Would you like to expand your music studio teaching to include Non-Performance Music Projects with your students? It's an excellent way to help students connect meaningfully with their private musical world and deepen their own relation with music. Non-Performance Music Projects provide the opportunity for students to explore music outside of their own vocal or instrumental studies. 

Here are some examples by students from 12 to 15 years of age:

1. "Piano Challenges"

2. "How Does Music Affect Work Habits"

3. "What Makes a Good Song Good?"

4. "How to Match Music With a Movie Scene"

5. "The Music from La La Land"

To get things started, why not encourage students to tell their own musical story. This consists of the many ways students have experienced music in their lives. Here's a template for Tell Your Musical Story.

Another exploration that's valuable is to encourage students to explore a topic that resonates with them as demonstrated in the above examples. Here's a template for students Exploring Everyday Musical Connections.

It can be amazing to watch how students' Non-Performance Music Projects bring fresh energy to their music journey. These projects confirm music as an important part of students' lives, as well as providing clues to meaningful directions for students' future repertoire and own choice selections.

From this process, both students and teachers have a better sense of what might engage their evolving musical interests. And students continue music lessons with a newfound enthusiasm for musical explorations that match their own sense of self and the satisfaction they have with their own level of achievement.

For more information on Non-Performance Student Projects, please consult "More than Music Lessons: A Studio Teacher's Guide to Parents, Practicing, Projects, and Character". Chapters 12 and 13 contain detailed descriptions and templates are available in Appendix C.

For classroom music teachers interested in Non-Performance Music Projects, here is a comprehensive resource Project-Based/Inquiry-Based Learning in Grades 5-12 Music Classrooms.