New Middle School General Music Course? Start With a Full Curriculum
When your school puts general music on the schedule for the first time and asks you to write it, Music Complete – Middle School hands you a sequenced grades 6–8 course instead of a blank document. You get listening, theory, culture and creating units with slides, differentiated worksheets and answer keys, ready the day you buy.
View the music curriculum →For a brand-new middle school general music course, Music Complete – Middle School (from $149.90) supplies the full content of the year: listening and analysis across genres, music theory from notation to basic harmony, music in media and everyday life, and composing and performance tasks. Units build across grades 6–8 and can be taught in sequence or one at a time, so the course can grow as your schedule settles.
The curriculum
Music Complete – Middle School, Grades 6–8
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 Middle School Music (Grades 6–8)
Music Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School Music (Grades 9–12)
Music History & Style Periods Bundle | Baroque, Classical, Romantic & Impressionism | 4 Complete Units | Grades 9–12
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
The real problem
Writing a music course that did not exist last year
A new course comes with paperwork before it comes with students. You may need a course description for the catalog, a list of learning goals, a grading policy and some idea of what grade 8 will do once this year's grade 6 gets there. Nobody in the building has taught it, so there is no shared folder. You are also setting expectations from scratch. Students do not yet know what happens in general music. Some will expect a free period with songs, and the first month decides whether they take it seriously. That means you need real content from day one: a way to talk about tempo, dynamics and form, a reason to learn rhythm notation, and a creative task with a visible result. And the course has to survive a review. If the school added it on a trial basis, someone will look at it at the end of the year. A pile of unrelated activities is hard to defend. A sequence that moves from describing music to analyzing program and absolute music, and from rhythm and meter to chords and composing, is much easier to explain.
Why it fits
What a launch needs, and where it is in the product
Each part of the curriculum answers something you will be asked when you introduce a new course.
- Clear content strands give you the skeleton of a course description and learning goals.
- Units that build across grades 6–8 show how the course grows as students move up.
- Performance-based and written assessments with rubrics give you a grading policy you can explain.
- Composing, arranging and group presentation tasks produce student work worth showing at an open house.
- Listening across classical, film, jazz, rock and pop sets a serious tone in the first weeks.
- Units work individually, so a semester or quarter-length version is possible if the schedule changes.
Getting started
From approval to first lessons
A suggested order of work; the product has no calendar, so set the pace yourself.
- Draft the course descriptionUse the four main strands, listening, theory, culture and creating, to write the catalog text and a short list of goals. Keep it plain enough that parents and counselors understand it.
- Map year one onlyLay out the units for the grades you actually have this year. If only grade 6 starts now, plan that year in detail and leave grades 7 and 8 as an outline.
- Set the tone in week oneOpen with a listening task that compares film music with a classical piece. Students hear that the class has content, and you hear how they talk about music.
- Choose your rubrics earlyPick the written and performance rubrics you will use for the first grading period and share them with students. A new course needs a grading policy before the first assignment comes in.
- Plan a visible first projectSchedule one composing or arranging task with a short class presentation before the end of the first quarter. It gives the new course something concrete to show the school.
Which version
Choosing a version for a new course
If the course starts with all three grades, the Extended version with 90+ resources at $199.90 gives you enough to keep each grade distinct from the beginning. If you are rolling it out one grade at a time, the Starter version at $149.90 with 50+ resources is a reasonable start and leaves room to add more later. The Pro version at $239.90 adds Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course on planning and time management for teachers. Launching a course is a heavy year, so it is worth considering, but it adds no music content.
Honest limits
What you still have to supply
No audio or video is included, so you will need your own recordings and a way to play them. Instruments, music software and room equipment are also yours to arrange. The product does not write your catalog text or grading policy for you; it gives you the material to base them on. Check the units against your state or district music requirements before the course goes to review. If colleagues will co-teach it, message Teach Lessons first about team use. Within 7 days you can exchange it for store credit of equal value if it does not fit; it is not paid back in cash.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Can I tell my administration it meets state arts standards?
Not on the strength of the product alone. It is written for U.S. middle school classrooms but is not endorsed or adopted by any state, district or the National Core Arts Standards. The honest approach is to compare its listening, theory, culture and creating units with your state's music standards and present your own notes on how they line up.
We do not know yet if the course will be a semester or a full year. Does that matter?
Less than you might think. Units can be used individually or as a full sequence, so a semester version can concentrate on listening and theory foundations plus one creating project, while a full year adds more analysis and culture units. Plan the shorter version first and extend it if the schedule allows.
Is this a band or choir program?
No. It is general music for students who may not play or sing in an ensemble. It covers listening, theory, music in culture, and classroom-friendly composing and performance tasks. If your new course is an ensemble class, you will need repertoire and rehearsal material from elsewhere.
What do the sample documents show?
The product page has a browser preview of three documents: Music in the Orchestra – Instruments, Sound Art & Experimental Music, and Joseph Haydn – Biography & Works. They show the range from traditional orchestra content to contemporary sound art, which is useful when you are deciding how broad a new course should be.
Will I have enough for grade 8 once the course reaches it?
The units are designed to build across grades 6–8, with deeper analysis such as form, motifs, expressive elements and program vs absolute music available for older students. The Extended and Pro versions include 90+ resources, which gives you more room to keep grade 8 distinct from what earlier grades did.
Can the school buy it instead of me?
If school purchasing or use by several teachers is part of the plan, send Teach Lessons a short message before buying so the question can be answered properly. The licence covers instructional use by the buyer, with team or school use possible after that message.
Open the new course with a finished plan
Check the product page for the full list of what is included and the three sample documents, then decide which version matches your rollout.
View the music curriculum →