Mad Beatz Methods

Today’s music and band rooms are very diverse; unfortunately, most music educators arrive in these spaces unprepared. Universities are years behind, with course catalogs that focus solely on building classical ensembles. Even worse, national publishers continue to produce content that doesn’t respect how Black and Latinx cultures consume and appreciate music. Through ongoing collaboration with Black and Latinx musicians, Mad Beatz Methods creates standards-aligned books, activities, games, and lesson plans that teach fundamental skills with the social/emotional learning practices of Black and Latinx communities. Founder Jesse Mell began teaching music in predominantly Black and Latinx schools in 2003. He was struck by the innate musical brilliance of his students; they grasped difficult patterns very quickly, and loved to perform for assemblies! Students, teachers, and families who attended the assemblies loved them, too. The secret to success: Ask the students what they would like to perform, deconstruct the song(s) for fundamental concepts, and create warmups and activities that teach those concepts in a social/emotional and kinesthetic style. 18 years later, Jesse is a teacher coach for Philadelphia School District and continues to design books and resources based on the feedback he gets from teachers, students, and families. Mad Beatz Methods’ resources and collaboration with culture bearers have been the spark for an explosion of school drum programs across the city. Mad Beatz Methods is proud to provide these resources for diverse music and band classrooms, Grades 4 & up: Food bEatz: a Rap Battle card game that improves math, rhythm, and confidence Mad Beatz for Beginning Drummers: the first lesson book designed to teach fundamental skills and performance readiness within cultural context Professional Development sessions for teachers: How to teach music with the Mad Beatz Method, develop student leadership, and build inclusive ensembles