Below are some scenarios for you to consider:

Teaching Concert Music: Pros, Cons, and Suggestions 

• Pros: I make my selection of concert music based on what I want my students to know. If D Major and 6/8 time are the main goals, my concert music is selected based on that. By concert time, my students will not only understand these concepts, but they’ll sound great because we spent a great deal of time studying that repertoire. I also don’t have a lot of contact time with my students, so this is the perfect option. The concert and how we sound is everything.
• Cons: Not all parts are equal in challenge level. Even if each section gets melodic features, interesting harmonies, have accidentals, etc., chances are one section gets exposure to something a lot more or less than another. After drilling the music for several months, students play it confidently and give a great performance, but it becomes boring rather quickly and the students (and me!) are itching for something else. 
• Suggestions: I’ve been there…we all have. The important facts to take away from these pros and cons are: what my students need to know, time constraints, having successful concert experiences, equality among the instruments, and engagement. Unless your concert music is in unison (or as close as possible) or each section gets the same thing at some point, teaching just concert music teaches your students one thing: how to play the concert music. 

Consider this exercise: if you selected one of your concert pieces that your students know fluently, chose eight measures, and then mixed up the notes and rhythms in each measure so it didn’t sound the same and didn’t tell them, how would your kids do? 

Mixing it up is important, because not all concert pieces are written equally. If you plan on using concert music to teach your curriculum, try and aim to make sure the parts are balanced and that you have a way to measure their understanding. Did you select that piece to teach hooked bows? Perfect. Then any piece or exercise within their playing level using hooked bows should be accessible to them. If it’s not, then perhaps their exposure to it in the concert music wasn’t enough for them to fully understand it. 

My advice is to have some unison exercises printed on the back of each part that highlight your focus goals. You can warm up on these before rehearsing and they can be rhythmically or tonally centered (or both). You might even consider writing out the main melody (or all the melodies) for each part and have everyone learn them all.

For those of you that are more daring and have some extra time, rewrite each part for every section in the orchestra. This means your cellos can get a chance to play the first violin part, violas can play second violin, basses can play viola, first violins play bass, second violins play cello….it’s actually a lot of fun and will keep your kids on edge. You can do this as a fun challenge after they’ve mastered their concert music. 

Teaching the Method Book: Pros, Cons, and Suggestions 

• Pros: I know exactly what my goals are for my students. If they can make it to page 27 exercise 83, I know exactly what concert music I can select to support that learning. Plus, I know they’re prepared for next year. Students are all learning the same skills, regardless of what instrument they play, and I can have mixed lesson groups and/or large group rehearsals where we can all focus on the exact same thing. 
• Cons: I am losing valuable time having students learn short eight-measure exercises that aren’t particularly interesting, melodic, or fun. Some students get it quickly and move onto a new exercise while others are still stuck on the first few. I also haven’t found a method book I’m completely in love with that covers everything I need my students to know or that fits with my philosophy of instrumental instruction, so I end up supplementing with other materials. My students also can’t afford method books and I don’t have a budget to supply them. 
• Suggestions: Once again…we’ve all been there. The important facts to take away from these pros and cons are: what my students need to know, leveling the playing field, letting go of concert music, quality method books, varying student levels, and money. These things aside, teaching straight from the method book teaches your kids one thing: how to play music out of context using specific skill sets. 

Consider this exercise: if you created a bunch of short playing pieces based on the page(s) and exercises you covered in your method book, how would your kids do? 

Once again, mixing it up is important, because not all method books are written equally. If you plan on using the method book as the sole method to deliver your curriculum, select a good one (or a mixture of your favorites). Did exercises 30 through 40 focus on reading the notes D, E, and F#? Perfect. Then any piece or exercise within their playing level using those notes should be accessible to them. If they’re still having trouble differentiating between Ds and F#s, then maybe they haven’t seen or played those notes enough. 

The method book approach or utilizing supplemental materials from a variety of books and resources helps build confident musicians and fluent readers that learn to produce a strong and nice tone on their instrument. This approach can be used in large ensemble settings as warm-ups that are tied into the students’ concert music and they can also be used in small lesson groups if your program has them. 

Selecting a Method Book

This is easier said than done, but selecting a quality method book is essential to unifying your instrumental program and to ensure your students are learning what they need to in order to be successful. Meet with your fellow colleagues and discuss what everyone likes to use. We all have our go-tos, so conversations like these can get pretty passionate amongst seasoned instrumental teachers. The important thing is to demonstrate what a chosen book brings to your students and to be open minded. 

Issues that educators often face when finding high-quality methodologies include: books introducing too many notes on one page; having letter names written in the noteheads; the print going from large to small too quickly; progression between different techniques moves too quickly; outdated pictures and exercises; boring or not colorful and exciting; too colorful with too much going on; not being tied to state standards; and not aligned with your current curriculum (if you have one). 

Another consideration is what supplemental resources each book might come with. Is the book available on online platforms like MakeMusic Cloud? Connecting your physical method book with online resources can help make practice more accessible to students and open opportunities for deeper learning.

Whichever way your department chooses to go, it’s important that all students are getting the same experience. If your district has ten elementary schools, it’s helpful knowing your colleagues across town are using the same book and that you can collaborate. As long as we meet all of our students at their individual levels, they will all move through the book sequentially which makes teaching easier. This is especially important for elementary school teachers since they are setting up the foundation of the instrumental program. Even if the book isn’t your dream book, use it when possible, stay aligned with your colleagues, and supplement when needed. 

Curriculum

Be sure when you choose a method book that it aligns with your district’s curriculum (if you utilize one). If it doesn’t align you may need to update the curriculum, which is fine since districts tend to do curriculum audits every five years or so. This is an opportunity to see how your program can be updated and how your chosen methodology complements and elevates it. We are the custodians of our instrumental programs and over time, the changes we implement make our programs stronger. 

In some districts, instrumental programs are extra/co-curricular and might not have a curriculum. This places teachers on a little island in their individual programs where their goal is to survive. But this doesn’t mean you don’t have to have some sort of guide. If the district uses a common method book, collaboration with your colleagues can break you from feeling isolated. You can then create common yearly goals, monthly pacing guides, assessments, and even concert pieces that all students should be exposed to. 

Money

I am grateful that I have a yearly budget that will not only sustain my program but ensure that it grows. My students can afford good-quality rental instruments and buy books. 

If you don’t have a large budget (or any at all) or the district you teach in is in a lower socioeconomic class, purchasing books and instruments will be a challenge. Try doing the following: 

• Reach out to area districts and see if they have old books they’d be willing to donate. Some vendors might donate older books to you if you ask, and you can even promote them by recommending them as a vendor. 
• Join online social media groups for music educators and engage in a discussion on funds to support your program, free or cheap access to resources, grants, etc.
• Build up enough funds so you can create a class set, even if that means you’re only buying one method book every few months. Some teachers with no budget even choose to purchase their own, but don’t break your personal piggy bank.
• Many towns have online marketplaces where people can request gifts or offer items to others for free. Create a post and ask if anyone has old books (or even instruments and parts). You’d be surprised what you’ll get. 
• Tag-sales are a great and cheap way to find some good deals. 
• Some public libraries have bi or tri-annual book giveaways. Check to see if you can find any method books. 
• Project your method book onto a screen in your classroom and have your students practice from there. 
• Reach out to your method book’s publisher and ask permission to make educational photo-copy sets for your students. It never hurts to ask, but do this to avoid copyright infringement. 
• Ask your principal if there are any funds left from the previous years’ order and if they’d be willing to order some books. 
• Some PTAs offer teachers funds for school supplies. Check with them. 
• Apply for grants. There are thousands of them – just do a search and see what comes up. If you get funds, make sure to write them a thank you letter. 
• CREATE YOUR OWN BOOK: This is actually not as challenging as it sounds. If you have access to music writing softwares like Finale or Noteflight, make a series of exercises and songs that embody what you love most of the method books and the supplemental materials you use. If you have a personal teaching approach, your book can utilize it. And best of all: since it’s yours, you can copy and print as many as you’d like. 

Using Both 

By far, the approach that I prefer utilizes a mixture of what I have outlined above. I have my students purchase a book of solos and a method book. We practice concert music during our large orchestra rehearsals and use lessons to work on technique and solo repertoire. This doesn’t mean I’ll never work on concert music in lessons, but I’ll limit myself to eight measures and won’t start doing this until I get closer to concert time. The concert music I choose also correlates with the book. In other words, it’s not like I’m not working on the concert music: I’m giving the students the skills they need to play their concert music by using a text. Always remember: the concert music should complement your book!

But this is also dependent on the structure of your program (note: the term ‘lessons’ means small heterogeneous/homogeneous group lessons). Below are some examples of how public/private school instrumental programs are structured. Consider the following:

• I only see my students for ensemble rehearsals: If you’re working with large groups of students at a time and with mixed instrumentation, a method book can save you since you can work on concepts together. Don’t just drill the book, but don’t just drill concert music: use both. 
• I only see my students for lessons and then we have one or two ensemble rehearsals before the concert: Using a mixture of teaching both concert music and the method book can be useful here. Some method books have their own concert pieces built in, so if you work your students up to them, they can perform right out of the book. This can be especially useful for Concert Informances, where I have my beginning students perform some of their exercises to show parents the progression of learning.
• I see my students for ensemble rehearsals and for one or two lessons a week: This is a great scenario, but time is always important. Ensemble rehearsals should be used for something that the group can do together. Align your concert repertoire with specific pages in the book(s) you’re using and try incorporating both. 
• We use a block rotation and my time with students varies each week: It can be challenging if each week is a little different. Give yourself a goal (i.e. I’m going to get my students to this exercise by such time) and then prioritize concert music the next week. Don’t overshoot: concert repertoire shouldn’t be challenging. It should complement what the students already know how to do or are currently learning. This gives you the flexibility to not feel pressured to teach the method book or the concert music. 
• Rehearsals and lessons are before-school: Regardless of where or when your program meets, you should still have specific goals in mind. Remember, there are some great lesson books that even have concert pieces, but you might only have time to do a few pages if you don’t meet very often. 
• Lessons are homogeneous: Another great reason to use a method book, since everyone can be in unison and move together! Concert music is exciting because the students are putting together different parts for a performance, but each part is not written at the same challenge level. Consider what your flutes get to play versus the trombone section, or even the difference between first and second violin. If you’re using a method book, they can all do this. But why can’t you rewrite that challenging violin melody for your basses? Instead of just having them play their usual quarter note accompaniment, tell the entire orchestra that everyone will learn how to play the main melody, even if only the violins will perform it in the concert. 

In Conclusion 

It can be a bit challenging to let go of something that we’ve done for so long, especially since we all feel so strongly about our particular teaching approaches. The best advice I can give you is that you should use an approach that you personally enjoy but to try and incorporate some of what was suggested above. Make a solid attempt to use a method book, even if only as a warm-up or supplemental resource, and do so regularly to get your students into a routine. 

If possible, keep concert music on the back-burner and make sure that the exercises you’re teaching in the book are correlated to your concert music. A simple example of this is if you’re practicing some exercises on a page that focuses on reading the first four scale degrees. If you’re spending time on that and students are achieving mastery, then the concert music should support that. But if the majority of your concert music uses scale degrees five through seven, the two don’t really work well together. 

The more students read music out of context and in short achievable exercises, the more they will develop musical fluency. It’s similar to a child walking down the street and seeing a stop sign, reading the word stop out loud, and physically stopping. They are seeing the word “STOP” out of context, but it still has the same meaning and sound, so they are making that connection. When they read a full sentence that uses the word stop, they will understand it in context. 

Teach your students to develop their musical language skills by pairing method book exercises and/or solos with concert music. By doing so, you are ensuring that your students are well-rounded musicians who have the necessary foundational skills to perform anything you put in front of them.

The post Teaching Concert Music or the Method Book appeared first on MakeMusic.

I always look at motivation as something that doesn’t necessarily stand on its own. Rather, we as educators need to look at how other factors in the classroom can complement motivation; things like the environment, engagement, rigor, and a teacher’s passion for the subject. 

Motivation, environment, management, engagement, rigor, and passion are the most important ingredients in the music education classroom. They all go hand in hand with one another (e.g., if students are motivated, they are engaged in the learning process; if students are engaged in the learning process, they are motivated to continue to progress). If the classroom environment is a safe and happy one, students will trust us, make mistakes, and be motivated to improve. As we increase that challenge level, students will continue to build upon their previous successes. 

Since they are all related, let’s look at each aspect and how it relates to motivation: 

Environment 

• Do you know your students? I have nearly 300 students in three schools, and yes, I’m still trying to learn some of their names. It’s not easy, but I make it a goal to learn at least three new names a day and something related to their interests. If students know that you know them, they feel a personal connection to you. 
• What’s the atmosphere like in your classroom? As both a teacher and an administrator, I would look to see if students are happy, laughing, or even if I notice that they’re struggling or having a bad day. Do they greet you, say thank you, or even goodbye? They might hold the door open for you and ask you about your weekend. If you notice they’re not themselves, do you go out of your way to ask them if they’re okay? Relationships are so important! My students see me in the halls and go out of their way to say hello, and I do the same. We laugh and joke, and they see me as a normal human being. 
• Do you encourage them to make mistakes? I firmly believe there is no such thing as a wrong mistake but a great mistake. Mistakes are made because students are challenging themselves and trying to work through the skills we teach them. When I make mistakes, I acknowledge them and say, “Did you notice the mistake I made?” This shows my students that everyone makes mistakes and that I’m okay with it. This invites them to take risks and comfortably make their own mistakes. I do, however, always encourage them to make one change (i.e., if they made two mistakes focus on improving one of them). 
• Do students take risks? This is the best way for educators to personally assess the environment they’ve created. No one wants to feel intimidated or embarrassed, so aim to create an environment where kids willingly take such risks. My warm-ups for general music classes and large ensembles have been done repeatedly, and I can now ask many eager students to lead those warm-ups. They’ll stand up and perform on their recorders or go into the cafeteria and play their violas for first graders. Don’t be worried if it doesn’t happen right away or if there are still students not willing to step out of their comfort zone, but encourage them and never stop! 
• Have they been taught appropriate audience behavior? Perform for your students one day. Talk about what audience behavior looks and sounds like. They should be attentive, encourage peers, and clap. This is a learned skill that will follow them when they become adults and attend concerts. When their peers perform, remind them about that. This will help your students become comfortable. 
• Are expectations set? No motivation can occur without structure, and I encourage you to read my article called Classroom Management: General Music Classrooms and Large Ensembles. This year, in particular, I was having some difficulty motivating a classroom of fifth-grade general music students. I was pushing into their classroom on a cart, and while musical activities were happening, I’ll admit that my classroom management was not up to the expectations that I knew my students and I were capable of. I was finally able to take them to a separate space, where I had a nice conversation with them. It was respectful, and I invited their input while acknowledging my own feelings. But … I was firm. Once they knew the boundaries, joy and learning were able to occur (and I’ll discuss how I motivated them later on). 

Management 

• I won’t dwell on this topic too long, and as I stated in my previous bullet point under Environment, I encourage you to read my detailed article on Classroom Management: General Music Classrooms and Large Ensembles. Simply put, students can tell instantly if they have free reign (i.e. control of the classroom), and likewise, they know if there are clear and defined boundaries. As long as they feel respected, safe, cared for, and know that each of their peers and themselves are held to the same expectations, they will feel comfortable in your classroom. 

Engagement

• Engagement ties directly into Environment (and yes, Management too). But more importantly, this aspect puts much emphasis on the work that we as educators do. I cannot personally tell you the thousands of ways to engage your students since each one of us has a completely different group of students (from various socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, special educational needs, etc.). The point is: your classroom activities and learning goals must engage all students. Music needs to be fun! Sometimes my best ideas come when I’m driving to school. Other times, I look to others for inspiration, but I always tweak it to give it that Mr. Granata flare. You can even ask your students for their ideas and create something unique for them. Younger students can often be easily engaged, but with my older grade levels, I do musical scavenger hunts around the building and escape rooms. I even did a Jeopardy-style “Capture the Flag” game (non-competitive) where the class had to answer a certain number of questions before having 20 seconds to search the cafeteria for the flag that I secretly hid. I recently did “Human Shapes” where I divided the class into groups and told them to sit on the ground and create different musical symbols. It’s a great way to assess knowledge and understanding, but also encourages students to communicate. I show them a symbol (a quarter note), and the kids yell, “We need to create a quarter note! Okay, we need two or three people to be the notehead. The rest of you, we need to form the stem of the note.” 
• Not everything has to be a game. Many times, students are perfectly content to sit and learn about Mr. Beethoven’s disability and listen to his ninth symphony. Finding opportunities for them to share personal stories is always a treat and allows you to connect with them. During Veteran’s week, we learned about different songs and sang them, and then shared personal stories about our families. I even told my students about my late uncle (who was a veteran) and was supposed to be on the Andrea Doria but missed his passage when it sank. Currently, my students are very eager to do our unit on the Titanic this April, where we’ll talk about the band that played until the very end. I love teaching units on African American composers, female musicians, and Dvořák coming to America and being inspired by the music of African American spirituals and Native American music (also, you can do such units during any time of the year). Look for ways for ALL your students to see themselves in the curriculum. Yes, we can talk about Mozart, but what about Sissieretta Jones, the first Black female soprano to sing at Carnegie Hall? 
• Think outside of the box! Have you considered having your students create their own instrument? I made a video of myself where I took a cucumber and created an ocarina. The students gathered around the smartboard (on their own, with no direction from me), sat down, and watched it. When I played my cucumber ocarina at the end of the video, they were mesmerized. This can show them how instruments are created and evolve—a perfect tie-in for recorders and wind instruments. 

Rigor 

• Always have high expectations and create challenging lessons that encourage students to make mistakes, strive to improve, and build their musical knowledge and vocabulary. My kindergarteners know what a flat looks like. They can draw a treble clef, a repeat sign, and a quarter note. They might not know what such symbols mean yet, but they will in a few years. During warm-ups where we sing, I use standard Western musical vocabulary (e.g., “Musicians, try singing this piano” instead of “Musicians, try singing this soft.”). They will learn music the same way you and I learned English. Incorporate it at all times. 
• Assess them when they don’t know they’re being assessed. Find sneaky ways to measure their growth and the quality of your instruction. Remember, assessments should not be given just so we can give them a grade on their report cards. Assessment results should drive our instruction, and let’s be honest, students today have many quizzes and tests—more than I did back when I was their age. There’s no need for them to know you’re checking in on their progress: just do it! If they struggled, then you know that’s something to work on. 

Passion 

• This is one aspect of our career that never gets old. I can’t tell you to be passionate or show you how to be passionate. I can only tell you that I love music, I love teaching, and I love children. Even when I’m having a bad day, the kids will never know it. Our career is a special one: we get to create music with children. We can play games and have fun with children all day. We can impact an entire generation of musicians and teach them to love, respect, and understand music. Have fun and show them why you got into this!

Motivation 

And finally….motivation. Ask yourself how it is you motivate your students. At the beginning of my career, I used to use sticker charts, give out prizes, send home practice records … basically everything my teachers at one point used for me. I would give assessments, quiz students, and assign homework. 

I’d be remiss to say that I don’t do any of those things anymore, but I’ve changed how I use them. Sticker charts would work until students fell behind and lost motivation. Prizes were short-term, and students were only trying to complete tasks in order to get a prize. I noticed I hit a plateau when prizes were simply not motivating anymore (the kids weren’t interested in them). Practice records worked for some, but even I remember writing in minutes that I didn’t actually complete and having my parents sign off on it. And yes … I need to have some way to assess my students, but I found that traditional assessments (or calling them quizzes/tests) began to stress students out. They would aim for perfection, and when they didn’t achieve it, they harped on it and pushed themselves to the point of exhaustion in order to get it perfect (a word I tell my students does not exist). This took away from the joy of creating music and learning an instrument, and they found it too stressful. 

I briefly touched on motivation in the article Build it. Sustain it. In it, I mentioned two key factors, the latter of which I want you to try and incorporate into your programs: 

• Extrinsic motivation—Students complete a practice record, receive stickers on an incentive chart, and earn a prize. At home, parents tell their children to practice their violin, and then they get to play video games. 
• Intrinsic motivation—Students play their instrument or sing for the mere enjoyment of doing so, and their reward is playing for themselves and others. 

So stickers? I give them out randomly at the end of lessons sometimes. Not for anything in particular, but elementary kids especially can’t resist a sticker. Even older students love decorating their binders or folders with them. Prizes? Same thing. Every now and then, I’ll give them something small (like a pop-it keychain they can put on their instrument cases). The beauty of such prizes is that they’re not attached to anything: the students motivate themselves.

Practice records? I don’t tell my students to practice anymore—seriously! Since they have so much fun playing and there’s no pressure, they go home and practice on their own. I’ll teach them fun songs by rote, which gives them instant success and pride. They’ll go home and practice it for hours until it bugs their parents, all the while not realizing they’re fine-tuning their intonation (pitch recognition and hand placement), technique (bow placement and usage, posture), and rhythmic literacy. If they need a nudge, I might hand out my famous Mix-it-up Practice Challenge, where they have to find ten bizarre (yet safe) locations to practice in. They have to keep a record of it and show it to me. 

Assessments? Yes, I do assess, but I do it secretly without the students knowing. My kids beg me to play for the class, so … I let them. When they do, I sit there and discreetly use a running record to monitor which notes they’re playing accurately and what they need to work on. When I’ve compiled enough data, I use that as a teaching point. I jot down notes and then casually walk by students and help them according to their individual needs. A method of Responsive Classroom is having the kids turn and talk. I have my students turn and play. As they do this, I walk in between the rows and monitor what I’m seeing and hearing. If I see a student who’s not putting their fingers in the right spot (be it a viola or a recorder), I may interject and model on my instrument and do what they did, and never for a second do I let them know they were the ones doing it. When they catch me doing something and tell me, they immediately fix it on their own. 

Try this—assess yourself! The true way of assessing if YOU as a teacher have made a positive environment conducive to learning and growing as a musician is when you’re able to ask, “Who wants to play for me?” and the kids run up to you in a line itching to play. You can easily assess them. 

As I write this today, I had one of those special days where my students BEGGED me to go out on the stage and play for students in the cafeteria. We were running over our lesson time, but I could NOT for the life of me deny them that opportunity. The kids in the cafeteria are my current general music students and my future orchestra students. Some of those students were conducting as my kids played, and others were doing Curwen hand signs. THAT was the prize my orchestra students got. THAT was their motivation. They don’t need anything else. Right now, my fifth-grade general music students are asking if they can perform their recorders for the second graders. I use colored zip ties every time we complete a song and make a chain on the ends of their recorders. Again, no prizes. They just love strutting around the building, showing off their recorders, and watching their chains grow as the little ones look at them in awe.  

Finally, in large group ensembles (75 students in grades 3–5), I do what’s called Mystery Musician. After explaining it to students, at the start of rehearsal, I select a name randomly from a hat, and I secretly watch them throughout the rehearsal. The students do not know if their name was the one selected, so all students must try to be role-model musicians. If they display excellent posture, participation, and behavior, they are rewarded the title of Mystery Musician. Their reward is so simple yet personally meaningful to them: a certificate to hang up at home, a beautiful email home from me, and the opportunity to be a mini Mr. G (me) and lead a rehearsal warm-up, take attendance, and be a leader. 

In Conclusion

There are SO many factors that contribute to student motivation, and motivation doesn’t have to be something you give them in the form of a physical object or reward. Let it be something your students do that they can feel inherently proud of. Work on creating a safe environment, maintaining structure and management in order for your students to learn, creating engaging lessons that are fun and challenging, and showing your passion. Oh, and if your students ask you to play one of their favorite tunes… you better break out your instrument and do it! Always take those special opportunities to inspire them.

As always, I hope you find success!

The post Student Motivation in the Music Classroom appeared first on MakeMusic.

But seriously, that phrase says so much because it’s true! I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both the general music classroom setting and large ensemble/small lesson group settings, and this year especially, I’m experiencing both realms and seeing how they relate to one another. 

If you read my article called Build it. Sustain it. and tried some new recruitment strategies, well then chances are your program is either starting to build up or perhaps bursting at the seams with a huge number of students! Awesome, right? 

Of course it’s awesome, but now it gets tricky: how does one person manage something like this? Those half-hours go by so quickly, but in our minds, they are long and exhausting. We need to keep the momentum going and have every minute planned.

In part 2 of this blog series, we’ll tackle classroom management in the large ensemble setting. 

For classroom management tips in the general music classroom, read part 1.

Classroom Management in Large Ensemble Settings

Having taught and utilized such strategies at the elementary and middle school levels, I can assure you that such approaches do work. In fact, I’ll bypass many of the obvious ones because if you refer back to Classroom Management in General Music Settings, nearly ALL of them can be utilized in large ensembles. Again, remember that such strategies can be applied to the middle and high school levels. You just need to fine-tune (pun intended) how you use it. 

• Set the guidelines from day one (refer back to Classroom Management in General Music Settings). Setting guidelines in lessons/large ensembles might look different than in a general music setting, but you have to adapt it for your environment. 
• Set your students up for instant success. I use a teaching piece for my beginners on learning the string names called the “Ant Song” (another technique I borrowed from a former colleague and friend). It teaches them how to learn the names of all their strings. This is done while emphasizing excellent posture and basic beginning string techniques. 
• Tie in what you do with what they’ve done in the General Music setting (either this is you or you have a direct relationship with your school’s general music teacher). I have my string students sing using solfège, which we then use when learning how to play a D major scale. 
• Hold each student accountable, and do it consistently. Part of classroom management is not just managing students’ behavior but connecting how their behavior impacts their success on their instrument. I never begin a string lesson or string rehearsal unless I say the following: “Show me rest position. Feet flat on the floor, backs away from the chair. Don’t cross your legs.” Still … make it fun. For crossed legs, I call this pretzel legs. For students who sit with the tips of their toes touching the ground, I call this ballerina. I have other names (Dad reading the newspaper [legs crossed], twizzler [legs wrapped around each other], pyramid [knees touching but legs apart], etc.). The students will start to catch on and help each other (even reminding me!). They’ll even invent names of their own! 
• Teach what you preach. Look at my previous statement: if you’re asking students to hold their bows properly, sit up tall, demonstrate appropriate rest/playing position, and produce a beautiful tone, do the same. If you make a mistake, own it! If they call you on a mistake, own it! Laugh and show them you’re human.
• How do you begin your rehearsal? Do you shush them? I was trained in the Responsive Classroom approach and have since stopped using such techniques. Instead, I get my students’ attention by putting my bow in the air with students doing the same. But my go-to is clapping my hands twice and putting my hand up. They’ve learned to do this after me. This takes time and patience, but always acknowledge when they do it and point it out. 
• Try to use phrases like, “I notice Johnny is sitting up in a proper playing position ready to begin,” or “Did you all notice how Shannon answered that question?” This shows students that they shouldn’t rely on pleasing you (i.e., “I love that Johnny is sitting up with great playing position” or “Great job answering that question, Shannon!”), but rather should do this on their own to please themselves.
• Many teachers hate to wait this long, but I found that in terms of classroom management, I had my students’ absolute trust after their first concert. This takes patience and commitment (on our part) to make their first concert experiences successful, and often many teachers try to do more than what’s possible. I used to think this way, but have since learned that less is more. Quality versus quantity. 
• Be patient and calm. I’ve been asked many times by colleagues and administrators how I am able to manage a group of nearly 100 little kiddos with musical noise-makers and still have successful and productive rehearsals. Look … I’ll say it right now: not all my rehearsals/lessons are always successful, but I do learn from each one. Still, I know all my students, I develop fun and trusting relationships with each one, and I’m still demanding but happy. I’m always calm and firm, and I explain to them what they’re doing and what I’m seeing. Don’t be afraid to do so, but never forget to follow up and tell/show them that you still care about them and notice what they are doing and that you notice it. 
• In large group ensembles, I do something called a Mystery Musician. I pick two students’ names each week randomly and secretly watch them (they don’t know that their name was chosen). I explain to them that they need to display model musician behavior, posture, and participate to their best abilities. Since no one knows who was picked, all students are always on the edge of their chairs. The best part is that the reward is totally aligned with what we call intrinsic motivation. They don’t get physical prizes. Instead, I present them with a certificate award, a positive email home, boast about what they accomplished, and … I let them take charge at the start of rehearsals (i.e., take attendance, run warm-ups, pass out music, and help me select the next week’s mystery musicians). 
• Provide many opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning and love of music to others. This ties in with Mystery Musician. My students are always so eager to perform for their peers or go around the school and play for the little ones. It provides positive reinforcement for them but also shows future students what they can look forward to. If they can feel successful, they will trust you more. 
• Push push push! Never settle for less than your students are capable of, and always hold them to high standards. Just always remember to be encouraging. 
• Consistency. Treat them all the same. They are all equal in your eyes. 

Conclusion 

I love what I do, but it’s a challenge every day. Be positive, and always remember why it is we do what we do. I have found that consistency and positivity is the key to successful classroom management. It’s not necessarily about rules but following through and developing real relationships with kids. Students, young or old, know if we care about them. Ask them about how their soccer match went or how they did in their gymnastics competition. Relate to them (“I watched the Superbowl last night!”), but don’t be afraid to push them to be better musicians and better people. 

As always, I hope you have nothing but success with your little musicians! That’s what they are, right? Musicians! Call them that, and let them know that’s what they are. 

Best of luck! 

The post Classroom Management Part 2: Large Ensemble Classrooms appeared first on MakeMusic.

But seriously, that phrase says so much because it’s true! I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both the general music classroom setting and large ensemble/small lesson group settings, and this year especially, I’m experiencing both realms and seeing how they relate to one another. 

If you read my article called Build it. Sustain it. and tried some new recruitment strategies, well then chances are your program is either starting to build up or perhaps bursting at the seams with a huge number of students! Awesome, right? 

Of course it’s awesome, but now it gets tricky: how does one person manage something like this? Those half-hours go by so quickly, but in our minds, they are long and exhausting. We need to keep the momentum going and have every minute planned.

I’m going to tackle this in two sections, starting with the general music classroom.

For classroom management tips in the large ensemble classroom, read part 2.

Classroom Management in General Music Settings 

First off, can I just say it? We are in no way general music teachers: we are foundational music teachers! We have a huge role in creating an entire generation of music lovers that enjoy music and have a love and an appreciation for it. When your 2nd graders are raising their hands enthusiastically every time they hear the famous four-note motif from Beethoven’s 5th symphony, we’ve done our jobs. So, have that in your mind when you read this section and enter your classrooms next week. 

Nothing made me a better teacher than teaching in the general music classroom setting. Whether you’re teaching on a cart and rolling into classrooms or the students come to you, classroom management in this setting is always a challenge. As I stated earlier, I get to teach both general music and instrumental music in the same school, and in doing so, I set the expectations and groundwork for my little musicians and can positively feed my own programs. This means that my little kindergarteners, who may one day sign up for orchestra in third grade, will either love music and want more of it or consider their last three years of experience and want nothing more to do with it. 

If you are like me and feed your own programs (i.e., teach general music but also teach instrumental like band, strings, or ensembles like chorus), your classroom atmosphere directly impacts such programs. And even if you teach general music only, you are a critical component in fostering a love for music, thus impacting such programs. 

While I speak primarily from an elementary standpoint, please remember that many (if not all) of these strategies can be applied to the middle and high school levels, albeit adapted. 

• Set the guidelines from day one. You can do this in one of two ways or even mix both: 
  • Classroom Constitution: collaborate with your students and talk about what your classroom should look and sound like. What words come to mind? Have them share and write them down, then you can create a visual classroom charter that you can refer back to. 
  • Utilize your school’s classroom behavior policy: most schools have one, but feel free to tweak it for your needs. Your students (except for kindergarteners) will already be familiar with it, so they know the expectations but will likely need to be reminded/redirected often. 
    • Using the above examples, neither approach can work without modeling. At the beginning of the year, I always ask for a volunteer student to model (which they love doing) and have them act out a scenario to which I must respond. “Okay Charlie, I’m going to start talking about something, and I want you to ignore Mr. Granata and start up a conversation with Julia.” The student does it, and I simply say, “Charlie, you have one reminder.” Have a discussion with the students on what they saw, and ask them what a reminder means. Then, follow up and have Charlie do the same thing again. “Charlie, go take a break and join us when you’re ready.” It’s a fun way to demonstrate what can happen, but it shows the students that Charlie is not in trouble but he just needed a moment to himself. 
    • Don’t just have students take a break. Have the whole class model a similar scenario in which you’re talking, and they’re talking over you. Get their attention and tell them how you’re feeling (use descriptive adjectives like “I’m feeling sad or ignored), then tell them you need to go and take a silent break. They’ll watch you in silence (seriously), then come back when you’re ready with a smile and talk about it. They need to see such scenarios played out. 
    • Follow through. This is especially important if it happens within the same class period since students won’t know you’re modeling. They’ll then say to themselves: “Oh, that’s what this looks like.” 
    • Be fair. You cannot single out certain students that have more pronounced behaviors. In fact, I would try to enact such management tactics (reminders, taking a break) with students that are often quiet and well-behaved. This shows all students that you see them as equals and no one is a favorite. 
• Know your students … ALL of them. Know their names, take time to learn about their favorite activities outside of school, and know their strengths and weaknesses in and out of your classroom. Always focus on their strengths, but never stop trying to help them overcome their weaknesses. Taking this time to get to know your kiddos means building trust and safety, and they’ll know that even if you do need to approach them about behaviors, you care for them. 
• Laugh with them. Make your environment fun and joke as often as you can. This ties in with my previous point. Never underestimate the power of humor. 
• Share stories with them about you, and show them pictures of your family. 
• Acknowledge when you make a mistake and emphasize it. “Oh man, did you all see that I made a mistake? Everyone makes mistakes, so don’t ever worry about it.” It makes your students feel comfortable making mistakes and shows that you’re human. 
• Routines are essential. Every time I enter a classroom, I sing, “He-llo mus- i-cians” (using the notes Sol, Mi-Mi, Sol, Mi). They echo back with an appropriate singing voice, “He-llo-Mr. Gra-na-ta). It tells them immediately that they’ve transitioned to a new subject (music), and it’s familiar to them. Plus, it gives them practice time to strengthen their vocal cords. When they leave, change it to, “Good-bye mus-i-cians” which they echo in return. This needs to be taught at the beginning of the year and reinforced, even if you’ve had them consecutively. 
• Have a warm-up in place that is musically engaging, rigorous, and familiar. I use an adapted one that a close and former colleague friend of mine taught me involving stretching, keeping a steady beat, echoing simple call-and-response vocal patterns (those of us with deeper voices, use your falsetto for the elementary level), lip trills, shushing on different rhythm patterns that they echo back, and using your finger to model low-to-high and high-to-low pitches. You can make this more fun by incorporating high-order-thinking games utilizing the Curwen hand signs. I teach them the hand signs and the corresponding solfège syllables (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do), then play a Simon Says game where you say and do the hand signs/solfège, and they do them back. Try and trick them and do weird hand signs that aren’t music-related. Likewise, get them to identify certain pitch patterns (e.g., sol-la-mi is a fun one because it sounds like salami and it’s melodic and easy to remember) and make it into a game. They can echo everything except sol-la-mi. 
  • This warm–up can take up some time, but it’s a wonderful way to hit many state standards, assess and monitor growth, and get their brains thinking musically. And again, it’s a routine that’s familiar, and students need (and crave) structure and predictability. I have many students on the spectrum that know this warm-up back and forth and have memorized it!
  • Constantly point out when students are doing things appropriately, and make it a goal to find and address those students that are actively participating and who need positive reinforcement. 
• I use recorders and instruments and teach students from the beginning what rest position, ready position, and playing position looks (and sounds) like. This will tie in directly with instrumental study on more advanced instruments like band and strings. For singing, talk about posture (standing/sitting up tall, relaxing your legs, etc.).
• Consistency. You must be consistent and hold them accountable for all behaviors.
• Keep assessments short and secret. Students in a music classroom don’t need to know they’re being assessed, but we need to know that our students understand what they’re being taught. I encourage you not to say things like we’re having a quiz but rather to find alternative ways to assess them. 
• Intrinsic versus Extrinsic motivation. I covered this in my article Build it. Sustain it., and it motivates students to use music as a way to bring joy to others and not to simply do something and expect a prize/reward in return. Schedule in-school field trips where older students can go to classrooms and play for the little ones. I put colored zip-ties on the ends of my students’ recorders, and it starts to create a chain. I then tell them that they can walk around the school proudly and that the little students are so intrigued about the zip-ties. Visually, it shows your older students how they’ve grown while also pulling in your future students. 
• Most importantly: have a plan! There can be zero downtime in the general music setting, so really plan to utilize every minute. Activities need to be fun but demanding, and never underestimate the power of simple games such as “Quack-a Dilly Omar” (my students pass around a rubber chicken, sing, and I use a metronome, so they use a steady beat). Think of the game “Hot Potato.” 
• Never forget: positive reinforcement is better than pointing out flaws.

Conclusion 

I love what I do, but it’s a challenge every day. Be positive, and always remember why it is we do what we do. I have found that consistency and positivity is the key to successful classroom management. It’s not necessarily about rules but following through and developing real relationships with kids. Students, young or old, know if we care about them. Ask them about how their soccer match went or how they did in their gymnastics competition. Relate to them (“I watched the Superbowl last night!”), but don’t be afraid to push them to be better musicians and better people. 

As always, I hope you have nothing but success with your little musicians! That’s what they are, right? Musicians! Call them that, and let them know that’s what they are. 

Best of luck! 

The post Classroom Management Part 1: General Music Classrooms appeared first on MakeMusic.

As an elementary school orchestra and general music teacher, I have heard these two words countless times over the last ten years of my teaching career. We love children, music, and teaching, and that is what any music teacher will tell you. But as much as we love it and know how it positively impacts our kids, we always need to remember that our instrumental programs are sign-up based and not always required. The key to building up and sustaining a successful instrumental or choral program comes right down to a dedicated, talented, and loving music staff. In other words, WE as teachers are responsible for building and sustaining our programs—building a loving musical culture—and while that is no easy task, it sure is a fun and rewarding one!

Foundation

Music educators know that a successful public school instrumental or choral program begins with a strong foundation, and I am not just talking about your elementary school band numbers. Your schools’ general music teachers are the building blocks of anything and everything that is music. A loving, fun, and talented general music teacher whose kindergarteners excitedly enter the classroom is responsible for creating and nurturing an entire generation of music lovers. These are the future adults who will jam out to music enthusiastically in their cars, or sing and rock their babies to sleep with a good singing voice and a steady beat. They may also be the one who decides to sign their child up for your orchestra program, or could even one day be a member of your schools’ board of education and have discussions about budget cuts. If their experience in music was enjoyable, then they are the advocates for your music program! So, give your general music teacher a big hug, and observe them and how they teach. What words do they use? Do they have a certain style? How do they teach the students to count rhythms? They are the feeders of your programs, and with them we can build our pyramid. 

Programs

Before I continue, I will use the word program as a simple umbrella term that encompasses many realms of music, and not just your typical band, chorus, and orchestra programs. The word program can apply to music technology, a steel drum band, or even a world drumming music class, so please keep that in mind as you continue reading. 

Build It. 

Some districts begin instrumental instruction in elementary school, and others might begin in middle school. There are some schools that have such programs built into the curriculum, while for others it might be co or extra-curricular. Regardless, building or recruiting for your program needs to happen from the beginning. If your program starts in third grade, then that is where you begin. How do you get kids to buy into it and want to sign up for flute? How do you convince your kids’ parents?

Get in the classrooms and perform for the kids. Literally… put on a show. You can’t walk into a third grade classroom, hold up a clipboard and say, “Okay, who wants to sign up for orchestra?” You will definitely get a show of hands, but you can get the other kids too. So, have fun. Play tunes the kids know, perhaps something from a popular TV show. You can play pop music, film music, or famous classical pieces they’re bound to recognize. I use my violin and show them how to make it sound like a police car driving off into the distance. I’ll also tell a Dad Joke and then do a funny wah wah wah on my violin. The kids adore it, and most importantly, they remember my visit and go home and tell their parents!

And that’s the next step: we often forget about recruiting parents! On back to school night, stand in the lobby and play your instrument, or have student ensembles from previous years perform. Smile at the parents and chat with them. Then, pop by their classrooms and introduce yourself. Make jokes, talk about your passion, and encourage them to sign their kids up!

There are loads of ways to start your program, including having older kids come by and perform for them. You can make your concerts interactive. “Where are my 2nd graders? Ahh my future orchestra musicians. This is going to be you next year!” Personally, I love connecting with the kids and their parents right away and being fun.

This does work and it can work for you. I recently began a new position teaching orchestra in two elementary schools, and the numbers were typical to a chamber ensemble. I wanted MORE though. So, I went to every classroom in grades 3–5 and played my violin. I gave presentations, we watched videos, and we laughed and had fun. The best part was always at the end, where I looked at all of them and said I can’t wait to have every single one of you in my orchestra! Don’t forget to sign up tonight. The participation number in both schools increased by over 50%. With a number like that, you have visibility of your program and parents are with you.

Middle and high school teachers can do exactly the same. Visit every one of your feeder schools… multiple times. Sit down and play or sing in the groups. Chat with the kids and have fun. Go to concerts and help tune. Show the kids that you’re friends with their current teacher, because this helps build trust early on. When I taught middle school, I used to go to my elementary teachers and hug them before I spoke to the kids about signing up. Make sure you conduct a rehearsal and show them what life is like with you. You can even co-teach with their teacher. The point is: get in there, and make them laugh! Don’t forget that they’re kids. 

High school teachers, you need to do the same, and not just with your feeder schools’ eighth graders. Go down to the elementary and middle schools and be visible. If a program starts in third grade, you have to wait six years before that cohort of kids comes through. Those are six precious years that you can use to build relationships with kids. Remember, there is no guarantee those kids will continue, because our programs are not required. We have to ignite the passion and encourage our students to continue.

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Sustain It. 

This is the retention part of building your program. I got the kids in, now how do I keep them? We can’t keep them all, but you certainly can try. If your program lasts three years and then the kids move on to a new school, focus on keeping them for those three years, and then bridging the gap and trying to get them to go onto the middle school program.

To do so, make sure that your classes incorporate the following: 

• Immediate and instant success to grab them from the start
• Rigorous instruction 
• High expectations 
• Wonderful and fun relationships with your students 
• Encouragement 
• Modeling
• LOTS of laughter, jokes, and stories
• Intrinsic motivation 

Most importantly: make sure they know you care about them, and work hard to give them successful concert experiences. These moments help build their confidence levels and your students will trust you more, which means you can continue to raise the bar and challenge them.

The most challenging aspect of retention are the transition years when students leave one school and move on to another. Some programs experience a typically average dropout rate between elementary and middle school. Maybe you had 35 students in fifth grade orchestra, and only 30 continued to middle school. That’s an 86% retention rate, and I’d say that’s a successful transition.

Unfortunately, the largest dropout rates occur between middle and high school, where many schools are barely able to maintain a 30% retention rate. What can you do to help retain those numbers? Well, refer back to the section titled Build It. How actively involved are teachers? Transitioning to high school is challenging and intimidating enough, so make sure all teachers are visible, fun, or engaging. Also, were those early elementary years enjoyable and fun? Did they leave a lasting impression on kids?

Consider the following questions:

• Is the foundation of your program(s) strong? Refer back to Build It.
• Elementary teachers, do you drill note-reading too much? Students find note-reading challenging and this can be an immediate turn-off. Consider allowing students to explore their instruments and focus on posture, ear-training, technique, and tone first.
• Is there a noticeable competitive edge between programs? You can’t tell your orchestra students not to sign up for band. Teachers need to support each other’s programs. Being complacent and saying this is Band Town sets the precedent that other programs are not a priority, which kids and parents recognize. 
• Are teachers actively a part of all concerts in the district? Kids love seeing their previous teachers, since they’re the reason they started in the first place. Kids need to see future teachers and build connections. 
• Are there fun musical team building experiences? Having a choral festival incorporating elementary, middle, and high school students motivates the little ones to improve and reach higher levels. Field trips are other great ways for students to share music with others. 

Motivation

The final topic I’ll quickly discuss is motivation through either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. The easiest ways to define these terms are to give examples of what they look like in your classroom and at your students’ homes: 

• Extrinsic motivation—Students complete a practice record, receive stickers on an incentive chart, and earn a prize. At home, parents tell their children to practice their violin and then they get to play video games. 
• Intrinsic motivation—Students play their instrument or sing for the mere enjoyment of doing so, and their reward is playing for others. 

These are two HUGE factors that can determine the success of your program. Extrinsic rewards focus on students having to do something in order to earn something in return. They associate practicing their instrument as something they have to in order to get something in return versus wanting to do it. And when the rewards fail to satisfy, what do you think happens? 

Intrinsic motivation is teaching students to do it for themselves and encouraging them to share it with others. It’s a reward in and of itself. Can you surprise your kiddos with a little prize that randomly cannot be associated with anything? Absolutely! The point is, don’t make that prize reliant on something such as practicing their instrument. The best thing I hear as a teacher is “I want to play for the class” and “I practiced my instrument for an hour last night and my mom had to tell me to stop and do my homework.” I teach lessons on the stage and at the end of my students’ lesson, students start coming in for lunch. The kids excitedly beg me to go out and perform for their peers. That is a special reward that no one can take from them, and it means something. 

Review

Recruitment (Build it) and Retention (Sustain it). Both go hand in hand, and depending upon the culture you have created, it could mean the difference between a giant high school choral program or a small one that dwindles down to twenty or so kids by the start of senior year. What’s the point of having your band students drill scales, note reading, rhythm exercises, and perform playing assessments if they grow up to dislike what it is we as teachers love so much? There are plenty of people in this world who can read very well, but hate reading books. They find no joy, and that’s the biggest issue. Join up with your elementary general music teacher. Have meetings with your colleagues and discuss the vision. A program can grow incredibly fast in only one year, but it’s up to you! 

Finally, this article is not suggesting that numbers are the most important factor in the success of a music program. I had a beginning band of 25 students one year and was able to nurture, develop true relationships, and spend a lot of time with them. So yes, there’s the argument quantity versus quality, but even with the 150 orchestra students I have in grades 3–5, I’m still able to nurture and develop relationships with each one. 

Good luck in building your programs, and remember to have fun! 

The post Build It. Sustain It. appeared first on MakeMusic.