Hey y'all! I'm in a new classroom for general music this year, and I share a wall with a teacher and would love to lessen as much disturbance to her as I can. I'm thinking of doing rugs, but are there any other ways you've found that work for you to lessen your disturbance to other classrooms that share a wall with you? She said she'd also be willing to contribute to funding things to help with the soundproofing.

Hi all! I’ll be starting my first year as an elementary music teacher in just a few weeks. I will be teaching K-5 general music as well as 4th and 5th grade choir. I am an instrumentalist so I am a bit nervous to teach choir. However, the main reason I am coming on here is because as ready and excited as I felt… I am very nervous now as the date approaches. I feel like University taught me a lot about how to teach AFTER you’ve established a classroom community, but not a lot about the very beginning. I have a rough idea of what the first day should look like, but am worried I will miss something— so I would love to hear from those who are seasoned on how they plan for the first day, or even the first month of school while getting into the routine with students.

Are recordigns of Imlsp free of copyright? Where can I find them? THanks

Hi piano teachers,

I’ve been blocking out my curriculum for the upcoming year today and got on a bit of a roll. I’m feeling motivated and wanted to keep the momentum going through the end of the week.

Would anyone be interested in joining a casual Zoom this Friday at 12:00 PM Eastern? I’m looking for a few teachers who want to either attend or sit on a short panel to share what’s working for them. things like how you’re structuring the year, sequencing skills, or any practical frameworks you’re using.

No formal presentations. Just teachers swapping real ideas.

If you’re interested (either as a participant or panelist), just DM me and I’ll send the Zoom link. Looking forward to hearing some good tips and stuff.

Hey guys I saw a post on here about work life balance with voice lessons. Does anyone with experience with private voice lessons have success stories? I would love to pursue music education and I worry working in public schools would have a horrible work life balance.. I believe I would prefer private lessons I’ve bartended forever I enjoy building relationships and trust with individuals and building regulars.. I feel like I would be suited well for building a clientele but just see a lot of bad experiences. Anyone out there figuring it out??

With that, what is the job outlook for a new graduate in Texas? My child is looking into this field, and I hate for him to regret his hard work because the job opportunity is not there. He is a HS senior this year. He wants to teach MS and HS. I understand the colleges will have all their certifications done before he graduates, but reading the Tx Teacher tread and here, seems like a lot of people are having a tough time even getting an interview. His main school right now is UH and SMU.

Opinions, suggestions?

Hello all! Anyone have "TIPPS for Band" by Nilo Hovey? How do you like it? Would you recommend? I'm thinking of buying a set for myself. Just wanted some general info before I drop $100+ on it.

I teach middle school band - one section of advanced band, one section of beginning band

Hi all,

A bit of background on me. I hold a BM in Music Composition and an MFA in Video Game Music Composition. I work primarily as a private music instructor, I teach piano and guitar lessons and have a studio of around 45 students I teach a week. I've been teaching for about 3 years now. I am also a church musician, an arranger, and I run a business playing piano for wedding ceremonies and private events. My passion is music composition though I haven't been very successful yet in turning that into a reliable income stream. I enjoy my teaching job immensely and I love to meet with my students, learn about their life and watch them grow under my tutelage. I find it incredibly rewarding though it's not what I had envisioned for my career (young me thought I could easily support myself just with writing music haha.)

Despite being a fully-fledged professional musician I hustle 7 days a week teaching/gigging and only make a paltry amount of money, so I've thought about becoming a licensed music educator. The reason I don't make much even with a large studio is because I teach through a private music school and I don't get to set my rates. I've thought about leaving and starting my own private studio where I can charge double what I'm making per lesson, but it would mean starting over and looking for students again, plus I need to review the non-compete I signed when I got the job. Also the job is just not a reliable income stream, as students cancel all the time and I don't get payed for cancelled lessons unless they are a no-call no-show.

So I've thought about switching to music ed, teaching general music at elementary school or even band at middle school. I've even thought about making my own arrangements or compositions for middleschool/highschool bands and orchestras. This is actually what my composition professor, Joshua Reznicow did. He's a highschool orchestra director and composer and as I understand it his compositions are highly regarded by middle and high school orchestra directors. It would be really cool to write music specifically for a band or orchestra I am directing, tailoring it for the students levels.

So my question is, what are my options to make the career pivot? I have real-world experience in music education (albeit just private one-on-one music instruction, though I teach kids as young as 4 and my oldest student is 65) and I already hold several music degrees. What type of program should I look into to get licensed? I'm assuming I don't need to go back for a bachelors in music education, and I'm not sure if I even need a masters in music education either? Are there any accelerated programs I can take, or just programs that get me licensed? I appreciate any and all advice, thank you!

**LONG READ**

1st year middle school band director here. For the upcoming school year the district decided to put every school (elementary, middle and high) on a A/B day schedule. Monday and Wednesday is A, Tuesday Thursday is B. Every nine weeks, Friday switches between A and B day. So for the first nine weeks, Friday is an A day, then for the next nine weeks it’s a B day.

The problem is that my band classes are only on A days, B days is general music (I tried to fight it but they wouldn’t let me change it). I wanted to build this band program because the district will shut it down if I don’t get my numbers up, we already lost our choir and orchestra program due to low numbers/funding. When the nine weeks come and Friday is a B day, I will only have my band students for two days out the entire week.

How am I supposed to build up my program if I can’t meet with my kids at least half the week for half of the year?

Any advice is appreciated because I’m really stressed out and I want my students to succeed.

Hi everyone !

I've just made this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXREDxQ2Rog

but haven't tried to practice with the students yet.

Do you think it's a good exercise ? Is it maybe too difficult ? Or maybe you have other suggestion ?

Thanks for you reply

Being a music teacher has been my only "career" so far in my life and I am wondering if having a balanced work and personal life is possible as a music teacher. It is something I have been struggling with for the past 5 or so years and I went into last year with the goal of creating a balance (not staying after school so late, not prepping and planning at home, leaving time for family and myself each day, etc.) and I was not successful.

Is this common for music teachers and does anyone have any advice for something like this? For context I work at a 6-12 school teaching band and chorus. Curious to hear other's perspectives on this. Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has taken an unconventional path into music education.

I just graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from a well-regarded business school, but over the past few years I’ve gone back and forth trying to decide whether to pursue a career in business or follow my passion of music.
I’m still not 100% certain this is the right path, so I’d genuinely appreciate any advice on that decision as well.

While my degree isn’t in music, music has been a major part of my life. I have experience as a vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and percussionist, have taught private piano lessons, co-directed and accompanied a church choir, performed as a freelance jazz pianist, played in jazz ensembles, and have been involved in music for most of my life.

I was recently accepted into a public university’s Music Education program as a second bachelor’s student, which I’m incredibly grateful for. However, before committing to that route, I’m trying to determine whether there’s a legitimate pathway to initial K–12 music licensure that doesn’t require earning a second bachelor’s degree or already having a bachelor’s in music.

I’m hoping to find a program that would allow me to continue working (ideally utilizing my business degree) while completing my licensure. Online or hybrid options would be especially appealing, but I also recognize online programs are hard to come by. With that being said, I’m open to relocating if there’s a significantly better or faster program.

My main questions are:

• Has anyone here earned initial K–12 music licensure without already having a bachelor’s degree in music?

• Are there post-baccalaureate, certificate, master’s, or licensure-only programs that accept students with non-music bachelor’s degrees?

• Are there any reputable online or hybrid programs that make it realistic to work full-time while completing the program?

• If you were in my position, would you pursue a second bachelor’s, or is there another pathway you’d recommend?

• Realistically, what’s the quickest legitimate route from where I am now to becoming a licensed public school music teacher?

• Lastly, I’d really appreciate any general advice. Whether you’re a music educator, know someone who is, or considered this path yourself, what would you tell someone in my position? What are the biggest pros, cons, or realities I should think about before making the leap?

I’m really just trying to make the most informed decision I can before potentially committing to another several years of school. Part of me wonders if I’d be naive to make a career change before ever giving my business degree a real chance, but another part of me feels that music education would be a much more fulfilling career. I’m hoping to hear perspectives from people who have wrestled with similar decisions.

Any advice, experiences, program recommendations, or even reasons why one path is better than another would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

TL;DR: I recently graduated with a Business degree but am seriously considering becoming a K–12 music teacher. I’m looking for the quickest legitimate path to initial licensure that doesn’t require a second bachelor’s if possible, ideally through a program that would allow me to continue working. I’d also love any general advice on whether making this career change is a good idea.

Hello! I wasn’t sure where to post this thread, but figured i’d give it a shot here. I am a choir teacher and relatively new to Austin and i’ve noticed that there isn’t a music store for vocal music anywhere! I went to school and student taught in the Houston area and I know AMC music center is out there with tons of vocal and piano music. Do you all think Austin music teachers could benefit from a shop like that opening up?

Hello friends!!

I’ve been teaching band for 5 years now, but I’m in a shitty situation that is burning me out. Impossible co teacher, only getting to see my students 30 minutes twice a week, my schedule not being respected, and more. I just wanna TEACH, and I feel like I can’t do that effectively where I am.

I’ve been looking for a new job for three summers, and now we’re coming to the end of this summer break with nothing to show for it. EXCEPT. I have an interview with a private school this week.

At this point I am so desperate to leave my current situation. However, I don’t think I can afford the pay cut of going from public school to private school. But again, I am desperate. Anyone have any side hustles that are compatible with a high school band director schedule? This program does have a marching band, although I don’t think it’s crazy competitive. I’ve thought about private lessons but I fear it would take me too long to build up a studio and then I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills. I need something that I can start ASAP if I were to be offered this job.

I took a position for elementary band as a first year teacher (yay!), and I am looking into getting my rooms set up for me before the school year like taking inventory, getting rid of old supplies, and cleaning the room. I was a little overwhelmed by how much was in the rooms with music, instruments (there's a lot), general supplies, and other random things in there.

My principal is encouraging me to clean the rooms out and get rid of supplies that we don't need like old instruments that cost too much to repair, broken equipment, etc. My issue is that as a first year teacher, I'm worried I'm going to get rid of things that may be useful at some point, but I just am not aware of that yet. What gets me is that the school has like three different method books as well, and I was told I could use any of them, it doesn't matter. What do I pick? What do I do with the ones I don't use? It's stuff like that where I feel like I'm just a bit lost.

Does anyone have advice that was in a similar situation? It's great that I have an abundance of supplies and instruments, but I want to stay organized and neat, and right now, it's a mess. Any help is appreciated! :)

I'm currently researching whether software has an impact on learning for students in 4th to 7th grade.

If you're a teacher in these grades, are you already using DAWs or any other software to let students improvise or compose melodies digitally? Does it help keep students engaged and learning music theory, sight-reading, or rhythm?

I work with youth and have started hosting a youth jam night every other week, we’ve had 2 sessions so far and have 10 or so kids stopping by. I’m looking for advice from folks that may have participated in or run similar jam nights or programs or what have you, what works best? What tips or trick or advice do you have?
One challenge we're running into is balancing the needs of beginner musicians with the more experienced players. We want the intermediate/advanced kids to have space to actually jam together, while also giving beginners a chance to learn and build confidence without feeling intimidated.
Our first two sessions were just open, two-hour jam nights because we wanted to see who would show up and what they were interested in before imposing too much structure. It was fun, but also a bit chaotic. Some kids ended up playing the same instrument for most of the night while others didn't get much of a chance to try things out.
We're partnered with a local mom-and-pop music store that hosts the program. They provide a drum kit, amps, instruments, and staff who help out, which has been awesome. The downside is that we're limited on space, so splitting into multiple groups isn't really an option.
I’ve also done a little questionnaire to see what the kids want to learn, and they identified a few topics they’d like to learn more about (song writing, jam sesh etiquette, how to make a band/get gigs as the top choices).
My current idea is to run themed nights. The first hour would focus on a specific topic or skill (for example, guitar/bass/drum basics, songwriting, or jam etiquette), and the second hour would be a structured jam where everyone gets to apply what they learned. Beginners would get some focused instruction, while more experienced players could either help mentor or pick up something new before everyone jams together.
I’d love any input from folks!

Hi all,

I am currently debating on college majors for when I’m out of high school. I know I want to do music… it’s just a matter of what. I would like to hear what you think of music Ed, positive or negative thoughts. I know if I was going to I was suggested to get triple certified for band, choir, and general music Ed.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

hey everyone! i’m taking music 5113 praxis tomorrow, and my states qualifying score is a 155. i got a 152 on my first attempt (my undergrad is in music performance (voice) so cut me some slack here lol)

I have been BREEZING through a lot of practice exams.
I’ve taken the official practice exam through ETS 4 times, and most recently got a 90/120 (roughly a scaled 175) and i used the passage preparation course and got an 81% on the final practice test (roughly scaled 182)

I took practice test 1/3 from my mometrix book today and got a 57.5% (roughly scaled 158) 🫪🫪🫪 but ive seen a lot of people say mometrix is unbearably hard. was this true in your experience?? my confidence has just been MURDERED so im looking for some reassurance.

while taking the test, i thought a lot of questions were extremely detailed/trivial or weirdly subjective where i felt there was no right or wrong answer…

anyway, let me know what your experience was with mometrix practice exams, and let me know any last minute study tips/practice tests you liked! willing to try anything, as i start my final semester of my MAT and student teaching in a month!

"Bloodline" de Alex Warren é uma das baladas mais profundas e sentidas da atualidade. Como sempre, fiz uma adaptação exclusiva para as aulas de Educação Musical:
Excluí as notas acidentadas para uma leitura limpa e sem "armadilhas". Adaptei as notas muito agudas para o registo comum (até Ré6), facilitando a aquisição de um som perfeito e sem esforço. E diminuí ligeiramente o Andamento para terem tempo de ler e aplicar com feeling e fraseado.

Excuse the following rambling...I didn't take time to sort it out.

Hello music ed majors! I want to include some major insight that I learned this summer! I'm in my 22nd soon to be 23rd year of teaching elementary music. I graduated from a private university that many people know for a specific career. And many are shocked when they find out I'm a music ed major from there. However, many of My classes were wonderful and extremely well-versed in my major.

However, I learned something in the past few years that I didn't realize until I took Orff. See I knew that my experience with the barred instruments was weak considering my professor didn't really do a lot with them. We observed a lot of classes, but we didn't really do a lot of hands-on and my professor was not certified in Orff. So I wasn't aware that taking these courses while in college would have helped so much. And I do mean this summer courses! I know several college kids that took these classes with me as a professional music teacher. And they did a better job because they don't have years and years of experience clogging the creative side. See when you first take your first level, it's literally back to the basics. And I noticed all the college students would finish their homework in less than 2 hours while it took me over 3 hours on many nights. The instructor explained that it was simply because they didn't have the experience I had clogging the flow I needed to write that was required for my homework. Yes there is homework every night when you take your levels! But it's well worth it!

This summer, I took Level 2, And boy did it open a major window that I forgot about. See in college, I struggled in sophomore music theory... My university was well-known to be so difficult in sophomore theory that anyone that got an A would CLEP out of Master's theory when they or if they got their Master degree ree in music. They calmed down on this program after I had graduated! It doesn't matter because this point of view is really going to help you as a future music ed major. And if you're not a music ed major but a music major of some sort, you might want to consider this anyways because you never know if you have to teach!

I highly suggest anyone in college going ahead and taking Orff levels during the summers. It's only 2 weeks if you take it through a local chapter. It is pricey, but definitely worth it! The reason I say this, is because I was very weak in sophomore theory. I had a tutor and he was my champion! He's now a professor in another university in the United States. If I had taken Level 2 Orff, I truly honestly believe that I wouldn't have struggled as much as I did in sophomore theory! There is so much theory in this level that it would have helped me understand what I was learning in college! I'm talking about minor modes, mix modal pieces, finding the chords, And how they all work together. If you're a piano player or even many string players, this may not be an issue for you. But I did notice that many of us struggled. I lucked out to having a roommate that had strengths that were my weaknesses, and my strengths were her weaknesses. So we helped each other out a great deal. And we lucked out to be in such a small university to be able to do this. Also, in my graduating class, there was a small number of us graduating as music ed majors. I was the only one there that had any experience working with children. I've been babysitting kids since I was 11, had volunteered in a daycare in high school, as well as was a high school daycare teacher for a high school daycare classes. So, whenever we did a class lesson teaching children, I had to either go last or tag in to help others when they struggled. We all have our strengths. Music theory is not mine. But it's not going to hold me back.

I don't know if you're allowed to take Orff Level 1 The summer before college or not, I don't see why not if you have some kind of theory experience, but I wish the universities offered or if in the middle of the summers of their freshman in sophomore year or be able to take sophomore music theory their junior year or spread the semesters out for music ed majors to take these levels in the middle. Especially universities that actually offer these levels as a class in the university. If I had access to these classes I would have jumped on them immediately.

Sorry for the rambling, but that was an insight that I learned just a few days ago. I hope this helps The ones that struggle with certain parts of music theory even though they love it so much. If you didn't struggle, congratulations! I had many classmates that helped me out and were able to explain parts where I felt like another language was being spoken. I remember my first day in sophomore theory and I felt like they were speaking a completely different language, because I was not prepared with any kind of theory in high school.

A big insight for those going into college and wanting to be a music major. The universities that you want to go to, find out what their music theory books are and see if you can find old versions of them so you can get a preview of what to expect when you go!

The idea came from wanting to spend less time setting things up and more time actually playing. Like you really want to play and improve but school, work, and other responsibilities can make it hard to find the time and focus to practice consistently.

Edited ---
It's an all in one practice toolkit that lives next to the music you're learning.

It has a metronome, tuner, timers, stopwatch, video controls (slow down, loop sections, transpose, detect bpm/key), song/practice presets, setlist, quick notes, and a practice journal. You can save a song once with the BPM, notes, video, and what you're working on, then next time you can jump right back in. Journal auto logs and shows insights of your practice.

The goal is less about adding more stuff to practice with and more about keeping everything you already use in one place so you can stay focused on playing.

---

It's been a while since I've been active on Reddit, and coming back I've noticed a lot of people are getting tired of the "I made an app/tool/something" posts lately. I understand, so I figured I'd ask first before dropping a link if anyone is interested.

Hi.

For the past few years I've been releasing music under the name Punk Cake.

I never had a fanbase. I never had thousands of streams. Every release felt like I was throwing another message into the ocean, hoping someone would find it.

Sometimes a few people listened.

Most of the time, nobody did.

At first I believed that if I kept improving, eventually people would notice. But after a while, I stopped believing in my music, and eventually I stopped believing in myself.

A few months ago I released my final album, Neutral.

It's called Neutral because I didn't write it with excitement or hope anymore. I wasn't trying to create my masterpiece. I was simply finishing a chapter of my life.

Looking back, I don't regret making this project.

Even if Punk Cake never leaves a mark on music, it will always leave a mark on me.

Those songs carry memories of late nights, loneliness, hope, frustration, and the version of myself who kept creating even when almost nobody was listening.

I'm not posting this because I expect it to suddenly become popular.

I'm posting it because maybe someone else here knows what it feels like to spend years making something that the world barely notices.

If even one person listens and understands what I was trying to express, then sharing this story was worth it.

If you'd like to hear the final chapter of this project, here's the album:

Neutral
https://music.apple.com/album/neutral/1872824503