Keep Your Students Engaged with Popular Music

When you feel like you’ve just delivered the lesson to end all lessons and you’re met with blank stares — some not even directly at you — it’s hard not to take it personally. The same music that got you hooked on music is not necessarily the same music that will engage students today.The solution? Start strong and stay familiar. Troll the most recent Billboard Top 100 for music that will get excite your students. Offer up simple, catchy songs such as “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. The first lyrics are “I’m waking up to ash and dust.” Perfect. And behind the Am, C, G, D the students can hear the angsty, shouting vocals in their heads.

Introduce “power” chords early in your syllabus to jolt them out of any potential apathy. Buzz through to the Daughtry’s chorus of “Home” There’s no way that one has escaped their ears — it’s topped recent charts, popped up in commercials and reached through speakers in stores across America.

If you just can’t resist, have a few timeless Nirvana and/or Ramones tunes ready to go and ask for a show of hands until you land on one the students all know and seem excited about. Remember, despite your inner music critic, their excitement is the key to your success.