Music Education Hack #1!
Welcome to the first installment of Music Education Hacks!
I wanted to create a series where I highlight the tips and tricks that I (and others!) use to augment, organize, and shape their teaching. Sometimes this can be based around a method, warm-ups, worksheets (Cough), or set of gear. It’s wild how a few changes/additions can make your life as a teacher better. This in turn, makes you a better teacher.
With that in mind, I figured this series would could help people find new ideas, and maybe help spread the word about what new ideas or products can help your program reach new heights-(or maybe just make your life a little easier).
To begin the series, I thought I’d start us off with a bang. Something program altering. Director sanity saving. You may have even heard about this piece of high tech gear before…
The 3 Ring Binder
Behold, The binder in all its glory!
Okay Okay. It may not be the most exhilarating piece of equipment out there, but hear me out.
In our program previously, in a way to save money (or so I thought), we had the younger students use regular ol’ folders for their music and book storage. Folders like the ones they’d use for their math worksheets, not the fancy music ones (can’t afford those for our middle schoolers/beginners).
Donate these to a math teacher in need.
There’s a few problems with regular non-music folders.
They bend, which means the music inside will bend.
They don’t fit the music well- especially larger pieces, which causes them to bend the top.
Kids don’t take care of them.
They don’t allow much/any organization
Music is easily misplaced/left on stands/eaten by dogs.
All of these cause director headaches. I used to get frustrated with the kids for these problems (granted they are partly to blame) but these are issues that can be solved on OUR end with the proper equipment. There’s a few pieces of equipment you’ll need to make your music room organization dreams a reality.
3 ring binders
Sheet protectors
STRONG 3 hole punch (more on this later)
So what binder should we use?
I did quite a bit of research on ours (I research EVERYTHING) and at the end of the day I wanted to find the cheapest possible option that worked. We ended up getting this set from Amazon for band. These are cheaper than the ones you can find at places like Walmart, but work great. We got two sets of 24 (1 in), which covered our needs. Currently, these (.5 in) are the ones we use for choir, and they’re comparatively priced and basically the same. They all fit perfectly in our cabinets.
The binders in their natural habitat.
Next, you’ll want to get some sheet protectors. These protectors would probably be fine, or just any sheet protector from Walmart. If you’re lucky you can do what I did and grab some from your school’s office (woo freebies!).
Now here comes the real kicker. The thing that makes this 100% worth doing. Are you ready?
The 3 Hole Punch
That’s right, the 3 hole punch, and I’m not talking about those tiny little one sheeters. I’m talking about a extra heavy duty three hole punch. You may be wondering why you need the hole punch if you already have sheet protectors for their music.
No, not this. Nothing against pink, but you’ll want a bit more horsepower.
You want to be able to punch through the method book.
This is what makes it really worth doing. Turns out, if you have the right 3 hole punch you can actually go right through the method book itself. Why should you do this? All of your students’ music can now be in the same place. No random music or books abandoned in your room for you to track down their owners. So what 3 hole punch can get the job done?
This one.
So yea… we got the Bostitch 03200 Xtreme Duty 2-3 Hole Punch. I can hear you screaming at your computer screen now- “$115 for a 3 hole punch?!”. Yea, I thought that too. Here’s the justification I used to get my school to purchase us one.
We can leave it in the office for the whole school to use.
It’s the cheapest one available (that I could find) that will get the job done of punching through a method book easily.
It will SAVE you money in the long run by having to run less copies for lost music, buying extra band books for the kids who destroy theirs, etc.
It will save you class time of having to scramble to help kids with their misplaced things.
(Quick aside: This one is currently cheaper and would likely work, but it has few reviews so it’s a dice roll)
Facts
With your new three hole punch you can punch their books and finally solve your students’ organizational woes. Pro-tip, when you punch the books- punch low enough that the bottom of the book doesn’t hang below the binder (don’t center it). It’s better for the book to hang out a bit on top vs the bottom so that the binder lays flat on the stand. I didn’t learn this until part way through, so some of my books are a bit too low. Learn from my mistake.
Your students new music storage system
The front. Slap a piece of paper in there with a number and a logo and you’ve solved a ton of organizational problems.
The back, you could put something here…I didn’t. Maybe a sheet with the students name? Maybe a Mad Music worksheet? Practice sheet?
I have my beginners throw in their Mad Music fingering chart in the front sleeve. It perfectly fits over the sleeve (in case it’s not transparent) and allows them to easily check their first 6 notes.
Our method book goes in first, and then I have their music pages go behind in sheet protectors. Any method of organization you want will work, the magic is having them all in one place. Shoutout to John McAllister warm-ups!
And there you have it, for less money than new “professional” music folders, your students can have a sturdy way to hold all of their music literature, organize it, and even hold their method books! I’ve been using this system for a little over a month now, and it has made my life so much easier. My high schoolers currently use “professional” folders and I’m thinking of switching them over to these.
I’m tired of finding their music laying around the band room too…
You made it to the end! A few disclaimers-
Like most things in the world, I’m not pretending to have pioneered this idea. Shoutout to the middle school band directors Facebook group for putting me on to the idea in the first place. It’s a great group, totally worth joining!
I may or may not receive compensation if you buy something using a link from my site. Depends on what it is. I won’t put something on here that is trash or that I wouldn’t use myself. Like I said, I’m a huge research nerd, so everything I post is extremely vetted…except maybe things like sheet protectors. I mean…they’re sheet protectors, you kinda know what you’re getting.
If you have ideas or suggestions for other music education hacks, let me know! You can contact me at contact@madmusic.com or leave a comment below!
