r/MusicEd

Looking for a pool of ideas on how to support students and families. Apologies ahead of time, it’s a read. Here’s the context:

I’m: 31, 10 years into teaching at this middle school. It has grown to 400+ students, 7 bands and 3 orchestras. I also am a conductor with the area youth symphony, and have another 80 in that ensemble. It was a competitive process and I’m beyond grateful to be here now. Students often participate in both the youth orchestra and middle school ensembles if they’re able.

My partner and I recently moved into a neighborhood that feeds into my school; our end goal is to have a family in this community. This may be our forever home. We run into students and families on the daily, I cannot remember the last time I went in public and didn’t see a student or parent, and, we’re in a town of about 450k people. I feel VERY lucky that I am well-liked and that I also love the community.

When students leave my program they enter a two-level band and one level orchestra program (compared to our 4 levels of band and 3 of orchestra). On average, about 80% of students quit. This past year, I have just shy of 100 8th graders leave me, and at the last concert of the year at the high school, there were 16 seniors.

Families have been reaching out to me for years about this, but I struggle to respond. From what I hear from students: it’s just not fun. A lack of organization, slow rehearsals, and un-challenging music has folded in the program. Truly, my ensembles will do to large ensemble-fest competitions and play the same pieces as the high schoolers.

I’ve tried to connect, but I’m typically shut down. Not once have we collaborated without my high school colleague giving unsolicited advice. So: what do I do?

There is an established culture from our neighborhood to quit band after middle school. I’ve been fighting this for years, but, I feel stuck. Any help would be great! Thank you!

This is my fifth year in general. My kinders are so low. I was asking them to flat our repeat one line of Queen Queen Caroline and I was getting blank stares. They also have no concept of singing. I’ve never seen kindergarteners this low. Anyone else running into this problem? How are we getting around it?

Help. Literally. I can’t get them to stop for 1 minute so I can adress a problem elsewhere. I’ve tried setting expectations (granted this is only week two) but they have this preconceived notion that they’re the best and can do whatever. Idk what to do 😭

Edit: for context, this is middle school 8th graders

Edit 2: after receiving some comments, I’ve realized that the majority is assuming they are fidgeting and tapping (still annoying and I still try to nip it) but these kids are full on slamming the drums like we’re in a field show and disregarding everyone in the vicinity. The string teacher down the hall and her students even said that they can hear it.

Behaviorally, I can only describe them as arrogant and self centered without a care for others or consequences. I give one discipline, they argue, and start another. And I am not trying to have a full on power battle for an entire class period but I can’t stop them without doing so????

So I did my undergrad in trombone and I’ve started graduate school as a conducting major and the DOB and the trombone professor are both upset that I had decided I was not going to audition for any of the concert ensembles. I do not understand this since I am a conducting major now, what am I missing?

I desperately want to study jazz (guitar) at either royal Welsh, Laban, guildhall, ram, or Birmingham, (or anywhere else tbh) but am not sure how high the standard is to pass the audition. My comping and voicings are fairly solid, and I play in many bands alongside playing bass and piano, as well as drums for local am dram musical theatre productions; I feel quite experienced but my soloing on bebop or any sort of quick changes feels pretty mediocre as I struggle to outline the changes without it getting in the way of playing good melody's and lines. I think I often compare my solos/level of playing to people who are either currently studying at conservatoire or have studied, but I don't really have a reference point to just how good you have to be to pass the audition. How much do conservatoires actually value a) soloing capabilities b) being able to play quick, improvised lines that perfectly outline the changes and c) good comping/general musicality? Earlier this year I got into the top combo of the national youth jazz collective short course but DIDNT do well enough to get into the long course (if that helps give any indicator of skill) Thanks for any tips ahead of auditions 🙂

We have K-2 at the end of the day so I get they are tired. Try to get up and have some movement as much as possible. But it’s still so much.

Or I ask one student to sit up and three more lay down. Even for 3rd grade in chairs they are laying on it or crouching on top of the seat.

Consequences don’t do anything.

So I will be starting college at the end of this month. I am planning on going into dental and i’m taking a Biology major. At first I wanted to do choir and orchestra but i’m starting to think I should just do choir. I’ve been an orchestra student for over 6 years so I do have a lot more experience in orchestra than choir but I’m feeling more passionate about learning singing.

Will taking both choir and orchestra be an inconvenience since i’m only planning on minoring in music? If I did take both is it better earlier or later in college?

Hello I’m a first year teacher! I will be teaching 5-12 band and choir (with a 6th grade general music class). I start professional development over the next couple weeks. Any advice starting out the year? We don’t have a concert till the end of the semester and I don’t want to start looking at that rep right away. I’ll have a HS band, MS band, HS choir, and a MS choir!

I’m a third-year general music teacher starting in a new district, and this is my first time leading an extracurricular choir. My endorsement is K-12 general/band/choir, and my undergrad track area was choir, but the curriculum was weighted heavily toward secondary and us lowly elementary specialists didn’t get a ton of guidance.

I’m not even entirely sure what the expectations are yet (auditioned or not, how many parts, etc) but it’s probably safe to pick a reasonably simple two-part arrangement to kick things off in a couple weeks.

If you’ve got any favorite SA pieces, or know of good places to find them, I would appreciate it greatly. Bonus points if the accompaniment is similarly simple because ya girl can only sort of play piano.

Due to budget changes from federal funding, I was given a second school. Now I have two elementary schools that I am completely responsible for programs and teaching all the kids. This was going to be doable, because part of my week previously at my first school was doing reading and math interventions.

However, starting at this second school, the culture is so different and students will not stop talking. Everytime they manage to get quiet, they start up again right after I continue with my lesson, so I have to stop. The only classes that I could get completely through my planned lesson was Kinder and 1st grade. I taught the same lessons at the other school on Thursday and Friday, and we got through the whole thing.

I know part of it is that the students aren't familiar with me, but I wasn't treated like this at my first school when I started there 5 years ago. If anyone has management tips, especially for grades 2-5, I would really appreciate it. Most students arent being disrespectful just to be disrespectful, but they seem to be incapable of not making a comment or reacting to every single thing that they see or hear. It will be a lot of work for me to have to plan completely different lessons for this school, so I'm hoping that I can get them able to listen so we can get through the same lessons.

Phone calls home will happen next week if no improvement. I genuinely wonder if their classroom teachers just teach over their talking? I let the teachers of the classes that struggled know, but they didn't seem very concerned about it. The art teacher is also doubling schools and she told me that she was experiencing the same thing. I'm on my fifth full year, and the art teacher has about 15-20 years of experience. I know I can improve in classroom management, maybe I was a bit spoiled at my first school.

Thank you in advance!!

What’s a generalized list on college rankings for Music specifically piano? Where does UH Moores School of Music Rank?

I feel like 3rd-5th is too old for a hello song, can anyone provide any other ritual openers I can include for middle/upper elementary students?

Hi! Just started my first week in elementary general music after teaching in the HS and MS trenches and I am LOVING it so far!

I am still figuring out my routines and pacing, but I’ve only seen each class 1-2 times so far. I mention this bc I know routines are VERY important and I don’t want to cause unnecessary confusion, but I feel I am in an ok enough spot to throw things out that aren’t working if I catch it soon enough.

I was using Victoria Boler’s pacing guide: Opener - High Concentration - Movement/Change of Pace - Second Concentration - Closer, but I received feedback for even more movement activities, so I am doing movement activities about 3-5 times each 45 min class.

I am wondering about Hello and Goodbye songs. I use the Hello Songs as circle songs too, to get the movement out as soon as they walk through the door. The kids do not seem to be into it, TBH. I also feel this time could be better used for reading the agenda and doing a listening/writing activity, especially the upper grades.

Open to suggestions!

Upper grades Hello/Goodbye songs: Jambo & Bam, Scram, Alakazam

Lower grades Hello/Goodbye songs: Feelin’ Fine It’s Music Time, I’m so Glad You’re Here, and Goodbye, My Friends Goodbye. I would consider changing the hello song to “Hi, Hey, Hello” by Lindsay Müller!

Hello everyone! So this is my first year teaching elementary music ever (didn’t do student teaching since I’m only a minor in education, but have experience with collegiate choirs during school) and I’m having so much trouble with kindergarten. The first day I had them in my class it was good for like the first 5 minutes, but it just derailed after that so badly. They were screaming and yelling and did not pay attention to me at all, they were disobedient, there was a few kids that started climbing on the stack of chairs that I have, playing with the xylophones that I have on the bookshelf that I didn't think they'd be able to reach, but they did and then I had my assistant Principal come in and help me and she brought her behavior coach with her and they stayed for like 20 minutes with me to help me out and do some listening activities so they can listen to me. I’m feeling very discouraged now especially for this next coming week and I’m Not for sure what to do. I need help with lesson plans, and I need ideas and tips for how to manage all of this (for the record none of the classes have TA’s that stay with me, and classes range from 20-33😳). The music curriculum that we use too is Quaver (haven’t started it yet but how this past week went I might just start it early but idk)

Any help is GREATLY appreciated

Hi! Gonna be teaching Modern Band in the DOE. Just want to hear from some people who have taught modern band before, and what your first year was like, how you went about planning the year, etc. Any comments are appreciated :)

My MS band grew a bit. Hooray. We’ve been doing three rows. I would love to use an aisle so I can move around more, but I don’t know if it’s possible unless we use really wide straight rows.

I don’t know where to put everybody that makes the most sense. I have 6 flutes, 3 clarinets, 1 BC, 3 alto, 1 tenor, 1 Bari sax. 2 horns. 8 trumpets (3 beginners), 4 trombone/baritone, 1 tuba

Any suggestions would be wonderful.

does anyone else feel like they are under qualified for a job they are qualified for? like I just started teaching private lessons for the first time and it’s so hard even though I know what to do. I am getting better but i’m practicing for hours a day just to keep up 😭

Back in March I posted a free full-year American music history and listening curriculum here. Several of you said you were planning to use it, so here is what is different before this school year starts.

The listening material is now an interactive web course, not just PDFs. Same eight units, same D-A-C-E framework (Describe, Analyze, Contextualize, Evaluate). You can put it on a screen for a whole section or hand students the link on their own devices. Nothing to install and no accounts. It is built around the country's 250th, so the timing lines up with this year without you having to build anything around it.

The documents also went through an outside review and came back corrected and expanded:

Teacher Edition, 70 pages: unit overviews, four-week pacing guides, modeled daily lessons, listening prompts, eight projects, sample responses, and grading guidance

Student Workbook, 27 pages: one major project per unit using the D-A-C-E framework, plus response sheets and reflection pages

Administrator Overview, 10 pages, now including a crosswalk that maps the assessed course activities to the Illinois introductory high school music standards

Teacher Project Packet, 29 pages: the project handouts on their own, which existed before but was never linked

If you have ever been handed a music appreciation or general music section on top of your ensemble load with no curriculum and no budget, that is the situation this was built for. I wrote it because I got assigned one. It is a full year of pacing, daily lessons, listening prompts, projects, and grading guidance, and you can teach it as written or pull a single unit.

Still free, still no signup.

Link: https://virtunity.io/go/ama-rd1

Same as last time, that is my site and there is nothing to buy on that page.

If you taught any of the March version, I would like to hear what fell flat.

https://preview.redd.it/lriw0swnljjh1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=863db2100ae47062e440f586dcb404f9ada4556c

I have record numbers for my choir program - 140 - this year, after having 85 when I started here a few years ago.

This is great. However, 2 of those 140 were boys whose moms decided to surprise them by signing them up for choir. Unsurprisingly, one has dropped, and the other just sits and stares daggers at me all class period long. The latter didn’t know he was in it until he got his class schedule.

I also just found out we had a parent do this to a kid for orchestra.

What do parents think is going to happen by forcing their kid into a voluntary performance ensemble without telling them?

Hi, I know this is probably not the best place to put this but I’m desperate. I go to Pensacola High School and our band director just said that he has to quit due to personal reasons. He is leaving the school on Friday next week and the position was only recently posted. I, myself, and others want the band to have a full season with as little issues as possible, but without a band director after next week that will be difficult. Especially now finding a band director will be difficult due to the school year already starting so fewer people will be looking for the job.

So anyway my question for all of you is that if you yourself or someone you know is a band director please consider applying to be one at Pensacola High School, all of the students would greatly appreciate it.

If you have any questions I’ll try to anwser them, thank you all.