Music for Life Bulletin Board

 

In an effort to help with retention in orchestra between elementary and middle school, I created this "Music for Life" bulletin board.  I was hearing from students saying that they wanted to become engineers or something else that wasn't directly music-related, so they weren't sure there was room for music classes in their middle school schedules.  I want students to be able to visualize themselves as musicians--no matter what they may end up studying in college or choosing as a career--and to understand that music classes are for everyone--not just those who are planning to become professional musicians.  This bulletin board showcases highly accomplished individuals who didn't necessarily go into music as a career but still had musical backgrounds (or sometimes musicians who also studied other disciplines).

The text on the bulletin board says: 

Music for life!  You don’t have to become a professional musician to enjoy playing music—music is part of a well-rounded education and is for everyone!  Music is something you can take with you for the rest of your life :) 

Check out these individuals who are well-known in their own fields and are also musicians—or are famous musicians who studied other disciplines too!

Here are the 15 individuals included (feel free to add your own):

• Neil Armstrong: Astronaut/Pianist, Baritone Horn Player
• Louis Braille: Educator, Inventor of braille/Cellist and Organist
• Charles Dickens: Author/Accordion Player
• Albert Einstein: Physicist/Pianist and Violinist
• Mahatma Gandhi: Lawyer/Concertina Player
• Art Garfunkel: Singer, Poet, and Actor/Studied architecture; degrees in Art History and Mathematics Education
• Sarah Gillis: Astronaut/Violinist
• Donald Glaser: Physicist/Violinist, Violist, and Pianist
• Madeleine L'Engle: Author/Pianist, Choir Director
• Steve Martin: Comedian, Actor, Writer, Producer, Musician/Banjo Player
• Henri Matisse: Artist/Violinist
• Brian May: Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist of Queen/Doctorate in Physics and Mathematics
• Condoleezza Rice: Political Scientist, Diplomat/Pianist
• Oscar Robertson: Basketball Player/Flutist
• Fred Rogers: Television Host, Author, Producer, Minister/Pianist
• Molly Yeh: Cookbook Author, Blogger/Percussionist

Who else should I add to the list?  One idea for an extension would be to keep in touch with a school's graduating seniors from music classes and showcase their involvement in music and their field of study/career.

Music for Life bulletin board:

• Google doc

You could print these out on white paper, single-sided, as-is, or I put the text about each person by itself at the bottom of the document in case you'd like to cut out the picture and text and paste onto a colored background as I did.

I also added information about and pictures of community bands and orchestras in the area to show what kind of musical opportunities exist for community members.

Enjoy!

End-of-Year Reflection and Advice for Incoming Students

  

During our last full orchestra of the year, students share their thoughts about their experience in orchestra with an end-of-the-year reflection.  Thanks to our elementary band teacher for the idea and for many of the questions!

I'll type up the responses and include many of them in the weekly email to families, and then I take their advice to next year's orchestra students and post them on the wall for all to see :)

• End-of-year-reflection sheet (Word document)

• End-of-year reflection sheet (PDF)

Here are some of my beginners' comments from this year:

What was the best part about playing in orchestra this year?

• Medieval Kings
• Getting to play cool songs
• String Fest
• Playing for family and friends
• Having my composition performed at the concert
• Performing for the school
• Learning the notes on a staff
• The concerts
• Trying new things
• String Fest because I got to do the thing I love for the day
• Playing very hard pieces
• Seeing how much I’ve grown from the beginning to now
• I really liked performing Medieval Kings in the spring concert because it was complicated and showed all that we learned throughout the year
• The best part was trying amazing pieces and discovering a new talent

What part about playing in orchestra are you the most proud of?

• Medieval Kings
• Playing different types of music
• Concerts
• Having my composition performed at the concert
• Playing Ukrainian Bell Carol
• How I did on my solo for “It’s the Blues Man!”
• Composing our own pieces
• Knowing all the notes
• Knowing some pieces by heart
• I can finally play an instrument that I like and I’m good at.
• Everything
• That I got so good so fast at something new!
• I am most proud of holding my bow
• Playing at String Fest—it was an amazing experience, I even got to play with my cousin!

And some from my second-year students:

What was the best part about playing in orchestra this year?

• I liked how the groups were small so we could go more in depth in our pieces.
• Definitely having the time to have fun playing with friends!  Many good times here!
• Getting to play more challenging pieces of music in orchestra (Telemann, Dragon Dance)
• I got a taste of playing in a group with people my age
• Everyone was able to stay together during songs
• Being able to have the experience of playing an instrument
• Being with friends
• The Solo/Ensemble tours
• String Fest
• I learned a lot of new things

What part about playing in orchestra are you the most proud of?

• I am most proud of how we all played in unison to make really nice sounding music
• Being a legacy for other 5th/6th graders!
• I’m proud to be playing the viola because not many people know how to play an instrument like this
• I was playing with everyone—not in front or behind them.
• My friends and I play more together
• The fact that we played my composition at the spring concert
• That we all work together well
• Playing for the kindergartners
• I learned quickly
• Knowing that I’m able to play an instrument
• Learning technique

We always have a lot to be proud of at the end of the school year!


And advice from this year's orchestra members to next year's orchestra members:

I typed these up in different fonts and cut them out in individual strips--they read like fortune cookies :)

End-of-Year Recruiting Bulletin Board

Near the end of the school year, I posted pictures and the names of the instruments students can choose to study in band and orchestra (plus the option of singing in choir).  I also included the grade levels when students can join each ensemble.  Now on their way to and from music class, students can be visually reminded about their musical options for the upcoming school year.

Here are some pictures from a couple versions of this bulletin board:

Elementary Orchestra Solo/Ensemble, Part 1: Description and Additional Repertoire

For the elementary orchestra students in our district, we create our own Solo/Ensemble festival each spring.  Since it's not an "official" Solo/Ensemble festival, we can create our own list of repertoire choices suitable for first- and second-year players and really customize the event to make it work for our students.

This is a big unit for us in orchestra, and it's a great experience for our beginners on many levels.  They get to prepare a solo and/or ensemble (duet or trio for first-year students; up to a quartet for second-year students), so the outcome of this performance really hinges on how much individual effort each student puts into it.  Performing alone is a really different feeling compared to performing as a full orchestra.  During this unit, we take a look at the whole process of selecting and learning a piece, getting it ready for performance, and then performing it for an audience.  Once students are in middle school and can participate in the "real" Solo/Ensemble festival, they already have an idea of what to expect.

Students take time to try out lots of pieces from the list of choices before settling on their repertoire, and I give time during full orchestra for students to form ensembles.  They enjoy getting to play with students who play different instruments than them.  The month before Solo/Ensemble, I form small groups based on S/E ensemble groups, which generally includes some mixed instrumentation.  We do a dress rehearsal during small groups, where each student introduces what they're playing and something interesting about the piece or something to listen to or watch for, and this is when I do my formal assessment and give last-minute tips.

The next week during small groups, we go on tour around their school.  I create a Google Doc with available times for teachers to sign up on, and then each small group gets to perform for one classroom.  If it's a time slot I'm having trouble filling, we can always go perform for the people in the office.  This is an authentic performance experience, as students get to experience what it's like actually performing for an audience.  The audience members always have great questions for our performers afterwards, and it's built-in school-wide exposure for the orchestra program.  I make sure to bring a camera and get pictures of each solo and ensemble performing to post in the orchestra room, and on the weekly orchestra newsletter.

Then, that Saturday is Solo/Ensemble.  Since it occurs outside of the school day, not all students are available to participate.  That's another reason we all go on tour at school--everyone gets to do that, and then the Solo/Ensemble festival is the icing on the cake.  We alternate each year between the two high schools in town so students get a sneak peek at the music wings where they will be attending school in the future.  Performers dress up, families are welcome to listen, and area teachers and musicians serve as our adjudicators.

Adjudicators fill out a rubric with comments for each set of performers, and they have a few minutes to work with each student too.  These one-on-one teaching moments are so valuable for our students, and they really reinforce what we're working on at school too.

It takes a lot of planning to get all the registrations turned in, the schedule created, performance rubrics printed, the sites set up, all the instruments tuned etc. but I'm glad we do it.

Most students perform music either from their book or from this "Additional Repertoire" sheet.  "Sweetly Sings the Donkey" is the popular ensemble choice with the beginners--they like the musical "hee-haws" in the last line :)  The lyrics are: "Sweetly sings the donkey at the break of day.  If you do not feed him, this is what he'll say: 'Hee-haw!  Hee-haw!  Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw!'"  Feel free to use or update these sheets to make them work for you:

Additional Repertoire (for first-year string players):

• Word document *

• PDF *

Contents: 

• Can Can
• Frere Jacques (round)
• Cripple Creek (duet)
• Sweetly Sings the Donkey (round) 
  

[Alpha notation included at the end too]

Additional Repertoire (for second-year string players):

• Word document *

• PDF *

Contents:

• Old Joe Clark
• Lakota Lullaby
• Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
• The World's Best Mother 

[Alpha notation included at the end too]

* = updated January 2026 for clearer resolution


Enjoy!

See also: 

Elementary Orchestra Solo/Ensemble, Part 2: Timeline and Documents

Elementary Orchestra Solo/Ensemble, Part 3: Creating the Schedule

Elementary Orchestra Solo/Ensemble, Part 4: Festival Day!