Musical and audio cues are a part of our everyday life. Our smart phones remind us that someone is calling, a text is sent, or it’s time to wake up.

Audio cues in our car remind us to turn off the turn signal, close the door or time for a car repair. 

Musical jingles entice us to eat certain food, what clothes to wear and what merchandise to buy.

While in Japan this summer, I was reminded of how often musical cues are used.  We traveled almost daily on a train. Each station has a tune or jingle to remind passengers which stop they are coming to. There are other musical cues to let a passenger know when a train is coming or departing. It’s a very effective way of communicating to thousands of people what is happening at the train station. Here is an example of a musical cue at a train station in Tokyo Japan.

My mother taught kindergarten for many years.  She had musical cues that she played on her piano. The music alerted her students to stand, sit, time for snacks, cleaning up and nap time. Mom didn’t have to tell her students what was coming next. The musical cue from the piano she played made it very clear what to expect.

When I started teaching elementary music in the public school, I quickly learned that I would lose my voice if I talked and sang all day.  I decided to follow my mother’s example and come up with musical cues and songs to let my students learn classroom procedures and directions.

I composed many little tunes for sitting, standing, starting music class, moving – skipping, hopping, etc.  I wrote songs about being responsible, organized, friendship and many other songs that had a simple message about life skills.  The songs teach principles on how to get along with others.  My students loved the catchy songs and asked to sing them over and over.  I still have previous students come up to me and start singing one of those songs.

The musical cues and songs made my classroom management a lot easier and gave my students insight into what was required of them.  I also had less problems with losing my voice by the end of the school day.

So, what’s the secret?  In my classroom, I played the musical cues on the piano. The musical cues came from the melodies I played and we sang. The musical cue conveyed what was expected in class.

Here is a video that shows some examples of what musical cues I used when teaching.

I would suggest that you experiment and find something that you can use for your musical cues. A bell or an instrument you enjoy playing could be an option. Another idea is to use a rhythm, a melodic phrase or riff for your cue. The next step would be to teach the cues to your class or group. Over time your students will learn what you are asking them to do through your musical cues.

If you would like some ideas, I have the musical cues written out for you.  The songs are for sale at Noteflight – noteflight.com Arrange me – arrangeme.com and Sheet Music Direct sheetmusicdirect.com

I hope you find these suggestions helpful!

Becky Muncy

“Where words fail, music speaks.’ – Hans Christian Andersen”