Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Show Me How
© 2026 Darla S. Hanley
Tell me something and sure I’ll hear it—if I’m listening (lol)—but show me and I’m more likely to really get it. When I’m shown I experience content within context—the “what” and “how” at the same time. In my view, there’s something pretty special about having someone take time to demonstrate, guide, and offer kind and constructive feedback to show me something. You agree, right?
Among my fondest memories as a kid are times spent with my grandmother. She lived far away from us so her visits were infrequent…and amazing. When she was present it seemed like everything disappeared into the background except for her. I watched, listened—and learned. She showed me so much!
My grandmother made bread in our kitchen without using any recipe or measuring devices! She braided her crazy long hair and magically affixed the braids to the top of her head in an impressive twist! And she used rainbow colored thread to embroider art on my pillowcases! Throughout each visit she invited me into her orbit at every turn—leading me to try things like tasting bread hot out of the oven for the first time, styling my hair a new way (lol), and embroidering.
So why am I talking about my grandmother (lol)? She was the best, but my real goal here is to emphasize the idea that teaching (and learning) occur everywhere. Any life experience can be a “teachable moment” (where someone is showing the way and others are learning).
In music class, the concept of “showing” happens in every single lesson. Yes, I really mean every one! As music teachers we (get to) show students incredible things like how to:
Produce a singing voice versus a speaking voice;
Hold and play instruments;
Recognize and label musical styles;
Maintain a steady beat;
Create original artistic expressions;
Groove to musical sounds while playing or responding with movement;
Listen critically;
Balance and blend when making music with others;
Evaluate music and musical performances; and
Perform for an audience.
This list of 10 only scratches the surface of the many things we show students in music. The art of showing is central to the gig.
Further, when I think about “showing students how” to XYZ I see three guiding principles. They focus on leading, time, and grace. Check them out!
1. Lead By Example
In every situation, a teacher leads by example. Simply put, students observe our words, body language, level of enthusiasm, and affect. In fact, they not only see these things—but often mirror us by matching both the “what” we are talking about and “how” it happens. I like to approach it this way:
If students are my reflection in a mirror, am I constantly showing them the way with the BEST possible examples? If not, why not?
2. Take as Much Time as Needed
We all know that it’s difficult to teach groups of students that include individuals with varying learning styles, learning preferences, command of knowledge, skill development, etc. Addressing the needs of each student in a classroom is important, but how can we keep everyone moving forward while challenging students—and not frustrating them? Here, I offer 3 guiding questions:
What can we do with the students who “got it” the first time when we have other students still trying to grasp the concept or own the skill? Try this:
Pair students together so student leaders (i.e., those who “got it”) guide their peers who are still working. Both students benefit from this partnership!
Create games with teams of students working together to demonstrate the XYZ.
ProTIP: This can be a competition, or not, depending on what works best in your teaching setting. The idea is to use student collaboration as a pedagogical tool that encourages growth and development for all learners.
What can we do to keep all students feeling the joys of music making when the XYZ we are asking them to do seems tiresome or repetitive? Try this:
Change the music!
Playing instruments or performing a dance, for example, will feel a bit different when the music changes (even though the skills being applied are the same).
Choose music that is familiar to students as the second (or third) example—especially including their “fan favorites” as motivators (lol).
What can we do to best manage the class period while structuring “sufficient” amounts of time dedicated to specific skill development? Try this:
Build in—and celebrate—practice time!
Identify time in the lesson where students get to practice and explore. This can be a few minutes as a “warm-up”, a few minutes as a “redirect” in the middle of the lesson where practice time is used as a transition between things, or a few minutes at the end as “let’s practice” before lesson closure.
Everyone needs practice in order to develop skills over time… Baking this into the cake sets students up for success to achieve musical growth and development while also encouraging life habits of practice!
3. Give Grace
Giving grace is making room for students to try and try again as they learn something new in a setting that supports this level of engagement. It requires warm and kind (yet constructive) feedback so students are encouraged. If teachers only offer praise, students will not grow. If teachers only offer harsh/direct feedback, students will likely want to give up or check out. This is a balancing act, and another essential part of the gig.
Finally, routinely giving grace requires teachers to “show students how” to do something over and over—and over (lol). Here we need to keep our cool and not push or rush anyone or anything. We must help students do things and experience the content or task-at-hand with the goal of having them recognize when they “get the XYZ” and own it!
Final Thoughts
Teaching is about showing students how, demonstrating, illustrating, and modeling. In music this includes showing students things like how to create/produce sounds, how to make sounds musical, and how to recognize and respond to styles and genres, for example. We show students how captivating and powerful it can be to be musicians making music and to be attentive listeners.
All of this may seem obvious, but in my view taking time to pause and focus on the “what” “why” and “how” of music teaching may inspire us all to engage differently as teachers. Someone showed us a thing or two… Go show the students of today (and tomorrow) how great it is to be in music class!
Thanks for checking out Darla Hanley’s Music Room!
Playlist For You!
Here are tracks titled show me… Enjoy! Link to full "Show Me" Playlist
🎵 Shelly Manne and His Friends “Show Me” (1956) Link to Track on Spotify
🎵 Greg Klo “Show Me” (2014) Link to Track on Spotify
🎵 Michael Lington “Show Me” (2008) Link to Track on Spotify
🎵 Lofi Fruits Music “Show Me” (2024) Link to Track on Spotify
I love the notion of giving grace. So important for students to receive, and often quite challenging for teachers to learn to give.