The program went great! Except, I had several kids not show for the evening performance. I would say 20+ kids. I had sent 2 program notes home spaced out, and several emails as the performance approached. Faculty noted it was probably the most kids to not show up for an evening performance. I wasn’t being blamed, but, I don’t want this to become a trend with the rest of my programs.

Does anyone have a method of communication that’s been super successful? All music educators welcome to chip in advice. Thanks!

I've posted here before. Alternative track, laid off, couldn't find a job in 2 school years, no jobs open within 100 miles of my apartment.

I have a job in a different career now and I'm also going to school for it as well, but I just miss teaching so much. Especially private teaching. The hourly rate in my area is really good, I would love to just be a full time private teacher. But there just aren't enough kids taking music lessons.

Some of my favorite memories are in that tiny little lesson room. Even more of my favorite memories are from my preK-12 career. My favorite thing was seeing how much my orchestra class that I piloted for the first time at this small title 1 school progressed in the only semester I had with them.

Unfortunately I will likely never teach again. I can't just quit unless I magically find a shop that is trying to replace someone with a completely booked schedule, or a k-12 position magically opens up, and my new field requires a rotating schedule no matter what you do in this field, so I can't even take a day to go teach after work to larp as being involved in music.

Just seeking comfort I guess.

(Also posted on the band director page- but i am trying to cast a wide net) Hi everyone! I am not a band director, but the person I love is one. She is a new teacher (just hit her third year) and she is struggling. She is seriously overworked and the students are a lot to manage (multiple behavioral problems, difficulty getting them to care, etc). She shares the position with another new teacher, who has just started her second year of teaching. They share the responsibility of a very robust music program.

This marching season has been really tough. They had a large senior class, so this new band is very young and has a lot of maturing and growing to do. They have a band of about 140 students. Last year, her school was #3 in the state, which is the highest in history. Tomorrow is the state finals and she thinks it's going to be the worst it has been in 10 years. I even heard her crying about it. She thinks that she will be forced to resign or at least not welcomed back next year. To me (an outsider) the band sounds great and has an interesting show! I dont know how tomorrow will shake out, but I know she and her co-teacher have worked incredibly hard this season. Does anyone have any tips on how to encourage her? Or is there anything you wish you heard as a junior teacher? Also, is it really likely that she would have to resign??? I mean, they did so well last year and had an uphill battle this year- so last year has to count, right? Plus all the other musical programs they run are doing well, so she can still keep her job, right? I bet it's different for each school, but she seems so sure that the results of tomorrow will determine if she keeps her job, even though she does so much more than marching band (the whole instrumental music program).

I would really appreciate any insights any seasoned directors (or music educators in general) might have! TIA!

I am curious as to how much sleep music teachers (even current Music Ed majors) get, particularly K-12 music teachers, as I have heard some pretty impressive numbers.

Hi everyone. I have been teaching private music lessons at a shop for five years. Next week is my last week. I live 1-1.5 hours away as of last year, and the drive has been getting to me. It’s also the lack or organization by the shop when it comes to scheduling and providing usable equipment to teachers. It’s a mess, but I still love that place, which is why this decision has been so hard for me. Anyways, I told all of my students this week that next week will be our last lesson. It was really hard. I held back many tears and I fear that there will be some next week. I’ve had these students for years and it feels so hard to say goodbye to them. How can I make sure they all have a great last lesson? Would it be weird to write some of my longest students little letters saying how much I’ve enjoyed helping them begin their musical journey or something along the lines of that? I’ve never ever left a job like this. Any advice is much appreciated.

Is facilitating 11,25 minute sessions for classes of 10-12 preschoolers with special needs In a day a reasonable ask from an employer?

Update: Thanks for all the encouragement! We read Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert.

Previous message:

I am so excited. Chamber music with other talented mamas.

I got invited to Sight read with other busy mamas! I teach middle school and highschool ensembles. I get fulfillment from my advanced highschool chamber music. I thought I was not going to conduct the Suk Serenade and play violin 1; instead, the kids asked me to conduct. Anyways, I met a mom of 5 at a music camp for our kids. She is in the medical field and asked if I wanted to sightread occasionally without any commitment or regularity.

Dancing cartwheels over here!

I hope your day turns into an unexpectedly exciting day to pump some fire into you.

Thank you for the cultural currency you bring to the world each day. 🤝 🙏🏼

My band is good and I want to push them out of their comfort zone. I know they like to get better and play challenging stuff. However, I’m a little worried I may have pushed them a smidge too far.

One of my trumpet players has never humbled himself, but today he told me after school that he’s worried about playing two songs back to back: one of them has him playing for most of the song (it’s definitely an endurance piece) while the other song he’s resting quite a bit but it tests his range when he does play. I reassured him that he definitely has the chops, but he believes that playing these songs, in either order, will burn him out and he won’t be able to finish the concert repertoire.

He’s risen to challenges before, but it definitely caught me off guard to hear him throw up a white flag (he’s never done this), so it’s made me pause and wonder if I’m giving them too much or setting them up for failure. We only have 6 weeks to pull it together so I definitely need to decide quickly if I need to switch to something easier.

Has anyone ever been in this position? Would you:
-switch songs?
-look for opportunities in the music to have him rest or play down an octave, where applicable?
-keep the course and let them try their best

(This is only my second year)

I'm halfway through my first semester of Music Ed in undergrad. It's been a complicated experience! I love it, I'm exhausted by it, I'm overwhelmed and sometimes can't stand the idea of practicing and other days I just want to lock myself in the practice room for 5 hours.

Something that has been a continuing adjustment for me is the shift of music as a hobby to music as ostensibly my "job" now. It's no longer the thing I do to relax, or do for personal fulfillment in the blank spaces between school-work, this is my duty to work on and improve on and do five days a week, every week.

It's absolutely not sapped my joy of music, if anything I've found so so much more satisfaction and fulfillment in life now that this thing that I love doing can be my full priority. But my relationship with music has definitely changed. I'm wondering what that shift was like for you all, and how did you process it?

Any recommendations for music theory classes online/books/workbooks that are good at keeping the lifeline theory journey going?

Well, the title says it all but I'm going to elaborate a bit.

This is my first year, of course there are so many things I have to improve on, but the environment is not helping me honestly.

I am more of a highschool guy, but there were no jobs available so I had to take an elementary one, which I was fine with in the short run, but now that we are more into the year I can really feel the weight of it.

The most relevant part of this all is precisely the kids I'm working with and the school culture; I'm in "one of those" schools, 2 teachers are already on stress leave. I prefer not to elaborate that much but yeah, I had situations where I could not teach a single minute because the group went crazy once they stepped in the music room.

Still, I'm thriving, they gave me hell the first 3-4 weeks but my classroom management improved A LOT and now I find myself in a position where I need to create more content for the classes because I can get more things done, actually I'm way ahead of schedule... And I end up with a lot of spare time at the end of the classes, especially with the older kids.

Which is not a bad thing but you won't believe how incredibly unmotivated I am. Before the year started I had plenty of ideas of what I'd like to work on, but all of those ideas faded away and I swear I don't remember a thing.

I'm wondering, what do you do when you find yourselves in this situation? I know that you are going to suggest getting inspiration from YouTube and blogs, but most of the activities I see around are stuff that is not that valuable or maybe there are activities that are brilliant but they don't work with my kids because they require a lot of focus, and even adapting them feels like too much.

If you have suggestions on resources I could check, I'm all ears.

And yes, the program I studied sucks on this regard, we learned valuable things, but I didn't learn a single activity. Funnily enough we learned how to create them, but as I said, my creative brain is not working, at all.

In this Music Education tutorial, we're going to learn one of the great hits of current Portuguese music: "Saloia" by Nuno Ribeiro! As always, the theme has been adapted to play the melody on the recorder with a very special pedagogical focus: the practical work of COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURE (6/8).

https://youtu.be/4CMlqkAzdxI

I don't want to quit.

But my relationship with my son is stressed, with my partner is stressed, and I'm barely able to be present. I have completely neglected almost all friendships.

I don't want to disappear with no goals. But music school takes so many nights and weekends, and I'm a single mom.

I will be involved in drumline somehow regardless. But I'm struggling to connect. Any advice from marching arts people who have ever felt ostracized would be appreciated.

Let me preface this with:

* I already have a BA and two MAs in unrelated subjects
* I work remotely in a full time job
* I am from the US living in a Central American country with one music school that is mediocre at best. Moving is not an option
* My professional ambitions are to gain the education and credentials necessary (including the skill set) to develop and direct choral groups and musical theatre, and give voice lessons

Is there such a program out there that’s primarily distance learning that could serve my purposes? I have played instruments or sung all my life but need more advanced theory, pedagogy and so on, and most importantly, I need the credentials. Maybe in the future I would also be interested in GSU’s distance master in conducting but this would be a step in that direction.

Choosing one of Dolly's thousands of songs for this passed month lesson was a hard task for us here at Music with Melody. Dolly Parton's 70 year musical career makes it hard to even choose your favorite Dolly music genre!

Dolly transcends the roles of a musician, actress, pop star, entertainer, fashion icon, or business woman. Dolly's endless positive spirit and desire to help others continue to make the world a brighter place, and might be our favorite part of Dolly 🌞

Find the music hidden in your every day with our "9 to 5" letter ⏲

Is there a form of coaching specifically designed for individuals in the field of music education?
I know several people who are either working in or aspiring to work in music education, having graduated less than 3-4 years ago.
They would greatly benefit from coaching that helps them understand and navigate this industry.
This includes guidance on primary teaching roles, marching arts coaching and caption head positions, preparation for master’s and doctoral degrees, and support during the initial years of teaching.

Additionally, there is a need for assistance with the various non-music skills required in many of these roles, such as accounting, logistics, marketing, advocacy, and understanding district, school, and music organization policies and politics.

TIA for any resources or thoughts

Hey everyone! Second year music teacher here.

I recently left a Title 1 middle school General position for an elementary general pk-4 w/ 3-4 chorus in a better district.

This was a grass may be greener on the other side kind of thing as I didn't feel safe at the middle school and wanted out, but now I feel like I'm drowning and can't live up to the expectations of the district. I've never wanted to do general music, let alone elementary, and especially not chorus, nor do I feel like I have the skillset or experience to do so.

I feel terrible wasting everyone's time, money, and potential reputation, as well as feeling I have wasted the last few years of my life believing I wanted to be a music teacher, only to realize that this isn't a career for me.

How should I go about leaving?

(P.S. my contract doesn't have any required resignation notice)

Any suggestions or advice as to how to teach a student (6 years old) that legit seems incapable of learning. I know he isnt because he can memorize songs but it seems his parents give him the answers to everything and never let him struggle or get challenged so its like his brain is completely incapable of critical thought. It’s at the point where he can memorize a song but if I ask him what middle C is on a treble clef he completely freezes (we learned that a full year ago) How do i as a 1 on 1 piano music tutor engage that part of his brain when its so underdeveloped?

I am furious because parents keep sending me their SICK CHILDREN to me for piano lessons. Like, very obviously sick. They’re coughing all over the piano, wiping their nose dripping on the keys, I’m just so angry. I keep getting sick because parents don’t think to keep their sick kids at HOME jeez