10 Relaxing Activities for Teachers on Spring Break

1. 1. Consider indulging in a good book. Whether it’s fiction or professional development, reading can transport you to another world. 
   2. A nature walk can also be refreshing. Disconnect from screens and embrace the sights and sounds around you.
   3. Meditation offers a peaceful way to recharge your mind. Just ten minutes of deep breathing can work wonders.
   4. Try yoga, too; it blends physical activity with relaxation beautifully.
   5. Cooking or baking new recipes provides a creative outlet while nourishing your body at the same time.
   6. Why not pamper yourself with a spa day at home? A long bath or some DIY face masks might just do the trick.
   7. Gardening is another calming option that connects you with nature while allowing for quiet reflection.
   8. Engage in art, whether it’s painting, drawing, or crafting. Creative expression helps release stress effectively.
   9. Last but not least, binge-watch that series you’ve been meaning to catch up on—guilt-free!

10 Productive Activities for Teachers on Spring Break

1. 1. Consider attending an online class or webinar related to your subject area. This is a great way to enhance your skills while connecting with other educators. You could try listening to a podcast too! 
   2. You could also focus on professional development by reading music ed books or articles. There’s always something new to learn that can inspire fresh ideas for the classroom. You might enjoy The Mindful Music Classroom, A Music Teacher’s Gratitude Journal or articles like this one to get inspired.
   3. Exploring new teaching tools and technologies might spark creativity, too. Experimenting with apps or platforms can enrich student engagement when you return. Test out the resources that MakeMusic Cloud has to offer you and your students with a free (no credit card required) 30-day trial. During a school break and away from your typical day-to-day is the perfect time to check it out!
   4. Reading blog posts about teaching experiences allows reflection and growth. Sharing insights helps build community among fellow educators while solidifying your own understanding of various concepts. Explore the MakeMusic Blog—with tons of resources from teachers like you, you may even get inspired to submit your own article for consideration! 
   5. Plan Future Lessons & Units: Use this time to get ahead. Organize your upcoming lesson plans, develop new unit ideas, create resources, or craft a custom Playlist in MakeMusic Cloud with titles that you want to consider for future concerts and events.. Having a solid plan will ease the transition back into the classroom.
      
   6. Organize Your Classroom Resources (Digitally or Physically): Declutter and streamline your teaching materials. Whether it’s organizing digital files, sorting physical resources, or creating a better storage system, a tidy workspace leads to a more efficient teaching environment.
      
   7. Reflect on Student Progress and Assessment Strategies: Analyze student performance data and consider adjustments to your assessment methods. Identify areas where students excelled and areas where they might need additional support.
      
   8. Network with Other Educators (Even Virtually): Connect with colleagues, either locally or online. Share ideas, collaborate on projects, or simply have a conversation about teaching strategies. Join online forums or social media groups for educators.
      
   9. Develop or Revise Your Curriculum: If you have the freedom, use this time to review and update your curriculum. Incorporate new learning standards, adjust pacing, or add relevant and engaging content. Explore The Foundations Series by Brian Balmages for a trove of rich supplemental exercises that reinforce fundamental skills and offer exciting movie soundtrack accompaniments that students love!
   10. Focus on Personal Well-being and Self-Care: While productivity is important, don’t neglect your own needs. Engage in activities that rejuvenate you, such as exercise, hobbies, or spending time with loved ones. A refreshed teacher is a more effective teacher. Educator Adrian Gordon offers wise words on this topic that every music educator needs to hear. 

Self-Care Tips for Teachers on Spring Break

Spring break offers a perfect opportunity for teachers to focus on self-care. Start your day with a mindful morning routine. Enjoy a warm cup of tea or coffee while soaking in the quiet before the day’s activities.

Set aside time for physical activity that you love, whether it’s yoga, hiking, or dancing in your living room. Movement boosts mood and energy levels immensely. Consider indulging in hobbies that ignite passion. Read that book you’ve been wanting to explore or try out new recipes in the kitchen.

Limit screen time and social media exposure during this period. Instead, connect with nature through walks or simply relaxing outdoors.

Don’t forget about relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises. These practices can help clear your mind and reduce stress effectively.

Prioritize sleep by creating a cozy bedtime routine—rest is vital for rejuvenation after months of hard work.

Why It’s Essential for Teachers to Take Time Off and Recharge

Taking time off is not just a luxury; it’s a necessity, especially for teachers. The demands of the job can be overwhelming, and burnout is all too common in the profession. Spring break offers an invaluable opportunity to step back and breathe.

When teachers recharge over spring break, they return with renewed energy, creativity, and passion. This revitalization benefits not only themselves but also their students. A teacher who takes care of their own well-being creates a positive classroom environment where learning thrives.

Prioritizing self-care during breaks helps create balance in life. It allows educators to reconnect with their interests outside teaching and foster personal growth. Whether engaging in relaxing or productive activities—or both—these moments away from the classroom are vital for maintaining long-term effectiveness as an educator.

Teachers deserve this time to refresh their minds and spirits so they can continue shaping young lives positively. Embracing spring break as a chance to recharge ensures that when they return, they do so ready to inspire again.

The post 20 Things Teachers Can Do To Recharge Over Spring Break appeared first on MakeMusic.

If you’re not *YET* using these viral, explosive, fire-code-defying recruitment hacks, then this is your sign to get out your to-do list and get going! These recruitment hacks have helped music teachers all across the country more than double their programs in less than three years. And the thing about these hacks is that they really don’t take nearly the effort you might think! 

Before we go any further into this article, I want us to review our mission and our why for recruitment. We recruit because we know how being part of a musical group can change everything for an individual. We know that music is an expression, communication, friendship, and, so often, a home away from home. In a more pressing way, our school systems usually have a threshold with which we must meet if we are to keep our positions. Find out what this threshold is for your school and/or school system so that you can ensure your own stability. With those two reasons in mind, let’s dive into these tried and true tips for building your music program. 

Tip 1: Teacher Swap Day

We all know that getting into your feeder schools to invite younger musicians into your program is an essential recruitment activity. Still, we all know that finding a sub right now is harder than finding an exit at IKEA. They are nowhere to be found! Next time you want to get out to recruit, try a teacher swap day instead! In fact, stop what you’re doing right now, pick a date or two when this might work for you, and text those dates to one of your feeder teachers to see if you can simply swap places for the day. Not only will your admin love this idea, but you will be able to recruit all day long, and the older kids will get to see their former teachers! Win. Win. Win. Win! 

P.S. – When you do go out to recruit, don’t let the focus be on the recruitment spiel. Let the focus be on the music-making instead! 

• Practice the music they are already working on to show them how it will feel to be part of your ensemble. 
• Bring stickers, pencils, erasers, and any giveaways you might have! 
• Also, bring an enrollment form with a simple FAQ for kids and families! 
• Refer to them as musicians the whole time (or even whatever your mascot is, i.e. – “I loved your articulation there, bearcat musicians!”).
• And let them know how much you want to work with them next year!

Tip 2: Recruitment Team

Have a clear goal and share it with EVERYONE. Share your goal with your students, administration, parents, and especially with your pyramid (see Figure 1 below for the traditional pyramid structure). Because here’s the truth about recruitment:
The best recruiters for your program will always be your musicians!

Figure 1. Sample School Feeder Pyramid

If they love band and feel connected to the culture of the program, they are more likely to tell everyone. If their friends, siblings, and classmates see them enjoying orchestra and achieving success, they will be more likely to want to join!

Create a recruitment leadership team composed of your most vocal (read: noisy) and welcoming people. 

• Set them up to visit the feeder schools before or after school to help the younger kids and to build those musical networking sessions! 
• Share your goal with your students and post it prominently in the room. 
• Ask for their help in reaching the goal and let them know if there might be prizes as you approach the different enrollment levels.

Feel free to use this fillable recruitment poster template HERE for your classroom with a Canva account (it’s free if you don’t have one yet)! Simply open the template, change the name to reflect your school’s program, change the numbers to reflect the levels you hope to achieve, and then print! Just remember to keep the numbers achievable to maintain motivation and momentum!

Tip 3: Talk Less, Music More!

Once you have recruited kids into your program, you want to make sure you can keep them! One of the best ways to keep them is to make sure they get to do the very thing they signed up to do, the thing that they love the most, and the whole reason our ensembles exist: Making music! I constantly have to remind myself to talk less and teach more. If you suspect, like so many of us, that your verbal instruction may be getting in the way of making more music and of your students enjoying class more, try these simple strategies: 

• Instead of telling our students everything we want them to fix during rehearsals, try letting them have one more go to see if they resolve it without your help. I like to say, “Try again; you can do better,” or “I know you’ll do it even better this time.” It is amazing to see what they fix without our help. I recommend trying a 50/50 split at first and then adjusting based on your group (50% of the time give them the feedback needed; 50% just let them try again to see if they might fix it on their own). 
• When providing feedback, switch from verbal to aural feedback. Model what you want them to do instead of telling them. OR, have a student model what to do differently! This is a great opportunity to encourage student leadership and growth.
• If you must provide verbal feedback, try speaking in rhythm (as in chant or rap) in order to keep the musical momentum going. This will limit disruptions, increase the flow, and drastically increase the amount of music-making during class!

Do you have your to-do list? Are you ready to test the limits of your own classroom walls? We are so excited for what is to come for your own program, for you, and for the many little worlds you will transform through the incredible work you do every day. Thank you for choosing this field and for your dedication! I am truly in awe of our music educators and of the better world they are creating every single day. Happy Recruiting!

The post VIRAL Recruitment Hacks For Music Program Explosion appeared first on MakeMusic.

The new Annotations feature can be accessed in Compose and is intended to be used by students through Assignments in Practice—opening up a new line of communication between teacher and student! Teachers can leave helpful notes, markings, highlights, and even brief recordings for students to access as they practice to further enhance and personalize the music learning experience.   

Mark or emphasize accidentals, key signatures, or anything else you want to make sure students see

Demonstrate appropriate ways to mark music, reinforce accidentals, remind about the key signature, and more. Mark things the same way you would during class time to maintain consistency. The highlighter tool and free drawing tool allow you to mark up the music as you see fit. 

Record a stylistic example for student reference

Make a brief recording to demonstrate style or pitch with your voice or an instrument. Hearing an audible example is so powerful for students as they develop their ears. Since recording time is limited (30 seconds), we recommend recording brief examples that are just 1-2 measures long at a time. 

Record a verbal direction or tip for student reference 

Use the recording tool to record a brief verbal message for students that might include instructions or appropriate reminders. This is your opportunity to add your personal teacher voice to assignments! Do you have a special chant to review key signatures? How about other class-specific reminders? These and more can all be briefly recorded to share with students. You can even record yourself counting a rhythm in your exact counting system. There are so many possibilities here to bring your voice home to your students while they practice. 

Leave quick reminders to students about concepts you have been focusing on in class

Bring another dimension of your classroom to students while they practice by adding written notes of reminders in the same way they would be presented in your classroom. Do you define staccato notes as “bouncy” or have an inside joke with your class about “hippo style vs. light feather style”? Written annotations are the perfect place to make a call to these very relatable reminders for your students! You can leave a text comment that viewers must click on to reveal or include the text directly on the page with notation. 

More Annotations Tips

• At this time, Annotations are only visible to students who have been assigned your piece from Compose; simply opening in Practice from Compose will not display any Annotations. 
• Easily resize or reposition any Annotations by clicking and dragging. 
• Customize the font, colors, and more on your Annotations with the tool palette.  
• The Annotations tool palette has its own “undo” and “redo” buttons, separate from the Compose menu items found in the Edit menu. 
• Entering in Annotations while viewing a specific part (rather than the full score) will ensure that the placement in the music is accurate and that students see the correct annotations for their part. 

Get more details about how to use the new Annotations feature in this knowledge base article. 

The post Take Your Music Instruction to the Next Level with Annotations on MakeMusic Cloud appeared first on MakeMusic.

We’re kicking off 2025 with an exciting collection of new repertoire to inspire your practice and performances. This month, our library has grown with new interactive music for concert band, orchestra, and percussion, plus popular and film favorites.

Concert band directors will find captivating works by Andrew Boysen, Randall D. Standridge, Jorge L. Vargas, and more. For orchestras, the new additions include pieces by Brian Balmages, Lauren Bernofsky, Carrie Lane Gruselle, and more—perfect for bringing energy and variety to your programs.

Essential percussion exercises build lasting foundations with rudiments, stickings, dynamics, and scales found in Five Minute Drill by Eric Rath and Ralph Everett Hicks.

We’ve also expanded our popular and film music collection with standout tracks from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Sabrina Carpenter, ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, and Luke Combs. These selections are sure to resonate with students and audiences alike.

Whether you’re a teacher looking for exciting material to inspire your students or a student eager to explore new repertoire, MakeMusic Cloud has something fresh to offer. Start exploring today and make 2025 your most musical year yet!

Click to view this month’s new interactive repertoire

MakeMusic Cloud is home to the largest interactive and digital sheet music libraries available, with tens of thousands of titles spanning every instrument, ensemble type, skill level, and genre. Each subscription provides access to every title in our unrivaled repertoire library of music from more than 130 different publishers. Start your 30-day free trial.

The post January 2025 Repertoire Update appeared first on MakeMusic.

Communication is key, and administrators need to hear about your successes as well as your needs.

• Let them know when you receive a grant or an award.
• Let them know when you hit an enrollment milestone for your program.
• Let them know about your competitive victories and your students’ individual accomplishments.
• Be consistent in your communication and don’t only reach out when you have a problem.
• Drop in just to say hello when you are near the front office.
• Invite them down to the music room when you know that you have an exciting lesson coming up.

You wouldn’t believe the number of heavy interactions that a campus administrator has with students, parents, and teachers all before lunch on most days. Let your interactions be a bright spot in their day, and let your classroom be the place they want to come to get away from everything else.

(Steubing Ranch Elementary Choir) with soloists (from the Churchill HS Choir)- by Jason Gatell, NEISD

Administrators within a Fine Arts Department at the district level can serve your organization in a variety of ways. They not only support teachers in maintaining programs, but they also assist campus administrators by serving as liaisons to foster collaboration with their teachers. In my role as a Fine Arts Director for a large school district, I often get questions from campus administrators about their music programs: “Why can’t we place all of these choir students in the same class period? Can you tell me more about this workshop that my teacher wants to attend? Is this expensive instrument a necessary purchase?”

Having conversations with campus administrators allows me to share important information with them about the music programs on their campus and also allows me to better understand the issues they are facing. For example, it can be really difficult for a principal to approve a professional development travel request and find a substitute teacher for your large music classes on a Friday. Moving an AP Music Theory class to a different period may benefit the band program, but can have a ripple effect in the master schedule and impact lots of other students and teachers.

Not every school is fortunate enough to have fine arts representation at the district level. Sometimes these discussions can only happen at the campus level, and it is crucial that you put yourself in a position to advocate for your program when necessary. If you have a poor relationship with an administrator, that can be a hurdle for your success. Especially for younger teachers, it might seem intimidating to be around your administrator and you may feel the need to act like someone you’re not. Be authentic and try to make sure that all of your interactions are genuine. This will make it much easier for you both to foster a trusting relationship.

Staffing

One of the most impactful ways an administrator can support a program is to ensure that it is properly staffed. In many school districts, students and parents fill out course selection forms which are counted and used to appropriately staff each campus and program based on the number of potential students enrolled. Schools are ‘allocated’ a set number of teaching positions and campus principals have the impossible task of ensuring that every content area is fully staffed and that every teacher, dean, and department head feels as if they are getting total support. Some of these decisions are made at the local/campus level and some are made using a formula at the district level.

Staffing for fine arts is different from core subject staffing. There is so much specialization within each content area and music teachers and directors have unique backgrounds and certifications. For example, most band programs try to have brass and woodwind specialists when possible. Some cluster feeder campuses share a percussion specialist when possible. It is important that campus principals understand that all music classes and music degrees are not created equal. Some districts have fine arts representation that can advocate and influence music programs from a central office, but some rely solely on their music teachers to inform their campus administrators of their needs. Every city and state is different, but it would be helpful if you gathered some data from neighboring regions and districts to show how other comparable programs are staffed. Your state music association should have resources and data you can use.

Scheduling

The strategic placement of music classes within the campus master schedule is a key component to the success of the programs and to the efficiency of the instruction. There are a number of items administrators must be aware of when building a master schedule such as classroom usage, specialized ensembles or auxiliary groups, travel times to feeder campuses, and much more. Communicating your needs early and often will give you the best opportunity to influence the placement of your classes within the daily schedule.

Along with athletics, fine arts are often the largest programs on a campus. Many counselors and administrators who are responsible for creating the master schedule will begin by placing these programs in the schedule first, then filling it in with other courses that are offered over multiple sections. I recommend suggesting this to your administration. When singleton classes and Advanced Placement courses are scheduled for the same periods as large music classes, students are forced to choose between staying in their music program or taking a class that could offer college credit or an honors multiplier to their GPA. I watched it happen every year that I taught, and I know how frustrating it can be to lose one of your best kids to a scheduling conflict, especially if the conflict could have been avoided with some prior discussion and collaboration.

(from the LEE High School Marching Band)- by Philip Flynn, NEISD

Administrators are tasked with utilizing all available teachers and staff in the most efficient way possible for their campus. That objective may not always align with your goals as the teacher of a music program. Would your program benefit if you were able to visit your feeder programs regularly within the school day? Absolutely! (Which programs and sports wouldn’t benefit from that arrangement?) Does your campus have the staff and proper coverage to allow all program directors the ability to leave campus regularly? Probably not.

I had a great assistant principal who would schedule each of the large program directors to come in for about an hour the first week of the summer while the administration was still on contract. They were hard at work wrapping up the current school year and planning for the next one. We were each allowed to share our “dream sheet” with ideal class placements and could sit down with the administration to work through conflicts in real time if the schedule did not allow for a certain placement. By building relationships with your campus administrators you can advocate to have a “seat at the table” when these scheduling discussions occur.

If you are invited into that type of planning session, ask questions about the process and listen more than you speak. Find out what your administration views as the priorities within the master schedule, and what they believe the roadblocks are. Share your knowledge about your own program and be willing to compromise when necessary. In my experience, your flexibility and understanding may be rewarded down the line

Rehearsals

Rehearsal time is arguably the most important resource to a successful program. This time allows our groups to learn the skills that are necessary to make music and to perform at a high level. You may have to find a way to communicate the importance of rehearsal time and even your rehearsal space to your administrators throughout the year. If they have never been invited to a winter guard rehearsal or performance, it would be really tough for an administrator to advocate for that group to have rehearsal time in the gym when all of the winter sports are campaigning for more time in that space.

Collaboration

Collaboration and mutual respect between directors and coaches across the campus are crucial to the success of your programs. Teachers are often able to work together to share students and spaces, but occasionally they may need the help of an administrator to step in and mediate a disagreement. When you have two passionate teachers who both feel strongly about the importance of their program, sometimes conflict is inevitable. If you find yourself in a situation that requires administrative support, be sure that you arm your administrator with everything they need to make a fair decision by sharing your handbook, calendars, weekly emails, and other important communication.

Performances

If you have an expectation that an administrator will be present at one of your performances, then it is important that you are deliberate in sharing your dates with them. If simply sharing a calendar isn’t giving you the results you desire, then find other ways to get them involved. Ask them to narrate one of your selections, hand out the award at the end of the performance, or sit in on a performance if they have even the slightest musical background. Even if you don’t get a chance to speak to them at the event, simply acknowledging them on the mic at the start of the performance and asking your students and audience to thank them for attending will go a long way in encouraging that administrator to visit again soon.

For years, my program hosted the regional round of our state’s concert band festival on our campus during the school day. I would share the schedule with our administrators early in the spring and then get frustrated when not a single administrator would make their way down to the auditorium to watch our performance. It was the most important thing to me and my students that semester, but as I look back, how did I expect my administrators to know that?

I began sharing a more detailed schedule the week of the performance. I outlined exactly when and where on campus we would warm up and perform, and I listed exactly how long our performance would take, so they could plan to join us in the auditorium and arrange coverage if it meant they were missing one of their many campus duties. I also started bringing the trophy up to the front office after the contest so the entire administration and front office staff saw that it was important to our program. A few simple changes on my end led to a much better feeling during that stressful part of the year.

(Vineyard Ranch Elementary Folklorico Dancers) – by Jason Gatell, NEISD

Closing Thoughts

It is important to know that some administrators are not inherently understanding of our programs. While music teachers may appreciate the importance of these programs, some campus leaders may subscribe to an outdated philosophy that fine arts and other elective classes simply serve as a place for students to go while core content teachers have their conference period. When you acknowledge that not everyone may share the same passion for your program, it may be easier to talk with your administrator about your goals and priorities and meet them where they are, rather than assuming you are both starting on the same page.

Like you with your program, your administrators are trying their best to make decisions for their campus and their district while also trying to please students, teachers, parents, and stakeholders. It is important for teachers to have the ability to zoom out and occasionally view a problem from 50,000 feet. Just as the best music teachers do, administrators wear many hats. They are expected to be the campus experts in core content, master scheduling, hiring, state policies, special education, human resources, and so much more. It is sometimes easy to forget that your administrators were also teachers, directors, counselors, or coaches not long ago.

Your relationship with your administrator is one of the most important relationships for you to develop if you want to be in the best position to serve your students and your program. In my experience, the vast majority of administrators are eager to learn more about the programs they serve. Remember that you both share the same common goal of providing great experiences for children. You and your administrators have much more in common than you may realize. Much like a savings account, when you are deliberate about paying into the relationship with your administrator it is easier to make a withdrawal when you need their support.

The post The Music Teacher’s Guide to Building Administrator Support and Advocacy appeared first on MakeMusic.

So many of you have similar stories of how meaningful your music community has been to you. Participation in bands, orchestras, and choirs helps students and adults form lasting connections that can last a lifetime. Teachers who work together to teach music can also form long-lasting friendships.

Music ensembles naturally create conditions for meaningful connections. These connections are created through relationships, a sense of purpose, and engagement with something larger than ourselves. Music ensembles offer all of that, and as an added benefit, they connect our students to the profound, powerful, and life-enhancing gift of music. 

“Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here!”
– Albus Dumbledore

Positive psychology identifies key factors that contribute to our happiness and well-being and offers research-backed tools to help individuals increase their happiness levels. In a landmark positive psychology study, Ed Diener and Martin Seligman (2002) found that the happiest people had strong social relationships with meaningful connections. Meaningful relationships are an essential part of our happiness.

Our innately connection-affirming music groups provide the perfect setting for modeling and teaching strategies for raising connection and happiness levels.

Raising happiness levels is critical to our students’ success. In a meta-analysis of 225 academic studies, researchers found that happy individuals are, on average, 31% more productive, and their creativity is three times greater than those who are less happy (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). Imagine how amazing it would be if we could help our students become 31% more productive and 3 times more creative! The good news is that research shows we can aim to achieve this by using researched positive psychology tools that will make our students happier.

Nurturing Connection

In Love 2.0: Finding Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection, Barbara Fredrickson explores how tiny moments of positive connection are crucial to our health, success, and well-being. She refers to these brief emotions as micro-moments of connection.

Her research explores how these short but impactful positive emotions can broaden individuals’ thinking, build long-term resources, and increase happiness levels. 

Brief moments of connection with others, such as a smile, a glance, a kind word, or a shared joke, can activate the brain’s reward system, leading to measurable increases in oxytocin, fostering trust, and strengthening our sense of belonging, 

Below are some ways to create these small, impactful micro-moments of connection in our music classrooms.

A Kind Word: 

“Give honest and sincere appreciation.” 
– Dale Carnegie from How to Win Friends and Influence People

A sincere compliment or encouraging word, such as “I love your energy,”’ can create a small but meaningful connection and remind you that someone cares about you.

• Make Compliments Specific

Years of research have found that general compliments are less effective at improving relationships or boosting self-esteem. In contrast, specific compliments are perceived as more sincere and meaningful, making a more significant impact.

“Thank you for being a curious, dedicated educator who is taking their valuable time to read this article!”
– Peggy Rakas

• Praise Effort, Not Talent

Research by Mueller and Dweck (1998) encourages teachers to praise effort and process and to resist praising talent. In this influential study, students were divided into two groups and given a test.

After completing the first test, one group was praised for their talent, while the other was praised for their effort.

The teachers then asked each student to choose between an easy or more challenging option for the second test. 

• 97% of the students praised for their effort chose the more difficult test.
• 67% of those praised for their talent chose the easier test.

All the students were then asked to take a third test of equal difficulty to the first.

• Students praised for their effort increased their grades by 30%.
• Those praised for their talent scored 20% lower than they had initially.

This study suggests that when a teacher compliments a student’s talent, the student may think, “You value me because I’m talented, so I better not do anything that might challenge that.” 

However, focusing on effort reinforces that growth is about the process, not just innate talent, and encourages students to take on challenges. 

• Call Students by Name:

“Remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”  
– Dale Carnegie

Ten years after I graduated from Bowling Green State University, I ran into my college band director, Mark Kelly, at the Ohio Music Educators Conference. After all those years, he walked up to me, smiled, and said, “Margaret Ann Rakas!” I was completely floored! Not only did he remember me, but he remembered my middle name—and that I was actually Margaret, not just Peggy (a nickname all my friends and family call me). I was deeply touched and felt an overwhelming appreciation for Mr. Kelly.

Then, twenty years later, it hit me: 

I had a nametag on! 😳

I had spent years thinking Mr. Kelly was truly amazing. And, in many ways, he was—but remembering my name at that conference wasn’t one of them. Still, I’ll always treasure the moment when he called me by name and greeted me with warmth and a big smile.

Research shows that we feel a stronger sense of connection when we’re personally acknowledged—whether through a smile, eye contact, or someone using our name. These small moments of recognition create a sense of shared appreciation, and I certainly felt that connection when Mr. Kelly greeted me by name.

• A Shared Smile: 

“A smile is a free gift, and it’s the best way to make people feel at ease.”
– Dale Carnegie

There is much research to support that teachers who smile create a welcoming and approachable atmosphere, making students feel more comfortable in the classroom. And smiles are contagious. Research by Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson (1994) explores the concept of emotional contagion—the phenomenon where emotions, including happiness, can spread between people. Smiling at others is often met with a smile in return, demonstrating how emotions like happiness can be contagious.

“You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” 
– from Annie

• Laughter:

Humor is a natural connector. A shared laugh over a joke, a silly moment, or a funny observation can break down barriers and make people feel relaxed and comfortable. Research by Romero and Cruthird, 2007, found that humor in the workplace supports greater employee satisfaction and happiness, improves team dynamics, and simply makes work environments more fun.

If you are lucky enough to be amazingly funny, feel free to share your humor as much as possible. However, if you need some humorous inspiration, you can find my collection of funny posters for the music room here.😉

• Connect with Students Before and After Class:

While our students may not always experience positive relationships at home, we can provide them with a welcoming, supportive space—what might be considered the musical version of the “Cheers Bar.” A place “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

Aim to build that sense of home for your students: greet them at the door, create a small moment of connection, and let them know “you’re glad they came,” and they will reward you beyond measure. 🎶

NO ONE EVER SAID – I WISH I HAD NOT LEARNED TO LOVE MUSIC!

Being a music educator is truly one of the best professions on Earth. We enrich our students’ lives through lifelong, meaningful social connections while sharing the awe-inspiring benefits of music. And both students and teachers get to have fun!

I hope these ideas help both you and your students increase your moments of connection, enhancing your happiness and success. And, when you go to your next high school reunion, may you have a fabulous time connecting with your fellow musicians at the music table!

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but
people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou

Book links to Brian Johnson’s Philosopher’s Notes used with permission.

Please feel free to visit TeachingPositivity.org for additional positive psychology resources.

If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, don’t hesitate to reach out to peggyrakas@gmail.com —I’d be happy to hear from you!

The post Positive Psychology for Music Educators: Nurturing Meaningful Connections appeared first on MakeMusic.

As we close out 2024, we’re thrilled to share this month’s updates to the MakeMusic Cloud catalog. With 73 interactive tracks added, there’s plenty of fresh material to inspire your practice sessions and performances. Take a look at the highlights below, and don’t forget to check back in 2025 for even more exciting new repertoire!

Performance Music

This month, we’ve added a fantastic selection of concert band and orchestra works to help you bring something fresh and vibrant to your next performance:

• Concert Band: Explore powerful and engaging pieces by Alexandre Carlin, Brian Monroe, Adrian B. Sims, and many others.
• Orchestra: Discover exciting new works by composers such as Amy Barlowe, Heather Hoefle, R. Scott Whittington, and more, including works for string and full orchestras of all levels.

Popular Music

Our library of popular music continues to grow, featuring tracks from pop, film, and TV that everyone will recognize and love. New additions this month include music by Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Laufey, and selections from The Penguin and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There’s something here to captivate every musician and audience.

Ready to Practice?

• Teachers: Keep your students motivated by assigning these exciting new tracks. They’ll love the variety and fresh challenges.
• Students: Try out your favorite new pieces, hone your skills, and have fun tracking your progress.

Click to view this month’s new interactive repertoire

MakeMusic Cloud is home to the largest interactive and digital sheet music libraries available, with tens of thousands of titles spanning every instrument, ensemble type, skill level, and genre. Each subscription provides access to every title in our unrivaled repertoire library of music from more than 130 different publishers. Start your 30-day free trial.

The post December Repertoire Update appeared first on MakeMusic.

The holiday season is a busy time for music teachers, filled with performances, celebrations, and altered schedules. To help keep your students engaged and inspired before the holiday break, we’ve put together a collection of holiday activities. These fun and educational resources are perfect for filling those last few days before the break, whether after a concert or in a regular class, and are sure to keep musical learning at the forefront. 

Click the buttons below to download a PDF version of each activity.

Holiday “What Song Is This?” 

Grab this free worksheet download and encourage some sight reading and audiation as students can work individually, in groups, or as a class to identify mystery holiday songs. This resource includes songs in Treble, Bass, and Alto Clefs, so encourage students unfamiliar with clefs other than their own to try to figure the answer out with just the rhythm. The teacher answer key and blank student worksheet are included and reproducible!

Hint: If students get stuck and need extra clues, prompt them to match the melodies to titles found in Classic Holiday Solos or Easy Christmas Instrumental Solos in the MakeMusic Cloud library!

Be sure to follow us on social media and play along as we share some “mystery” holiday songs throughout the next few weeks.

Ensemble Sight Reading Challenge 

It’s a great time to try out Sight Reading Studio with your ensemble—you might even come up with some great ideas to utilize in your regular rehearsal routine! Open up a sight reading template—try starting on a very achievable level that feels “easy” to build confidence—and then project it in your classroom in Ensemble Mode. Learn more about Ensemble Mode here. 

Have fun reading short exercises, upping the challenge level as appropriate, or even creating an elimination game by having students stand up/sit down (on the honor system) when they mess up and “go out.” With like-instrument classes and just one instrument line, you can also have fun with the automated accompaniments in a variety of styles

How to access accompaniment styles in Sight Reading Studio

Festive Foundations

String and Band students (and their teachers) are LOVING The Foundations Series by Brian Balmages, and Festive Foundations is perfect for the holiday season! Try these exercises as a class (print for free with your MakeMusic Cloud subscription) and encourage students to try them on their own, too. The best part? Each exercise is fundamentally sound with festive movie soundtrack accompaniments, so students will feel part of the soundtrack while they practice essential skills. 

How to print scores and parts from The Foundations Series

Holiday Practice Bingo!

This is a great activity to send home with students over the holiday to encourage practice in a fun way. Since many students travel over the break, consider making this a bonus-points or bragging-rights-only activity and keeping it lighthearted! In addition, remember to give students instructions on the “Teacher’s Choice” space, or fill them in yourself prior to copying.

Download Now

Student Gratitude Letter Activity 

Use this activity aloud during class time or send home a paper copy with students to complete on their own. This activity will encourage students to spend a few moments focusing on gratitude during this busy season.

Download Now

Happy Holidays! 

We wish you a season of beautiful concerts, fun events, and a well-deserved break.