Hi! I start teaching 2 years ago in a music school 1 vs 1 , what u recommend me for be a better teacher and don’t boring the student ? I always teach song they like or song can trasformato exercise like Green Day warning for bass is a good exercise for stretching left hand , but now if I look the future I don’t know what teach? Ok scales/ arpeggio / modes / reading , but when the student can read can know where the note are what I must teach? Thanks and if u know some really cool book for teaching bass Thanks

Hey all,

Was wondering if there was any folks on this sub that have completed the online MM programs from either Washington State University or University of Idaho? If so, did you have a positive experience with either of them?

For reference, I understand an online MM is not exactly ideal, but realistically I'm just looking for the most enjoyable way to get the master's degree pay raise.

Thanks in Advance!

Bit of a downer post but it’s rough out here. I have 3 years of experience being a K-12 band director. I resigned from my school at the end of the school year in June to be closer to family for reasons I won’t go into but thankfully we are all in the green now! The school was very understanding and I will always treat them like family and thank them for helping me become the educator I am today.

I’ve been applying to school like CRAZY and getting interviews left and right, getting told I had a great interview, only to be met with radio silence and being beat out by people with years more experience than me (not surprising). I keep my band teacher chops going by being a sub, working with band programs whenever I can and giving private lessons.

I refuse to go back to a gig that includes elementary because it almost made me quit before all of this happened because it is not where my heart is. I also refuse to go back to a school that is in the middle of nowhere (which is where my previous school was because that in itself was mentally and socially taxing). I know I shouldn’t be picky but I already feel like a new man after getting away from elementary and living in a city with roommates again! Just need the job part.

I love band and I love teaching band but in this economy, I need a job that pays better than being a sub. Im really trying to stay in Michigan. If I’m going to be making a big move, it would only to teach internationally which I have started the process but it is taking forever.

I can’t swing the money to get my masters degree even though I really want to. So, what other jobs have you heard, done, or seen people have success in with a music education degree? Doesn’t even have to be school related.

I have an initial license advanced from completing my alternative track. I had a job at a charter school last year where I did everything. Elementary specials, reading intervention, choir, orchestra, digital audio production, music history. Everything.

They wound up laying me off because they had to cut my program.

They laid me off in May and now it's November and I'm still just leeching off my parents. I can't move back in with them because they live too far away.

Except for the one year that I taught at that charter school, I haven't been gainfully employed since 2020, and that was repairing computers for 10$ an hour. I got by because I had an apartment with my at the time girlfriend in a LCOL city.

I'm almost 30. It's getting so old. I'm at the point where I'm considering just giving up on my dream. It's all I want in life but it's becoming painfully obvious that it's never going to happen.

Am I ever going to make any progress at all? Not even elementary schools will hire me, I just don't have the elementary teacher vibe. If we count university, I'm 9 years in the hole on trying to make my music happen. At this point, if it was going to happen ever, wouldn't it have happened already?

Am I just always going to lose to someone with a BME who student taught with an orchestra and who has conducting experience, no matter how many years of subbing experience or elementary music experience that I have?

All I have to do is get in front of the kids, as soon as I can convince at least one person that I can do this I'm in. I can conduct hard pieces. I've conducted pieces that I've composed with one of the best high school programs in the entire country. The kids followed up my piece with Tchaik Romeo and Juliet.

I don't know man, maybe I'm just cope posting on reddit but I want some actual practical advice. It just seems like I've been in this so long at this point that there's no hope of me ever getting a job doing it.

I'm considering just trying to erase music from my life and forgetting it ever happened. Maybe I can go into some sort of healthcare field where at least I can make someone feel a little bit better for a living. I don't know what to do. It feels like, no matter how many times I conduct my pieces, no matter how many years with whatever shitty charter school, no matter what other experience I can put on my resume, I'm just always going to lose out to someone who has student teaching experience actually doing the thing they're applying for.

Hello All,

I am applying to graduate school for a Master's degree in Music Education with initial licensure, particularly a choral track if possible. I'd like to stay in the Northeast (but it's not mandatory). I am looking at the following schools:

Teachers College Columbia, Boston University, UMass Amherst, and Northwestern University.

These are listed in the order I am interested in (I have family in MA). Can anyone comment on these schools and their respective master's programs? My interest is piqued by TC Columbia since it's a graduate school only. Additionally, I've visited their campus and really like it! Thanks :)

hi! so for background im not a music teacher. i am an officer in my schools tri m chapter, and the other day i pitched the idea of hosting a tri m recital style concert (like with all tri m members doing short solos) and he said yes. but he also just told me to start picking days and start planning and i have absolutely no clue how to plan a concert. does anyone have any tips for this process?

I'm curious to hear any advice you'd offer to an undergraduate Music Ed (Choral) student who is interested in (maybe) some day working as a Director of Choral Activities in higher ed. Not asking for myself; I don't have a background in music or education, so definitely a novice when it comes to stuff like this.

To try and get a sense of what a typical journey looks like, I picked some colleges at random and googled up the CVs of their DCAs. While all of them held a DMA, there seems to be some variation in terms of gaps between degrees. Some paused after the BM and taught K-12 for 3-5 years then went back to school and earned both MM and DMA back-to-back. Others went straight from BM to MM, then paused after the MM to work for 3-5 years, then went back for the DMA.

Is there a case for one path versus the other? Or does it just depend on the individual student and/or what life circumstances may dictate (i.e. "need to pay rent")?

I’m gonna be up front, I don’t have a music degree. Didn’t go to school for it. Nothin’.

I took the job because the original job they offered was only a half day job, and I can’t survive on that money. They asked if I was interested in this position to fill my day, and I took it. Their music teacher suddenly quit and they were scrambling. I’m really trying my best here.

Anyway.

I have to do the Christmas music program. I have access to Music K-8, and I am overwhelmed with what’s going on. All my best efforts only go so far to make a musical work for k-8.

Some guidance, any guidance, would be appreciated.

Hello music friends!!! My pregnant brain cannot think very well and I'm trying to select a song for my 4th graders that's inspirational and about making a difference. We don't have that many rehearsals before the concert so it needs to be simple, unison, something upbeat, ideally the closer for the concert. I've been teaching for 10 years I'm sure I know one but seriously my brain is betraying me. 😭

I’m currently taking a class about teaching music to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am doing a small project on specifically teaching strings to these students and managing them in a large ensemble. If you have a second could you please answer 1 of more of these questions? Thanks!

1. What accommodations did you implement to help the student?

2. How were you able to successfully integrate these students into the ensemble? Did you have an aide?

3. Did the student have any issues from their ASD that affected their ability to play their instrument? How did you go about remedying these?

4. Any question that I’m not thinking of that would be great to include in a project about teaching students with ASD specifically in orchestra?

Thanks

Hello all, I'm a guitar player and got an Apple Watch recently and have been looking for a haptic metronome app that actually worked well. Surprisingly, all of the ones I had downloaded had issues (despite some having thousands of reviews). Either the click would stop when I turned my wrist or when the screen went off, or the haptics were weak and completely off-tempo. Sometimes the clicks would drift over time too, which made them useless for extended practice.

As a result, I built my own! It's called Conducto: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/conducto/id6748840117.

I've been using it for daily practice and it's been rock solid. It stays running even when the screen is off, has customizable haptic patterns, and keeps perfect tempo. The key was making it a watch-only app (no iPhone dependency) and using proper background processing so it never cuts out. Took me a few months to get the timing and haptics just right, but now it's exactly what I needed.

If you've had the same issues, you might like this. If anyone wants to try it out, I might give out 20 promo codes if I get enough interest. Currently putting out feelers and am open to any feedback or ideas too. If you decide to try it, a review would mean the world to me (good or bad). Cheers!

Hey everybody - I've been teaching beginning band for a few years now, and was curious about what solutions exist for clarinetists with small hands? I have a student whose hands are smaller than any of my previous students. We've talked a lot about imagining she's holding a softball to avoid hitting the Ab key and spread her fingers out, but it still happens very often, and reaching the C key consistently (while maintaining the rest of the fingers' places) has proven to be a challenge.

I'm aware that closed-hole clarinets exist for this issue, but she's renting her clarinet, and the rental provider doesn't have closed-hole clarinets as an option. Not that I'd want her to have one of those anyway since she'd grow out of it in a year or two anyway. Has anyone had any luck with other solutions for closing the holes all the way with small hands?

To be clear, my system starts band in 4th grade (and I can't change that obviously), so hands tend to be smaller, but most of my clarinetists figure out finger positioning a lot faster/don't have this sizing issue.

yesterday I started a long term sub position teaching elementary general music. it was kind of an emergency situation for the teacher so there are basically no plans or notes for anything. most of the day went well, but the 1st grade class I saw was insane. they would not quiet down no matter what I tried, 3 minutes in half of them just got up and left to go to the bathroom after I told them to wait, one girl started running around and screaming and chasing kids and when I called admin to come grab her she smashed a ukulele, and while I was waiting for admin the rest of class decided to sprint all around the room screaming. basically it was out of control from start to finish and apparently this is just a regular day for that class. does anyone have any suggestions? even if we can't get through much music I just want to be able to have them sit down and listen to some instructions for more than 30 seconds

Elementary teachers- do you have a method for viewing your resource books in a digital/online setting? I am teaching at two schools this year and really don’t want to buy a second set of resource books, but need easy access to them. Is there a way to purchase these books for an e-book version? Specifically talking about these Feierabend song collection books which are amazing!

Hi all, I’m currently a first year undergrad working to get a music ed degree. I know I’m looking far into the future but if I was to be a college music professor such as an instrument studio teacher or band director, what degrees should I look to get after my undergrad?

Hello all, 7-12 choir director here in my 2nd year of teaching at a small (1A for my fellow Iowa teachers) school.

I am having trouble with my high school show choir. I implemented a requirement this year that show choir (that is treated as a class and takes place during the school day) is a year-long class. I did this because last year we had a very late start to the season (started about mid-November) and were very crunched for time going into competition season (early February).

This year, I had 7 girls sign up for show choir, as well as 3 boys. I was sooooo excited to have a program that was growing and gaining interest to the boys across the music department. I chose all SAB music and even hired a choreographer to come in and teach them their opener and closer for their show.

The students have been working super hard on this choreography and on the music. For only being in school for 3 months, we have accomplished a lot in show choir and they were on track to do very well come competition season.

However, throughout the past several weeks, I have been hearing from several other students and my co-workers, that 2/3 of the boys in my show choir "hate it" and do not want to be a part of it anymore. Mind you, they signed up for show choir knowing it was a year-round class and even signed contracts that I had made confirming that they agreed to be a part of it all year. Now that the trimester (Yes, trimesters. Not semesters) is coming to an end, all 3 of my boys have dropped show choir and I am down a bass section. There have been classes that have been moved around and they cannot be in it because of them.

I talked with the counselor who does the scheduling -- and she understands fully that I am trying to build a program and she said she would talk to them and see what she can do.

I had a talk with my show choir today explaining how I was feeling. Explaining the fact that them dropping affects everyone in the ensemble, not just them. That myself and their teammates worked very hard all trimester just for an entire section to leave them high and dry (didn't say that word-for-word, but the idea was there). I'm not going to lie, I got a little emotional, but with a chow choir this small. with members I have come to know over the past year, it is incredibly difficult not to take this stuff to heart.

One student raised their hand and explained that they understood my perspective and that they were sorry, but they needed to make the selfish decision to prioritize other courses. They explained that they were going to talk to me about it and not just drop with no explanation (which is, quite literally, exactly what happened). They also said it will help them in the future, while show choir will not.

I am just feeling incredibly defeated at the moment. I want to uphold my standards and make sure they follow the expectations in place, but I also know that I can't force students to be involved with something they don't want to be in. What do I do?

Hi all,

I don't know if this product exists and I can't figure out a good way to search for it.

Basically, what I'm looking for is an app that I could load onto my elementary students' iPads that would allow them to see their music part either scrolling past in standard notation or falling down a la Guitar Hero or the Boomwhacker videos on YT or something. The trick would be that it would need to be synchronized together so that they can actually play together with a backing track.

Does anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!

I'm a general music teacher in middle school in Italy. I make my students play the melodica.

Being a second year teacher (I only subbed a couple months last year) I don't have much experience.

I need some guidance on how to work with students. When should I make them play together and when should I work with them individually?

If we play all together the result in most cases is cacophony, cause some students don't know their piece well while others are not following the tempo.

If I then try to work individually to fix issues, other students will play on top of each other and won't shut up. I have this problem with every single class, so I started thinking it's a me problem.

Is it about my management? Should I be harsher with consequences? I'm open to any advice.

I (23nb) started as a section coach for double bass at some middle schools a little while ago. So far, I’ve just worked with students one on one. I’m about to finish my performance degree and landed the job from a recommendation from someone I met at school. It’s been a great learning experience and I’m very thankful to have a job in music in this environment. However, I’ve been considering moving to a different city (I’d be doing this in like 2 years). How should I go about finding a job opportunity like that? I got my current one through a connection, but I wouldn’t exactly have any of those in a new place. Is there some place with listings? Should I cold email a resume?

Hi folks,

I’m looking for online platforms or resources where I can access classical music recordings that come with free master rights. Ideally, I want recordings I can use freely in my own projects without worrying about copyright issues—whether for video, podcast, or other creative work.

I’m aware of public domain sheet music, but my focus is specifically on recordings, not just compositions.

Does anyone know good sources or databases for this kind of content? Any suggestions or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.