Starting High School Music Mid-Year: Curriculum for January Hires
Music Complete – High School is for teachers who take over a grade 9–12 music class in January with no plans to inherit. It gives you listening and analysis, theory through harmonic progressions, and lessons that apply theory to performance and composition, ready from the first week of semester 2. Teenagers who already decided what music class is will see a teacher with a clear course.
View the HS music curriculum →Music Complete – High School, from $149.90, is a no-prep grade 9–12 music curriculum that a January hire can teach from in the first week of semester 2. It covers listening and analysis across classical, film, pop, rock, jazz and contemporary music, theory from advanced rhythm to harmonic progressions, and applying theory to performance and composition. Units can be taught in sequence or one at a time.
The curriculum
Music Complete – High School, Grades 9–12
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School Music (Grades 9–12)
High School Music Complete Bundle | 15 Ready-to-Teach Units | Grades 9–12
Music History & Style Periods Bundle | Baroque, Classical, Romantic & Impressionism | 4 Complete Units | Grades 9–12
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School Music (Grades 6–8)
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
Why a high school music class is hard to inherit in winter
High school students form opinions about a course quickly, and by January they have one about this class. If the fall was a string of substitutes, some believe the course does not count. Your roster may include a junior who plays jazz piano, a senior who needs the credit to graduate, and a freshman who joined because a friend did. They do not share a level of theory, and they know it. The gap between music students and everyone else is wider than in middle school, so a lesson pitched to the middle loses both ends. You also need grades soon. Semester 2 report cards come fast, and an inherited gradebook is often empty or full of placeholder scores. Older students also ask why. A listening lesson that never connects to harmony, texture or form feels like busywork to them. The first weeks have to show that the course has content, standards and direction.
Why it fits
How the curriculum handles a semester 2 start
The course moves from listening into theory and then into application, and a new teacher can enter at any of those points.
- Harmony and texture analysis tasks give experienced players real work from the first week.
- Theory resources run from rhythm and meter up to harmonic progressions, so you can match each student's level.
- Program vs absolute music lessons give non-musicians a way into serious discussion about music.
- Lessons that apply theory to composition show skeptical students why the notation work matters.
- Answer keys and differentiated worksheets let you grade fairly before you know every student.
- Units work on their own, so you can leave gaps the fall already covered.
Getting started
A two-week reset for semester 2
One possible way to open the semester. The product does not contain a calendar, so treat this as a suggestion.
- Open with harmony, not the syllabusPlay two versions of a progression from your own recordings and use the listening and analysis materials. Students who hear the difference on day one learn the course has substance.
- Sort the room with a theory sampleUse worksheets on intervals, chords and terminology as a diagnostic. Within a few days you know who can build a triad and who needs scales and meter first.
- Set two tracks in the same unitUse the differentiated versions so advanced players work on harmonic progressions while others solidify rhythm and notation, both working on the same listening piece. Nobody sits idle while you sort levels.
- Hand them a composition taskAssign a short task from the section on applying theory to composition. Older students show more of what they understand when they make something than when they fill in blanks.
- Put your grades in the bookGrade the first analysis or theory task with its answer key or rubric. Two clear scores per student by week three answer the questions an empty gradebook raises.
Which version
Which version to buy for a semester you did not plan
The standard version ($149.90, 50+ resources) covers everything in the course: listening and analysis, theory, and applying theory to performance and composition. For one semester, that is enough material. The $189.90 version adds Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course with a planner, guides and templates. It does not add music lessons. It is worth it if the new job, a new building and unfamiliar students are eating your evenings. If you also teach a middle school section, Music Complete – Middle School follows the same structure, and TEACHMORE15 takes 15% off when you buy both.
Honest limits
Where your own work comes in
There is no audio or video in the package. You choose and play the recordings, which for high school lets you pick examples your students take seriously. Ensemble repertoire, instruments and concert planning are not included. Check the units against your state graduation and fine arts requirements, since nothing here is a guarantee of credit or alignment. Other teachers in your department can use it after you send Teach Lessons a short message. If it is not right for you, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value, not cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does it meet National Core Arts Standards or state requirements?
No standards organization or state has approved or endorsed it, and it does not guarantee alignment. It is written for U.S. high school music classes and covers listening, analysis, theory and application. Put the unit list next to your state's high school music standards and your school's course description before you commit to a semester plan, then fill gaps yourself.
Can I use it for a music appreciation or theory elective rather than an ensemble?
Yes, that is where it fits best. The content is about listening, analysis and theory, with performance and composition as ways to apply what students learn. It does not replace rehearsal time for band, orchestra or choir. Some ensemble directors use parts of it for theory warm-ups or for days when the full group is not available.
My students' theory levels are all over the place. How does that work?
The theory resources cover a wide range, from advanced rhythm and meter to harmonic progressions, and the worksheets are differentiated. In practice, you assign different levels within the same topic. A guitarist who learned by ear and a pianist with years of lessons can both work on the same chord unit at different depths.
Will this give me enough to grade before the first report card?
The course includes worksheets with answer keys, analysis tasks and performance-based work you can score. A January hire can put several real grades in the book within the first weeks. How you weight them and how many you need depends on your school's grading policy, so check that with your department head early.
Is there a larger collection if I want more units later?
Teach Lessons also sells the High School Music Complete Bundle with 15 units for $129.99 and a Music History & Style Periods Bundle for $74.99. These are separate products. For a teacher starting in January, the main curriculum is enough for the semester; the others make sense once you know whether you will keep the class next year.
Can I see what is inside before I buy?
The product page lists what is included for the high school curriculum. If you want to see the general style of the materials, the middle school music product page has a browser preview of three sample documents. Both curricula use the same structure, so the preview gives an honest idea of the format.
Give semester 2 a real course
Check the contents on the product page and decide whether you want the version with Teach-Life-Balance.
View the HS music curriculum →