Introduction to Music Careers for Middle School
Subject Area: Music
Grade Level: Middle School
Duration: 40 – 50 minutes
Objective: To introduce middle school students to a wide range of careers in the music industry through interactive exploration and creative expression.
Materials:
- Internet access for video examples
- Speakers for playing music and video clips
- Art supplies like markers, colored pencils, and poster paper
- Handouts with descriptions of various music careers
Lesson Outline:
- Introduction to Music Careers
- Begin with a short, engaging video that highlights various people working in different music careers (e.g., a day in the life of a sound engineer, music producer, performer, music teacher).
- Discuss the variety of roles shown in the video and how each contributes to the world of music.
- Videos can be found here – NAMM Foundation – Careers in Music – Offers resources and articles about a wide range of careers within the music industry. NAMM Careers in Music website
- Music Career Stations
- Set up stations around the room, each dedicated to a different music career. Each station should have a brief description of the career, interesting facts, and a QR code linking to a video or audio example of work related to that career.
- Allow students to rotate through the stations in small groups, spending a few minutes at each to read, listen, and watch the materials provided.
- Creative Role-Play Activity
- After exploring the stations, ask students to choose their favorite music career. Provide them with art supplies to create a ‘day in the life’ poster of someone working in that career.
- Encourage creativity: they can draw scenes, write out a daily schedule, and list the skills and tools the person would use.
- Career Share and Discuss
- Invite students to present their posters to the class, sharing what they learned about their chosen career.
- Facilitate a discussion on how these various careers might interact with each other within the music industry (e.g., how a composer might work with a sound engineer).
- Exit Ticket:
- Hand out a simple questionnaire for students to fill out:
- Which music career did you find most interesting today and why?
- What is one skill you learned today that someone in your chosen career needs?
- What is one question you still have about careers in music?
- Resource Websites: