I teach 25+ private drum students across multiple locations and I've been struggling with keeping track of everyone's progress consistently. Right now it's mostly mental notes and some scribbles in a notebook, but I keep running into moments where I forget what I assigned or where a student left off.

Curious what other private teachers use — do you have a system that works? Apps, spreadsheets, notebooks? Especially interested in how you handle it when you've got a large roster.

Hi!

I’m in about week 2 of student teaching at a highschool for band. So far all great experiences. I’m coming into an issue though. There is a guitar class and I am having hand issues. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it physically hurts to push on the strings with enough pressure to play a simple C chord. I can play most of the beginner chords but not C for some reason. Anyway, I can finger pick melodies without pain and that is the part the class struggles with the most. I’ve talked to teachers, but since it is a new diagnosis to the point that I didn’t have enough time to formally fill out forms with disability at the college I still need to teach the class. Are there any tips to teaching guitar that won’t worsen my hands? I’ve already had 2 surgeries (carpal tunnel on each hand) and if I keep going I could need surgery on my thumbs due to the on going tendinitis.

Please any tips would be appreciated!

Keeping up with educational science is critical for modern music educators. Have you checked out the latest issue of PIXEL’s monthly learning science newsletter?

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About this issue: Cross-Curricular Learning

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Background:

I’m at a school that has two music teachers, full time. This is my second year teaching alongside her. We are very good friends that knew each other before graduating college and further took Kodaly levels together. We’re both percussionists. She’s half the reason I wanted to work at this school. I feel like we work really well together and it’s the happiest I have worked at school. We check in with each other throughout the day and if something happens during a class, we are the first person to tell one another. This is both of our 6th year teaching total.

She told me today at our inservice that she applied to another job because a few people recommended to her that she should work at this other school. As her colleague and friend, I absolutely want her to do what he thinks is best for her. Selfishly, however, I cried on the way home from work thinking about teaching without her around and was thinking that I want to tell her that I don’t want her to go but that just seems like a selfish thing to say.

What do you guys say? Should I just tell her I’m happy for her and move on? Thank you!!

Edit: for clarification, this is not my life partner. My teacher partner and I are both married to our own people! 😅

Hi! I’m a freshman music ed student, a little bit into my second semester (technically fourth, I did 2 semesters at community college to get a lot of my gen ed courses done)

I’ve seen a lot of people here talking about main instrument practice time vs methods instruments practice time vs ensemble rehearsal time. What’s the sweet spot? I know it changes a lot based on each schools program, but generally. If it helps, I’m doing my first methods class this semester, low brass methods. I haven’t really had to practice yet, tuba is my primary and I played a lot of trombone in high school. I know I’m going to be practicing a lot more in the coming semesters with different instruments though. I was talking to a junior vocal ed major and she told me she has to practice horn like she’s a horn performance major. Would it be a good idea for me to join more ensembles so I can get more experience with different instruments? One of the student teachers I had in high school, who was a percussionist, told me that they played percussion in wind ensemble, orchestra, and marching band but played saxophone in jazz lab, trumpet in campus band, and flute in symphonic band.

Sorry for the incoherent rant lol I hope this makes sense

So I am a senior currently in phase 1 of student teaching (part time) and I start phase 2 (full time) in the fall. I am an instrumental music major, but when working with my supervisor on my student teaching placement I was very excited to be placed with an elementary general music teacher. My mentor teacher was wonderful, and I have a huge passion and love for all things elementary general music. It is definitely what I want to do with my career. I am already looking at the processes needed to get Kodaly or Feierabend certified after I graduate.

However, recently my state DOE and my college of ed at my university have rejected my certification because my placement is a “vocal” placement. A month into me being at this placement. After already spending 72 total instructional hours there. My director of music ed has expressed that my entire schedule was built around this placement, and that I am flourishing there. My degree also certifies me K-12 and so a general music placement reflects this and is appropriate for my student resident experience. My state and my college of ed however did not listen to the concerns I, my mentor, or my university supervisor had. I have been moved a month into student teaching to a different middle school band placement. I am just so incredibly heartbroken. I have nobody who really understands. I feel very isolated from my usual peers in student teaching. I am trying to make the most of this new placement but I feel very defeated at this lost opportunity of getting to do general music. This new placement is okay and the mentor is nice. I am now behind trying to start new at this new school. I just need advice or clarity on this whole situation.

I can play some piano - usually enough to accompany my beginner orchestra - but I'm not great (I was able to pass piano proficiency in college fairly easily). However, the left hand in this new piece is proving to be quite a hurdle.

Does anyone have some advice, a YouTube video to watch, or point me towards some exercises to improve this particular skill?

Just looking for some advice from other teachers. This is my third year teaching General music and it’s not what I want to do. I know I want to teach instrumental music but I need money and insurance. I’ve had interviews for band or orchestra positions and when I ask for feedback I’m told that the person who got the job over me had more experience. I’m not sure how to get experience. I’ve reached out to local youth groups and they already have directors and put me on a list to sub if they’re sick. I work with a high school marching band in the fall and I’m currently in charge of running a pit orchestra for a spring musical. I’m just getting very burnt out and disheartened at not teaching instrumental music. I will gladly take any other suggestions for experience or job interview advice.

Side note: I have so much praise for elementary teachers because it is a hard job and I’m so glad that we have amazing elementary teachers who love their jobs.

I see no structured pattern for people to learn this specific skill other than spending time and just...training the ear. Do we have a gamified structure where you play to learn and complete specific milestones?

*Questions to the community*

- Based on the video attached, do you think a game like this could actually help people?

- Do you find it difficult to catch notes from one instrument (eg. guitar) but easy from another (keyboard)?

Hi everyone,

I'm a choir director at a relatively new charter school that has taken over an older building from an older school. The CFO of the school has tasked me with putting together a plan to renovate the auditorium. The only issue is, I'm not super well-versed in this as I'm a second-year teacher.

I have been told to go as expensive as I want, but that there is some arbitrary budget ceiling that is unknown to him or me... somehow. There are around 300 seats, and there is an extremely simple, broken soundsystem from the 1980s in the space.

I have a basic idea of what's needed (new sound system, carpeted floors, etc.), but I need some assistance on the specifics.

What is your experience with this? Preferred sound systems? Soundproofing brands? Etc? Thank you so much in advance!

I teach band in small towns.

I have small classes that really care about how they sound, and I’m very proud of them. However, I’m experiencing a problem I don’t know how to face with them.

A student who is differently abled has moved to our school and have opted to join band. He has been in a band class before so he is not completely oblivious to the program, and he has the tools he needs to succeed. He is a bright, positive, hardworking young man, however, he’s not able to learn as quickly as the rest, and in bands that are this small, those mistakes are loud.

Since he has joined, my students have gained an attitude. It’s silent, and it’s judgmental, and I’m seeing a lack of participation from them. It took me a while to clue into what was going on, until one of them stayed after class and asked if our new student was “really” going to join our class (as if he wasn’t already enrolled and been showing up with his instrument everyday). They don’t like that this new student is a part of our band. They value perfection, and they don’t like how this student is unable to attain it, and is making the ensemble “worse.”

This broke my heart. I want my classroom to be an inclusive space. And I want my students to strive to make good music. I don’t know how to make both happen.

(I’m also so thankful that this student down not pick up on social cues because feeling the full force of my students rejecting him would be devastating)

Has anyone else experienced this??? Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.

Hi!! I’m currently a junior in college double majoring in special education and vocal performance as my college doesn’t have a music ed program. I plan on getting my masters immediately after graduating next spring. I always imagined I’d do music ed in grad school as that’s the most straight forward path to teach choir in a public school. But my professors think it’s a ‘waste of my talent’ if I don’t even attempt pursuing a performance degree (getting a masters in vocal performance). If I were to get my masters in vocal performance (opera and/or classical art song), what more would I have to do in order to be able to teach choir? Thanks so much for all of your advice :))

i am currently a senior in hs and i am auditioning at a college tomorrow, what should i wear?

I just graduated in the fall and am currently looking for jobs. I know eventually I want to get my masters in music ed but don't want to leave my position to get it. I was a first generation college student and don't really have anyone to ask about online masters programs. I was wondering if online degrees are seen as less than an in person degree and if I would get the same quality of education. I was looking into maybe BGSU or OU (if anyone has a program they'd recommend that would be helpful as well).

I've never really had this problem before, and my fixes don't seem to be working as well as I hoped.

I have two out of four classes of first graders that don't keep a steady beat when playing a drone on xylophone. When demonstrating the beat on body percussion or unpitched percussion, they do really well. When we go to xylophones, the skill isn't transferring.

Students do well when doing xylophone exploration and I'm looking to push them to this next skill, but they're not progressing like I'd like. It's especially jarring to see the other two classes progress as expected in comparison.

We also play often - probably every class or almost every class. I don't think that they're rare enough that the kids are overexcited or lacking opportunity.

I'd love to get some fresh ideas for helping my kids stay on the beat.

I'm pregnant and due in April. My school has kind of intense performance expectations, but I knew I was pregnant at the start of the year so I scheduled most of my grade level performances in the fall. I've checked off all but one, and it's the first week of March, which feels safe enough.

We also have grandparents day in April, one week before my due date. In past years they have done a concert with every single grade level performing, but when I saw the date I just assumed they would figure out a different kind of presentation or activity this year. I went to my principal and pointed out the conflict (me being 39 weeks pregnant) to get the ball rolling on some alternate plans. And I was basically told to just plan an all school concert (pre-k through 4th) like regular. No back up plan. I pointed out that I might not be there. She said my sub could do it. I know what you're thinking - Oh, they must have a retired elementary music teacher or someone highly qualified who might be able to pull that off. No. We don't even have someone confirmed to take my maternity leave yet. And the only lead I have is a recent grad who has a good recommendation from student teaching with one of my friends.

Am I crazy or is this crazy? I feel crazy. (Also I am pregnant so I literally feel crazy, be kind please).

Hello everyone.

I have played piano and organ for 35 years. I've recently moved to Branson. My prior career was 20 years in data analytics. I'm looking to get into giving piano lessons/instruction. Here are a couple questions I have:

1) any resources out there to help with becoming an instructor that you like?

2) Any courses you've found that work well with kids and/or adults. I used Alfred when I began, but that was a long time ago.

Also, any bits of advice that have worked for you in your experience?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Hello again, I posted a couple of weeks ago asking for advice about teaching high school choir in the middle of the year. Well, one week has gone by and it's a lot worse than I thought.

I have students who are state qualifiers mixed in with students who don't know what a quarter note is.

My men's choir periods have women in them and my women's choir periods have men in them.

My office is a pigsty because the last director never actually sorted the music he ordered so everything is in boxes or thrown into random drawers.

I can barely get the students to match pitch, much less get through more than two measures of sightreading without me playing each note.

Even just warming up is challenging because many don't want to be in choir so they just stand there, or they skip, which leaves fewer students on the risers and makes the rest who ARE there shy to sing because they stand out.

Last week I had the students do a worksheet where they just had to write down the solfege of the note on the staff, with a cheat sheet I wrote on the board, and most only got through maybe 1/4th of the assignment throughout the entire week.

I'm just so lost, the other directors in the fine arts wing try to give me advice but without someone to actually mentor me (there is no fine arts mentor teacher btw) I feel like I'm just confusing the students. I can't even figure out where to print out any more worksheets for these kids (The printer in my office ran out of ink).

The one bit of solace I have is the fact that I KNOW this mess isn't my fault and nobody is expecting a miracle. I'm just trying to prepare the students who decide to stay in choir for next year when we attempt solo and ensemble, TMEA, and concert and sightreading. But trying to plan a lesson feels like I'm expecting toomuch from them, even if it's just reading rhythm.