My Advice for New Music Teachers

You’ve done it. After years of hard work, you’ve finally finished your degree and secured your first music teaching position. As a new music teacher, there’s a lot of ropes to learn, and you may be feeling excited, anxious, or overwhelmed. You may also feel a bit of the ol’ “imposter syndrome,” almost convincing yourself that you don’t have what it takes to do the job. It’s completely normal.

So how does one transition from the role of music student to music teacher? What does it take to kick off your first year with confidence? If you’re a new music teacher looking for practical guidance, keep reading. This is where I’ll provide practical guidance and tips to support your first year in the music classroom.

The First Year is the Most Challenging

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. As a new music teacher, you are in for a busy and challenging school year. All first-year music teachers are. And, as much as I wish I had a magic wand to make it all go perfectly, it’s much more pragmatic to accept this now. Although I have plenty of wisdom I plan to share in this post, I want to start with this ugly truth so that you know on your hardest days that it does get easier and better.

Here are some of the things that can be especially challenging for a new music teacher:

Learning the names of hundreds (or possibly thousands) of students
Lesson planning
Finding your teaching style
Classroom management
Planning your first concert
Observations
Dealing with Admin
Finding time to sleep when you’re trying to do it all!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, give yourself some grace, and remember that every great music teacher had to start somewhere.

A Story from My First Year as a New Music Teacher

This story is a bit embarrassing for me to share. I think I’ve only shared it with one or two people before. Essentially, it really sums up my experience as a new music teacher!

When I started as a new music teacher, my first job was a part-time position where I was the “everything music teacher.” What’s an everything music teacher? It’s pretty much what it sounds like. I taught kindergarten through sixth-grade vocal, general, and instrumental music. I did not have a classroom. I didn’t even have a cart. My first teaching experience was in the hallway. Talk about jumping into the trenches!

Due to the part-time nature of my position, I balanced things out with two additional private teaching jobs; this meant I was balancing first-year teaching with two other music teaching jobs that went late into the night. I won’t lie to you, I drank a lot of iced coffee.

How much iced coffee? Well, let’s just say there’s a Dunkin’ Donuts right near my old teaching job that I visited pretty frequently. There were a couple of times when I’m sure I was running on fumes. When I was super tired, I actually paid for my coffee and drove off without it! And that happened more than once!

So, while I can never visit that Dunkin’ Donuts again, I still remember it as the funny story that encapsulates just how crazy navigating that first year was.

Stepping Into a School as a New Music Teacher

As you progress in this career, you’re going to learn that every school building is like its own little community. Just like any community, there are places to learn, and people you’ll interact with every day. It may take some time to find your footing, but there are a few things you can do to prepare!

Navigating a New School

Adjusting to a new school will take some time, but here are some suggestions to get you started on the right track:

Read your school website! Does your district have a mission? What is it?
Meet with your principal to discuss procedures + expectations for the upcoming year.
Meet with the guidance counselor and child study team to learn about your exceptional learners.
Send a letter to teachers and faculty, introducing yourself.
Ask for a map of the school. Review the layout before the first day.
Request a list of the school phone extensions.
Touch base with the school nurse to discuss any student medical needs.

Try to learn everything you can about your school before the first day. Do you know where the bathroom is? How does the copy machine work? Who is your contact point for supporting students with special needs?

You may not be able to figure out everything before your first day, but I highly recommend keeping notes of important information, so you can refer to it throughout the year. I promise it will come in handy.

Learning Student Names as a New Music Teacher

As a new music teacher, learning all your students’ names can feel overwhelming. As general music teachers, we often teach hundreds (or even thousands) of students each year, but making the effort to learn every name is worth it. It may take a few weeks or even months. Don’t give up. Knowing a student’s name is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to build a connection with them. Few things feel more isolating to a child than being in a classroom where the teacher doesn’t know their name.

Students are generally understanding of name mix-ups as long as you show a sincere effort to learn. You can speed up the name learning process by:

Singing Name Game Songs
Using Name Tags
Assigned Seating with a Seating Chart
Student Photos

I am a visual learner, so I tend to master my students’ names faster by studying pictures. I use an app called iDoceo, which helps me keep student photos next to the names on my class roster and on my seating chart. Alternatively, you can just as easily study your students’ pictures in an old yearbook, or through whatever portal your district uses for grading and attendance.

Your School Community

I mentioned that every school building is like its own little community. That community extends beyond the students you teach and into the faculty, administrators, and families of your school district. Don’t underestimate anyone! New music teachers need all the support they can get. With the right approach, you can turn your biggest critics into raving fans. Here’s who you should aim to connect with within the first month of the school year.

The students you teach
Student families
Classroom teachers
Music department colleagues (if any)
Other special area teachers (i.e. Art, PE, World Language, etc.)
Child Study Team
Administration
School Secretary
School Nurse
School Guidance Counselor
As many custodians as possible!

One tip I’ll share is that your school custodians are invaluable. Need someone to help you assemble a music cart? They’re on it. Looking to relocate and transport a bunch of heavy music equipment? Leave it to them. Broken microphone? Consider it handled. Everyone on the list I included above is important for building trust and music program loyalty, but I can promise you that school custodians are a new music teacher’s best friend. Take the time to get to know them and appreciate them as often as you can.

Finding Your Footing Through the Year

It is not unusual for me to talk to a teaching colleague and, as we’re reflecting on our first-year teaching mistakes, hear them say, “I was so bad back then!”. This isn’t to scare you, it’s to let you know that you WILL stumble and make some judgement calls that aren’t perfect. As a new music teacher, you’re still figuring out who you are and how your program is going to run. Don’t be afraid to try new things and change them when they’re not working. With a bit of trial and error, you’ll find a style and method that works for you.

Teaching Style

There are so many styles of teachers! You might be a soft-spoken introvert, or the loudest voice in the classroom! Maybe you value traditional music teaching approaches, or you might be more open to inviting technology and innovation into your teaching method. It may take some time to figure out what kind of teacher YOU are, but I recommend sticking to that identity and style once you figure out what it is. The more consistent you are in your style, the more students will appreciate the uniqueness you bring to your lessons!

Classroom Management for New Music Teachers

The best kind of classroom management plan is the one you can execute consistently, without wavering. One of my biggest classroom mistakes early in my career was not following through on discipline because I was afraid of hurting a student’s feelings. This led to a lot of protest and pushback from students whenever I did need to deliver a consequence. I eventually learned that consistency is the biggest key in classroom management.

When students know exactly what to expect, they automatically feel safer and more comfortable in your music room. It doesn’t mean you need to be mean or angry. It means being honest and fair. Your students will inevitably test your boundaries (especially at the beginning of the year), but they’ll begin to respond better when you hold the line firmly and follow the plan you’ve put in place.

As a new music teacher, you’ll likely try out different classroom management methods until you find the one that works for you. I have some helpful posts about music classroom management, which I’ll share below:

Observations as a New Music Teacher

As a first-year music teacher, it can sometimes feel nerve-wrecking to be observed. Totally understandable! I recommend looking over your district’s observation criteria and getting to know your observer’s preferences before the observation (if at all possible). Generally speaking, a music program administrator is going to look much more carefully at academic content, while a building principal will likely be more focused on student engagement and classroom management.

There are a lot of areas to focus on in a formal observation. Here are just a few:

Music lesson content + pacing
Classroom environment
Classroom management
Musical activities
Student engagement
Cross-curricular connections
Integration of technology
Differentiation of instruction
Higher-order thinking skills

Your district’s observation manual will be much more detailed, but I recommend not trying to nail everything in a single observation. Instead, try to pick one or two areas that you’ll really focus on and prepare for them as best as possible!

Observations don’t always go perfectly. Even if you’re one of the teachers who bribes their class with candy (and no, I don’t recommend this), you cannot reasonably expect everything to go as planned. These are children after all. It’s important to think on your feet and be prepared to pivot your entire plan if needed.

One year, I had a student run and hide in a closet during an observation because it turned out he was afraid of the song In the Hall of the Mountain King. I had planned an entire lesson using this piece of music to teach dynamics, but I did NOT plan for a kid to hide in a closet in front of my principal! Fortunately, I pivoted and was able to coax the student out. The lesson pivoted to a discussion about how much music could make us feel emotions. Not planned at all, but my principal was more impressed by how well I was able to make the defiant student feel comfortable and safe in my classroom, and I received high marks!

My point is, don’t be afraid to change your plan or pivot if things aren’t going according to plan. Use your judgement and keep your focus on supporting the students. You should be fine! 🙂

Admin

Speaking honestly, admin is a mixed bag. Supportive, compassionate administrators are worth their weight in gold, and they DO exist! However, I’ve also had plenty of combative administrators too, which is never fun. As a new music teacher, my best advice to you is to tread cautiously, communicate with colleagues, and always monitor the reactions and responses of each administrator carefully. The good news about bad administrators is that they usually don’t stay long. And if they do? You’ll keep looking until you find the right place for you.

Your First Concert as a New Music Teacher

Planning a smooth concert is a lot of work, but its important. Because a concert brings visibility and exposure for the music program, planning for it shouldn’t be an afterthought. I typically start planning for concerts 2-3 months in advance, but as a new music teacher, you may want even more time to prepare.

Please note: It is probably best to play it safe with your first concert and avoid planning anything too complex until you build trust with the school community. You may want to do some investigating to find out what the previous music teacher did for concerts! The goal isn’t to copy, but to get a sense of what the students are used to, and how it was perceived. You may find out that the past music teacher recycled the same fifteen songs every seven years, or that they were a big Orff enthusiast. Likewise, you might learn about beloved concert traditions or major problems that need to be resolved. Always try to learn as much as you can, and use it to build a manageable concert plan for yourself.

For more information on concert planning, I recommend reading the following posts:

Support for New Music Teachers

Having a strong support system is the key to making it through your first year and beyond. This may come in the form of a mentor, teaching colleagues, professional development, online teaching groups, and so much more. Wherever your support system comes from, it’s important to find that support system somewhere you feel safe to talk openly about the good, the bad, and the ugly, without fear of it getting back to your admin.

If you’re looking for a supportive, judgement-free community, you may want to join the Sharing the Magic group on Facebook, where you can talk and share with music educators just like you!

Need some free music teacher resources to get you started this year? Join the Chamber of Freebies! It’s your one-stop shop for engaging music resources that really make a difference for new music teachers ⬇️

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