Musical Programs Made Easy
Learn how to create, rehearse, and direct a musical program so you and your students feel successful!
Watch PromoThe only course that takes you step-by-step to creating and directing your own musical programs!
Do you always feel stressed out about your musical programs? Do you have a hard time fitting in curriculum to your program preparation? Are you set to direct your first musical program but have no idea where to start?
If so, you are not alone!
I spent my first couple years as a teacher fretting about my programs, feeling like I couldn't get to all my curriculum, and worrying that my students didn't feel as successful as they should.
Fast forward seventeen years, and I now feel MUCH better about directing musical programs.
Not only that, I love creating my own! This comprehensive course was made to help you create your own programs, fit your program songs into your curriculum, communicate with parents, foster opportunities for advocacy for your music program, and more!
Does this sound familiar?
- You need creative inspiration for your next musical program
- You feel pressure to do a huge production, but know if you do you'll have to give up months of curriculum
- You know that although you've had success with programs in the past, there are aspects of preparation and performance that could be improved
- You feel like your normal lessons come to a halt for a good chunk of the year just so you can "teach to the program"
- You've felt frustrated with your students' participation (or lack thereof) in programs because they don't have buy-in
- You've been wanting better ways to communicate with parents and teachers about programs
- Even though you've paid hundreds of dollars for a musical, you're just not in love with it...and wonder if you could do something better
...Then this is the course for you!
Each module of the course includes helpful tips, a document to guide you on your way, secrets to success, and more! The course curriculum includes:
- Module 1: Choosing stories and songs: Includes choosing a theme or book, so you can integrate a unifying theme and/or children's literature into your musical, choosing material for your program, and tips about how and when to use pop music
- Module 2: Choosing accompaniments, from recorded accompaniments to student instrumental accompaniment, including three tutorials for using a free program called Audacity so that you can edit your own tracks
- Module 3: Preparing, including writing a script, so you can create your own script revolving around a theme or children's book, getting support from your administrator and your community, so you can choose accessible music AND have a crowd-pleasing performance, and preparing your students, so they feel successful AND you can still teach concepts from your curriculum
- Module 4: Polishing, including scheduling and running your rehearsals, getting creative input from students, simplifying your program, and final touches, so that parents and administrators still feel like your program is a "big" production
- Module 5: Communicating, including communication with parents and teachers, so everyone knows exactly what to expect, and creating a printed program to publish all of the details for your program
- Module 6: Performing, from your daytime assembly, to your evening performance, to reflecting on your program using discussion, written reflection, and more!
- Module 7: Creating alternate performance opportunities, including informances, to improve advocacy for your program, and singalongs, to create a sense of community and celebrate holidays
- Module 8: Tying it all together, including access to a Google Doc which course members can use to collaborate, helpful links, and a sample program!
What is included?
- 8 modules, almost 3 hours of video, and several PDF's and editable documents
- Facebook group where you can post assignments, share ideas, and have questions answered by the group and on Facebook Live!
- Personalized feedback and advice
- Access to a Google Doc where course attendees will share and gather ideas for musical programs
- A complete musical for 2nd or 3rd grade, called "Sailor, Sailor on the Sea," with songs, chants, an editable program, a script, and more! This program is not available anywhere else!
- A certificate of completion for anyone who logs 15 hours of work and completes the course, which may be able to be used for CEU's or credit by your district or state!
"Aileen's course has been immensely helpful to me as a new teacher! She has covered all the bases, so if you have never done a program before or if you are relatively experienced and need some fresh ideas, consider this course your one stop shop. Her ideas are so well-thought out and backed by years of experience that I am so grateful for how much I've learned - and how many mistakes the course has helped me avoid! I also love how Aileen provides a detailed explanation to her creative process in creating a musical based on a children's book combined with folk song literature. Following this process has allowed me to still cover my state standards in a meaningful way, and also create something enjoyable by kids, administration, and parents..overall, the course provides enough for the new teacher to feel comfortable doing something new but also leads you to spark ideas of your own!"
- Jackie Ecle, K-4 Music Teacher, Keller, TX
"This course will revolutionize they way you approach performances! The ideas presented are imaginative and innovative, allowing you to prepare for a performance without jeopardizing precious instructional time. More importantly, the support and guidance you’ll receive from Aileen--a master at creating performances based on children’s literature--is priceless."
- Amy Abbott, K-5 Music Teacher, Erie, CO; Author of Music a la Abbott
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Instructor
Aileen Miracle teaches general music in the Olentangy Local School District near Columbus, Ohio; she is in her twenty-third year of teaching. Aileen received her Bachelor of Music Education from Central Michigan University in 1999, and her Master of Music in Music Education from Capital University in 2003; she completed her masters studies at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. Aileen has served as President of the Midwest Kodály Music Educators of America, the chair of the Technology Task Force for the Organization of American Kodály Educators, the National Program Chair for the 2015 OAKE Conference, the Co-Chair for the 2019 OAKE Conference, and the Program Chair for the 2023 OAKE conference. In 2016, she was awarded Cheshire Elementary's "Teacher of the Year." She has taught Level I Methodology and Folk Song Research for Colorado State University's Kodály Program, Level I and III Methodology and Folk Song Research for DePaul University's Kodály Program, and Level III Methodology and Folk Song Research for Capital University. Aileen has presented at OAKE Conferences, and currently presents workshops across the nation and around the world. She writes about music education on her blog Mrs. Miracle's Music Room, has a podcast about music education on iTunes, and sells digital teaching resources on TeachersPayTeachers.