As a music director, you wear a lot of hats.

You direct, you play, you send emails, you plan, you listen, you conduct, you coordinate, etc. Your time is valuable and you know that your rehearsal time is valuable.

How can you make sure you're making the most of it?

It always helps me to start by getting organized.

There's something about crisp file folders, colored pens, pretty charts, and a few fun paper clips that makes me feel more confident, productive, and ready to get to work.

Not sure where to start?

Here are five things to organize in your music program to help things run smoothly this year:

5 Things You Can Organize for Your Choir

1. Choir music

The number system is, by far, my favorite way to organize choir music. Simply assign everyone a folder number, write a number in the corner of every anthem, and sort into choir boxes. No fuss and no wasted time letting everyone find the copy with their markings. 🙂

2. Everyone's schedules

It's hard enough keeping track of your own calendar, let alone those of your entire choir. Print and post a simple monthly calendar and ask everyone to sign out for days they won't be there. This gives you an idea of how many you'll have on a given Sunday and what music might be best.

3. Music library

Filing cabinets, filing boxes, or some combination of the two—whatever resources you have, straightening up and organizing your music library (choral anthems, ensemble music, musicals/cantata scores, piano/organ books, etc.) will save you lots of time and energy (and hassle!) later on. Sort by type, alphabetize, and go ahead and create a digital database while you're at it for easy planning later.

4. Choir robes

Similar to the system I like to use for choir music, I also find the number system works well for robes, too. Organize the robes from shortest to longest, number, and assign everyone a robe based on their height. Post a folder/robe list to help everyone remember their number(s). (Bonus points if you assign robes first and folder numbers to match so folks have only one number to remember!)

5. Budget

This may be a no-brainer, but keeping organized records of financial expenditures throughout the year makes committee meetings and annual trustee reports so much easier. I like using a budget worksheet like this one that does some of the math for me.

Related resource: Free Music Budget Worksheet

Looking for more?

Join me for an online, prerecorded workshop called, Organize Your Church Music Program.

Featuring 25 minutes of step-by-step instruction, a 28-page eBook, and lots of checklists, worksheets, templates, and printables to help you get started, you’ll have your church music program organized from top to bottom in no time.

I’d love to hear from you:

What are your favorite organization tips and tricks for church music programs?

Related post:
How to Organize Your Church Music Library