Nevertheless, don't let the lack of a trained music teacher keep learners from music exposure. Make do with the available circumstances. Everything from humming, to singing, using primitive to popular instruments, or CD players can add music to the day. .
Let students know why certain selections are being used and why. Help them understand the differences among music which calms, energizes or inspires. Students of all ages should learn why music is selected and they should be able to make suggestions. .
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Get students involved in the process of managing the music after introducing it. .
For an example, many are happy to play "disk jockey" for the class, but clear rules are needed. .
Do active research with music. Work with another grade-level teacher and possibly try splitting or trading classes. One teacher could play one type of music could be for 10-15 minutes and the other teacher might try another type. Then switch the two groups and do a ten-minute exam or survey activity that measures spatial reasoning, logic or problem-solving. Tally up the scores and share them with students. .
Approximately 15-25% of students in a class may be highly sensitive to sounds. They may be highly auditory learners. If these students complain about your use of music, you might want to turn it down a bit, listen to their suggestions and remind them you use music only part of the time, not all the time. An example of this is, at least a quarter of students dislike teamwork. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean to throw it out. .
When a student complains, be empathic. Turn down the music a bit or allow the student to sit further from the speakers. .
Background music does affect your students. The recommendations are to select it carefully, make sure it's predictably repetitive, play music in a major key and use instrumentals, no vocals for background music.
