Welcome back teachers and directors! The start of a new school year is filled with energy and excitement, but let’s be honest, it can also be filled with administrative hurdles.
How to Show Student Growth to Your Administrator
Your spring concert was excellent. Your administrator was there, clapped warmly, and three weeks later asked you to demonstrate measurable student growth for your program review.
The First Weeks of Choir Rehearsal Plans: Sorted!
The first few weeks of choir class set the tone for the entire year, and those first few minutes set the tone for the rest of class.
Reaching the Quiet Music Student Who Never Raises a Hand
You know this student, though “know” is a funny word for it, because they’ve made a quiet art out of not being noticed.
From Zero to 100+ Instrumentalists: How Kim Rosenbaum Built a Thriving Music Program in the Center of Brooklyn
When Kimberly Rosenbaum walked into P.S. 197, The King’s Highway Academy, in central Brooklyn six years ago, she was met with an ambitious goal from her administration: build an instrumental music program from scratch.
Tech in the Music Classroom: A Partner, Not a Replacement
There’s a moment most music teachers know well. You’re standing in front of a room of thirty kids, half of them with reeds that squeak and half of them who forgot their instruments entirely, and someone in an ed-tech webinar cheerfully tells you that software is going to “transform” your classroom.
How to Support Music Students with Differentiated Needs
You know this student, too. Maybe there’s an IEP in the file, or a learning difference that never got a formal name, or a home situation that makes “practice 20 minutes a night” a nonstarter through no fault of their own.
Building a Community, One Voice at a Time
Teacher Pain Point: “I don’t have the budget, the venue, or a massive feeder program to build a thriving music department.”
When Chelsey Sweatman walked into Bridgetown Middle School 12 years ago, the choir program was practically non-existent.
Still Doing Manual Grading and Tracking? Here’s How to Optimize
You got into teaching music because you love music. You love the moment a section finally locks in on a chord, the look on a student’s face when a tough passage clicks, the energy of a great rehearsal.
Why the Student Practice Experience Matters and How MakeMusic Helps
You spend your days in the room with your students modeling tone, correcting posture, building ensemble skills, and doing the hundred other things that make you a great director.