March Music Madness: How to Run a Music Bracket in Your Classroom

How to Host a March Music Madness Bracket in Your Music Classroom

March Music Madness is a fun and interactive way to engage your students in music appreciation, expand their exposure to various genres and decades, and build a sense of community within your school.

Here's a step-by-step guide to planning and running your March Music Madness and creative ideas to add variety and excitement!

Step 1: Build Your Song Bracket

1. Decide on Your Bracket Size: A 16-song bracket works well for most classrooms, but you can scale up or down based on your schedule. 

Want a free March Music Madness 16-song bracket PPT template?

👉 Click here to grab your copy!

2. Select Songs:

• Choose songs with clean lyrics and school-appropriate themes.
• Incorporate a variety of genres and eras to appeal to a broad range of students.
  • Example: Use "decade duels" with pairs from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
  • Add variety by featuring categories like "Broadway," "Movies," "Disney," or other themes that your students enjoy. 
• You can also use a specific theme for the entire bracket, such as "Movie Soundtracks" or "Greatest Hits from the 2000s."
  
  

3. Daily Matchups: Every day of the activity, present two new songs for students to vote on. If you're short on time, you don't have to play the entire song—a 30-second clip or a verse and chorus will be enough to give students a feel for each track.

4. Involve Staff: Encourage teachers and administrators to select one song each. This adds a mystery element that makes it exciting for students to guess who picked each song.
 

Step 2: Add a Fun Theme

Consider running the activity "Masked Singer" style:

• How It Works: Keep the staff member who chose each song anonymous until it either gets eliminated or wins.
• Community Building: Students can make predictions, adding fun and connection as they try to match teachers to their song choices.
  
  

Step 3: Setting Up the Voting System

1. Presentation Format: Use a visual display, such as a digital bracket on Google Slides or a poster in the classroom.

2. Voting Schedule: Plan a timeline for each round by introducing new pairs of songs daily. You can choose to have students vote once per class or set a daily school-wide voting system

3. Voting Methods:

• Digital Voting: Use Google Forms for easy tallying.
• Paper Voting: Have students submit their votes in a ballot box.
  
  

Step 4: Engaging Students

1. Classroom Discussions: Encourage students to discuss the merits of each song before voting. Prompt them with questions such as:

• What emotions does the song evoke?
• How does the instrumentation enhance the mood?

2. Mini Activities: Add themed activities between rounds, such as:

• Lyric analysis of popular contenders.
• Quick rhythm or melody challenges based on the current songs.
  
  

Step 5: Reveal and Celebrate

1. Teacher Reveals: After each round, reveal which teacher or administrator chose each song.

2. Finale Celebration: When the winning song is chosen, hold a special celebration:

• Play the winning song in class.
• Share a fun slideshow of the staff members' song selections.
• Consider awarding a small prize to the student who guessed the most correct teacher-song matches.
  
  

Bonus Ideas for Variety

• Theme Days: Align each bracket round with a fun theme, like "Throwback Thursday" or "Movie Soundtrack Monday."
• Student-Selected Wildcards: Let students nominate a few songs to add to the mix for extra excitement.
• Interactive Displays: Create a bulletin board where students can track the progress of the bracket and write their song predictions.
• Flexible Themes: Don't feel limited by one genre—this activity can work with any style of music or combination of themes.
  
  

Final Thoughts

March Music Madness is more than just a music activity—it's a chance for students to be introduced to new artists and songs, develop their listening and analysis skills, and connect with their teachers in a unique way.

By incorporating elements of mystery, community, and variety, you'll create an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

Are you ready to host your own March Music Madness? Start planning your bracket, and watch your classroom come alive with musical excitement!

Looking for more time-saving, engaging resources?

Check out MTR’s collection of music teaching materials - SHOP the MTR Store or our store on TpT.

Would you like more music teaching strategies? Check out these related posts to keep your lessons fresh and interactive! 

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Blog Post: Giant Staff Jumping Game: Easy Adaptations for Every Grade Level      

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