Summer break is a great time for students and teachers to enjoy a change of pace. MakeMusic Cloud can help teachers offer students enrichment and fun musical activities in a quick and easy way so that everyone gets to enjoy a break! We’ve collected ideas from our MakeMusic Innovators and Clinicians (real teachers and MakeMusic Cloud users) about how they keep the music going in the summer months with MakeMusic Cloud’s help. 

Summer Band Prep 

We run a summer band before the start of school in August. At the end of the current school year, we announce the summer band theme. This year, it will be “Traughber Summer Band Goes to the Movies!” We assign the Summer Band music in MakeMusic Cloud so students have access to it throughout the summer. They are always excited to play it with their friends and before they come to camp since it includes some of their favorite movie music.

-Rachel Maxwell 

Sharing Favorites 

My students really enjoy playing very current pop music. Nothing crazy but just short transcriptions of the main melodies that include the backing track. Maybe the associated scale and a short exercise with a necessary skill to help play the piece, like the Suzuki books.  Including some way to play and collaborate with other students would definitely help. 

-Dan DiPasquale 

I create a MakeMusic Cloud summer class. I assign them solos, orchestra pieces, and fun stuff I know the kids will enjoy. I  like to give recognition to the students who completed the assignments during our fall concert. 

This year’s theme will be Hogwarts School of Music. I am thinking of ways to incorporate that into the summer lessons. They will earn house points for completing different tasks/assignments through MMC. I also love to incorporate the buddy assignment. Where they work on any piece of their choice with a friend, and they submit a video of them performing it. This has helped them keep each other accountable and they have fun practicing and hanging out with their friends. 

-Kelly Weddington 

Head Start on Next School Year 

At the end of the school year, after the final concert, I would pass out some of the pieces I was planning to play the following school year. We would read through them, trying to make the experience fun/interesting. After that, I would ask the kids to sign up to a “summer only” class I created on MMC where I had “assigned” those pieces as well as others I was considering. No grade or submission was necessary. I let them know that at the end of the summer, I would look at the practice analytics and excuse anyone with 200 total minutes of “play” time from the first performance exam of the fall.

-Kevin Mead

Fun Challenges and Rewards 

1.Create MMC Summer Only class. 

2. Assign weekly challenges (short technique exercises) in MMC. Students earn 1st quarter extra credit for submitting any of the challenges. Recognition in Fall program for challenge participants. 
3. Assign pop tunes for practice only, and students earn extra credit for practice minutes recorded in MMC. 

I’d like to offer some sort of award/recognition for exploration in MMC.

-Meghan Fulton

I always push private lessons and local summer music camps to my middle school students, and have also sometimes used MMC songs to encourage students to do some focused work. Lately, I’ve been thinking about a plan for this summer that would reward practice time based on the analytics MMC provides. I haven’t worked out the details yet, but I’m thinking about having a reward and recognition system based on tiered levels of practice minutes. I think that I could match that with Kevin Meads process by picking some music to aim for at the first concert.

-Sean Kemp

I always push private lessons and local summer music camps to my middle school students, and have also sometimes used MMC songs to encourage students to do some focused work. Lately, I’ve been thinking about a plan for this summer that would reward practice time based on the analytics MMC provides. I haven’t worked out the details yet, but I’m thinking about having a reward and recognition system based on tiered levels of practice minutes. I think that I could match that with Kevin’s process by picking some music to aim for at the first concert.

-Mike Kamuf 

More Practical Tips 

1. Marching band for HS. All their music is in Makemusic Cloud for students to learn and practice over the summer in preparation for band camp.
2. MS students. I create playlists in MMC for them to work on. Fun music with high interest, my hope is that they will want to practice and learn.
3. Currently working on a Music buddy system with my TriM music honors students at the HS level. I am asking them to teach some of our 1st-year students over the summer months. They are signing up and my goal is to pair the 1st year students who want instruction with the HS student for a few lessons over the summer. The older students have MMC and we are using Sound Innovations as our method book so they can work with the students on their own.  I plan to stress the idea of using the SI Extras (movie) soundtracks for younger students. My hope is this will help build community within the program.

-Stephen Goss

Practicing over the summer is a huge challenge for my students who are often working full time to support their families, taking care of siblings/cousins and generally living in places that make practice difficult, but here are my ideas:

1. Program your ideal band concert using the music you find in MMC. Some pieces might even make it into our concerts next year! (That way my students can still analyze repertoire and work on listening skills without having to play.)
2. Similarly, find warm ups that work on the skills that you want to improve in band next year. Extra credit in the fall semester if you record yourself playing them accurately.
3. Find your favorite new release in MMC and share it with your classmates. Challenge them to record it and send it your way if they can!

-Megan Lewin 

We are so grateful for these tips and insights from our MakeMusic Cloud Clinicians and Innovators—they even shared some inspiration amongst one another as we collected their thoughts. Wishing you all a restful break to recharge for next year!