The teaching practices outlined below have been developed and refined over the many years that the Young Producers Group team has been teaching music production and technology in K-12 schools.
It looks slightly different on the ground for each teacher and class, but the essence remains the same.
These practices foster engagement and creativity in the classroom – all while boosting learning outcomes. You’ll have to find the right balance for you and your students, but these instructional techniques are tried and true ways to successfully lead an inclusive, and creative music class.
There’s a fine line between creativity and control.
Keep the atmosphere light and jovial but immediately and clearly address any behavior issues without hesitation. A creative classroom can’t be too strict nor can it be too loosey goosey. You’ll need to find the right balance for you and your students.
Write down the key steps of every process, technique, or procedure.
Music production and technology is rife with technical terms and procedures. On top of that, many students speak English as a second language. Writing down steps, highlighting key words, and keeping all of that on the board while students work really helps them keep on track and engaged.
Be yourself.
Teachers often abridge their personalities in the classroom. If students are expected to be themselves and pursue what is honest to them, the teacher must model that for them.
Enthusiasm is contagious.
If you are really excited about what you are talking about, it will rub off on your students. While showing a great deal of enthusiasm might be outside of an instructor’s typical behavior, it is necessary to present topics with verve and energy. Your passion gives students license to get excited.
Keep lessons simple.
Limit your lectures to only the topic you are discussing. Avoiding tangential discussions by only presenting discrete packets of information will help students grapple with technical concepts and stay engaged as they build their structures of knowledge. This can be extended to how students engage with the assignment demonstration videos. Viewing the entire demonstration at once may not ensure full comprehension by students. Instead, having students watch specific video sections relevant to their immediate projects can enhance learning outcomes.
Show that you care and invest on the human level.
When a student knows that you care about them as a human being and don’t just see them as a name on your roster, they are more likely to engage with the material and participate in the creative community. It can be difficult with large classes, but just letting students know that you’re there for them goes a long way.
Upper Elementary vs. Middle vs. High-Schoolers
Music Production, especially with Soundtrap, is an activity that students of all ages can enjoy. Going through the creative process in a community of trusted peers, facilitated by an encouraging and enthusiastic teacher, can be a transformative process for eight-year-olds and eighteen-year-olds alike. But, young people handle the challenges of a creative classroom differently depending on where they are at developmentally.
See below for some age-specific pointers:
Upper Elementary and Early Middle School Adaptations:
The piano roll and the complexities of music theory can be very difficult for students in grades three through six.
Adding scaffolds like just using the white keys of C Major / A Minor can help lead students to crucial early wins.
The Patterns Beatmaker allows students to make their drum parts with a simpler, more manageable interface.
If you feel that these concepts are too much of a reach, feel free to skip the Fundamentals of Harmony unit and draw from the supplementary materials instead.
All of the information we included around student work time in the project-based learning section still applies, but students this young should not be working on their own (or really doing anything in a classroom) for much longer than 20 minutes. Break it up by reaching into our supplementary materials for some games and other activities or bring the whole class together for some teacher-led games, like Electronic Musical Chairs or Transcriber Survivor. Students of all ages love coming together as a class to play games!
Middle School Adaptations (Relevant for Some High School Classes Too):
Sixth through eighth graders tend to be very concerned about social status and the opinions of their peers.
Anonymous listening parties can take some of the pressure off and get the ball rolling. Asking the class whose track was just played usually leads to its creator tentatively raising their hand to warm applause! Taking credit before it’s played can feel more personal for many students.
Take extra time before and during listening parties to emphasize your expectation that all students treat each other with respect. If a student is disrespectful, address it immediately and follow up with the student (and potentially their family) after class.
Upper High School Recommendations:
As students reach the end of their K-12 years, they can see high school as being no longer relevant to their lives.
Keep them engaged by challenging these students and giving them more autonomy.
Ask them about what they want to learn and what skills they want to improve.
Provide them with individualized projects. For example, make a remix or write a song for your favorite artist.
Anything is possible in a well-run creative classroom. Upper elementary and middle school students in YPG classes have done great work with pro-level programs like Ableton Live. These adaptations will help keep the average class centered and on task.
SEL and Media Literacy Development Through Music Technology
Fat bass is the ultimate trojan horse. Usually “boring” concepts like operating systems and file management take on a different resonance when trunk rattling kick drums and 808’s are in the mix.
Students often don’t realize they’re developing their social-emotional and media literacy skills as they work on and share their music. The joy of making music and the culturally-relevant sounds of hip hop, EDM, and other styles of electronic music give students and teachers alike the freedom to grow as artists and human beings.
Social-emotional learning opportunities abound.
Listening parties require openness and sensitivity from students as they share their work and engage with that of their peers.
Students’ original music, lyrics, and creative styles provide the means for connection and understanding across different lived experiences.
Students develop their collaborative skills by following group-approved best practices for collaboration.
Performances of original music have transformative power for all involved.
Media-literacy development in disguise.
Complex systems like digital audio workstations foster systems-based thinking and comfort with step-wise, process-oriented tasks.