"I have read this book three times, and have learned new ideas with each read. Dr. Paney places his focus on the necessary team-based relationships we create in our schools. This philosophy permeates the book and brings me joy as it aligns with everything I value. The checklists in each chapter are helpful summaries that remind the reader of the most salient points with action steps. The ideas are practical, authentic, and relate to almost any elementary music teaching situation. Dr. Paney spent years as a practicing music educator and knows the realities of the field, especially the all-important first year.

Creative lesson plans, learning experiences, and sequencing are included." -- Dr. Alice M. Hammel, Disabilities Specialist"Your First Year as an Elementary Music Teacher: A Practical Guide for New Educators is a very helpful resource for any new elementary music teacher. Dr. Paney has organized the book in a very clear way, focusing on organizational elements such as setting up a room effectively while also addressing ideas like repertoire selection and working as a colleague in a professional education setting. These are all critical components to success during the first year. In addition, the chapters related to assessment, putting programs together, and surviving a hard day would be uniquely beneficial to a young educator as they navigate their first teaching setting.

" -- Brent M. Gault, Professor of Music Education, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Program Director, Indiana University Children's Choir; Director, IU Summer Kodaly Institute"Lean and clean, companionable and convivial, Paney's volume is an essential collection of common-sense suggestions for beginning teachers. The hefty set of teaching-learning maneuvers, including games that playfully underscore elements of rhythm and melody, are just the right fit to the earnest efforts of teachers hoping to gain and maintain children's attention, and to facilitate their musical development. This guide to the field is indispensable, a must-read for first-time music teachers who are making their way into the initial weeks of their work and all the way through the critical first year of life as a successful teaching musician." -- Patricia Shehan Campbell, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington School of Music.