Stuck in a Repertoire Rut? Here are 5 Ways to Get More Mileage Out of the Music You Love!

You know the feeling. It's October, the folders are passed out, and you're rehearsing the same piece the same way you did last Tuesday. And the Tuesday before that. The students sound fine. You're a little bored. And if you're honest, they might be getting bored as well.

That's a repertoire rut.

The instinct is to go shopping for new music. I get it, because I've done it! But a lot of the time, the music isn't the problem. The piece you’re rehearsing over and over again already has plenty to teach. We just tend to use it for one job: getting it ready for the concert.

Here are five ways to get more mileage out of the music you already love, whether you teach a general music class or a high school ensemble. None of them require a new purchase. Most take ten minutes or less.

First, where's your rut?

When we hit a repertoire rut, it won’t always be the same. The underlying cause can be very different. This is a clear case of something I say a lot: context drives the ship. What causes a rut at the elementary general music level could be different from the cause of a rut in high school choir. And because ruts aren't all the same, the fix isn't either. Here are some of the ruts I’ve personally experienced (I’ve actually said these out loud to my colleagues multiple times!), along with some recommended go-to moves if this sounds you.

• “My students can play it, but they can't tell me much about it." Start with #1, Unpack the piece.

• “Composing and improvising hardly ever make it into my class."‍ ‍Start with #2, Grow a motive.

• "Students follow my interpretation. They rarely make musical choices of their own."‍ ‍Start with #3, Compare and choose.

• "Most of my rehearsal time is me finding and fixing problems.” Start with #4, Hand over the rehearsal.

• "I keep coming back to the same pieces, and they’re starting to feel stale." Start with #5, Re-imagine it.

Does more than one apply to you at the moment? That's normal. Pick the one that bugs you the most and start there.

#1 - Unpack the piece

Before handing out a piece, give it 20 minutes of intentional thought time beyond what you would normally give it. The question is simple: what could a student learn from this? You already know the list of things they'll need to fix and the common pitfalls you’ll be working through. Set those aside for now.

Look at the piece through five lenses:

• Musical elements. What's the form? Where does the texture change? What's interesting about the melody, harmony, or rhythm?

• Technical skills. What new skill does it ask for? A key, a range, an articulation, a meter?

• Creative entry points. Where could students make a musical choice, improvise, or compose?

• Context. Who wrote it, when, where, and why? Whose tradition does it come from, and whose voices are missing from how we usually present it?

• Connection. What in this piece might matter to your students' lives? How can your students see themselves in this music?

How this can play out in general music: Try this with a folk song you teach every year. One call-and-response song can carry form, phrase, steady beat, improvisation, and cultural context through an entire unit.This is the strategy that changes how you see every other piece of repertoire. You stop choosing between "repertoire" and "curriculum," because the piece is the curriculum with the right planning and unpacking.

#2 - Grow a motive

Every piece has a few moments that make it sound like itself and familiar. A rhythmic figure. A melodic hook, an ostinato, a cadence. Pull one out and hand it to your students to build with. Here’s one process I’ve done with my 7th and 8th graders in band, and it worked fairly well:

1. Isolate a 2- to 4-beat motive and have everyone play or sing it.

2. Ask students to change one thing about it: the rhythm, the direction, the dynamic, or the articulation.

3. Partners combine their variations into a short 4- or 8-bar phrase.

4. Share a few, then go back to the original and ask, "How did the composer develop this idea later in the piece?"

The unintentional byproduct of this process for me and my students was when that motive came back around in the full piece — my students were actually able to hear it, because they've had their hands on it.

How this can play out in general music: Take the rhythm of a song's first phrase and have everyone clap or chant it. Small groups change one thing and turn their version into a body percussion or unpitched instrument composition. Then sing the song again and listen for where that rhythm shows up. Let your students tinker with it. It’s always more fun when they tinker.

#3 - Compare and choose

Find two or three recordings of the music you are rehearsing that really contrast. Play the same 30-second excerpt from each one. Then ask:

• What's different about tempo, dynamics, tone, or balance?

• Which version do you prefer and why?

• What should our interpretation sound like?

Now let the class vote on one interpretive decision, and rehearse it their way. Record your own group and add it to the lineup next time.

How this can play out in general music: Take a song or piece your students know and put two very different versions side by side. That might be the original next to a cover, a version in another style, or a performance from another culture. Students map the differences on a simple listening chart, then choose one idea to try in their own performance (while striving for authenticity!).

#4 - Hand over the rehearsal

You're the best diagnostician in the room. That's exactly why your students need practice doing it themselves. If every problem in rehearsal gets found and fixed by you, students learn to wait for you to find it.

Pick one of these and start small:

• Student sectional leaders. Give each section a 5-minute block, one specific goal ("Clean the rhythm in mm. 24–32"), and a simple checklist.

• Record, listen, diagnose. Play back a run-through. Before you say a word, students name one strength and one thing to fix.

• Self-assessment rubric. Use a 3- or 4-level rubric with only two criteria, like tone and rhythmic accuracy. Students rate themselves before and after a week of rehearsal.

• Conductor for a minute. A student conducts a short passage and gives the ensemble one piece of feedback.

How this can play out in general music: Small groups rehearse a song or ostinato on their own, then perform for another group. The listeners respond with sentence starters like "I noticed..." and "Next time, try..." Then groups run it once more using that feedback.

Your concert might be one night, but being able to hear a problem and fix it without you in front of them is a skill you could be developing along the way that can be applied later. And students often fix problems faster when they're the ones who found them in the first place.

#5 - Re-imagine it (A good option if you don’t mind breaking some rules)

This is the one for the piece you've programmed so many times you could conduct it in your sleep. A piece can live in more than one form, so let students change it.

• Change the genre. What would this melody sound like as a lullaby? A march? A pop ballad?

• Re-orchestrate. Give the melody to a different section, or let a small chamber group arrange a passage for their own instruments.

• Strip it down. Play a section with only the bass line and melody. What do students notice about how the harmony works?

• Add a layer. Students write an ostinato, a countermelody, or a percussion part to go with it.

• Go digital. Students remix a phrase in one of the many apps for notation or loops.

How this can play out in general music: Pick a song students know well and have groups arrange it for Orff instruments, ukulele, boomwhackers, or body percussion. Every group makes its own version. Perform them back to back and talk about what changed. I think this is one of my favorite ways to spice things up in this setting.

Get creative!

These are five ideas, but you don’t need anything fancy to help yourself out of the repertoire rut. And I would never recommend that anyone do a complete overhaul of their upcoming concert program (that’s a fast-track to overwhelm for everyone!). Choose one piece you're teaching right now and one strategy from this list. Give it two weeks. Tweak it, adapt it, and see how it goes. Listen to how your students talk about the music. Notice what they can tell you about it and do with it that they couldn't before. That's your bonus mileage.

Your repertoire already has everything you need (which is probably why you chose it in the first place). Let’s have some fun and see how we can make it work a little bit harder for you and your students!

Advocating for the Arts: Six Ways to Build Support for your Program

Across the country, arts educators understand something powerful: music, art, dance, and theater don’t just enrich students’ days—they transform how students think, connect, and belong. Yet despite the clear evidence, arts programs and teachers often face shrinking budgets, reduced instructional time, and limited professional support.

Advocacy doesn’t always mean fighting big political battles. It can start with small, strategic actions that build awareness, connect to your school’s mission, and show the impact of arts learning and engagement in real time.

Here are six ways to strengthen your advocacy and ensure your music and arts program—and the incredible teachers who make it thrive—receive the recognition and resources they deserve.

🎨 1. Showcase Student Work Publicly

Your students are your greatest asset when it comes to advocacy. When student creativity is visible, the value of the arts becomes undeniable. Public displays, performances, and presentations allow others to see what learning looks like in your classroom.

Try this:

• Partner with your administration to set up a rotating arts gallery in the main office or community space that highlights new student work each month.

• Bring the arts into unexpected places—display student pieces in the library, cafeteria, or local businesses, or perform at community events like farmers’ markets or town meetings.

• Include arts updates and student features in your school’s weekly parent newsletter so that families see the ongoing creative work happening across grade levels.

• Launch student-led Instagram takeovers (with permission and supervision) where young artists share “a day in the life” of a music or arts student—from rehearsals and projects to performances and reflections. These authentic snapshots humanize your program and engage the broader school community online.

• Add short learning statements or QR codes next to displays (e.g., “Students explored improvisation through pentatonic scales — scan to hear their compositions!”), helping others connect the art to learning outcomes.

🎯 2. Connect Arts Learning to Schoolwide Goals

We know the arts have deep value in and of themselves, but not everyone in our schools or communities sees them that way. To strengthen your advocacy, show how your work supports the same goals your administrators care about: literacy, social-emotional learning, attendance, and belonging.

Try this:

• Align your language with the school mission statement in newsletters, concert programs, and grant proposals. If your school emphasizes “community” or “critical thinking,” explicitly mention how your work builds those skills.

• Collaborate with classroom teachers on interdisciplinary lessons—for example, composing songs based on poetry they learning about in schoo—and share those results with administrators as examples of cross-curricular learning.

• Collect short student reflections about what they learned in arts class that connects to other subjects (“Art helps me understand symmetry!”) and display them publicly.

💬 3. Tell Compelling Student Stories

Data is important, but stories move people. A single student’s transformation through the arts can demonstrate the program’s human impact far more powerfully than a spreadsheet.

Try this:

• Keep a “story log” — a simple document where you jot down moments of student growth, breakthroughs, or creative leadership throughout the year. These can later be used in newsletters, presentations, or grant applications.

• Record short student or parent video testimonials (with permission) that highlight how arts participation has influenced confidence, engagement, or school connectedness.

• Share stories with your school board, PTO, or district newsletter, connecting them to goals like inclusion, student voice, or achievement.

🤝 4. Engage Parents and Community Partners

Parents and community members are your strongest allies—they can help amplify your message and help sustain your program.

Try this:

• Host a “Family Arts Night” or “Behind the Scenes in the Arts” event where families participate in mini-lessons or rehearsals alongside students. This builds understanding of what happens in class and deepens appreciation for the process, not just the product.

• Form a Parent Arts Advisory Group to assist with events, community connections, and advocacy messaging.

• Partner with local arts organizations, universities, and businesses to co-host workshops, artist residencies, or exhibitions that extend your program’s reach.

• Include a dedicated arts section in your school’s weekly parent newsletter to feature upcoming performances, art displays, and student achievements—this keeps families engaged and fosters pride in the arts.

• Create a community arts calendar that shares local concerts, exhibits, and youth opportunities, reinforcing the idea that your school’s arts program is part of a larger creative ecosystem.

📊 5. Leverage Enrollment and Evidence

Numbers tell a compelling story when combined with context. Collecting and sharing enrollment data shows trends, growth, and need—and gives you credibility when advocating for resources. Also, administrators love numbers and other data points.

Try this:

• Track student enrollment and participation each year across grade levels and demographic groups to highlight equity and access.

• Compare data before and after major initiatives (e.g., after introducing a new instrument program or inclusive curriculum).

• Survey students and families about their arts experiences and use those results to demonstrate engagement and satisfaction.

• Create infographics or short data snapshots for display or inclusion in staff meetings that link growth in arts participation to attendance or academic success.

🌟 6. Showcase the Impact of Supporting Arts Teachers

When arts teachers receive meaningful professional development, resources, and time for collaboration, students benefit. Make that link visible to your administrators and community.

Try this:

• After attending a conference or PD session, share a short reflection and photos of how you implemented what you learned—and highlight student results.

• Collect before-and-after examples (lesson plans, student work samples, or performance outcomes) that demonstrate how new strategies or materials improve learning.

• Collaborate with other arts educators to create a shared impact report showing how targeted support — such as curriculum time or access to materials—directly enhances student outcomes.

• Invite administrators to observe or participate in a lesson that incorporates your new skills. Seeing the transformation firsthand builds understanding and advocacy from the top down.

Advocacy as a Daily Practice

Advocacy isn’t a one-time thing—it’s part of how we teach every day. Sharing student work, celebrating wins, connecting lessons to school goals, or cheering on a colleague—each action makes the voice of arts educators stronger.

When we do it together—with stories, data, partnerships, and joy—the arts become more than enrichment. To our communities, they become essential. Cheers to you and all the advocacy work you do! 🙌