Confidence you can hear: Erica Zappia’s K-8 Soundtrap story

September 17, 2025

How a Cleveland K-8 music teacher uses Soundtrap to boost engagement, build confidence, and create a safe space for student voice. Practical tips, quotes, and takeaways.

Erica Zappia has taught music across the country—from Los Angeles to Oakland to Dallas, and now Cleveland. But her biggest breakthrough didn’t come from a new performance technique or curriculum overhaul. It came from watching her quietest students find their voices through audio creation.

In her K-8 charter school in Cleveland, Ohio, Erica splits her music class time between violin instruction and song production in Soundtrap. What started as pandemic necessity became her most powerful tool for student engagement. Now, 104 students across grades 5-8 create original tracks that leave teachers crying and parents asking for the playlist.

The result? Students who struggle in traditional academic settings discover confidence they carry into other classes. As Erica puts it: “They write this song and everyone is like, ‘That kid did that? Oh my gosh.'”

Quick summary

One K-8 program split time between violin and Soundtrap. Engagement soared. Confidence became the headline outcome. Students who felt invisible in traditional classroom settings found their voices through audio creation, building skills that transfer far beyond music class.

Her approach reaches 104 students across grades 5-8, proving that student voice in music education works at scale when teachers create the right conditions.

Meet Erica and her classroom

Who she teaches

Erica teaches at a K-8 charter school in Cleveland, Ohio, bringing experience from teaching K-12 across multiple states. With a master’s degree in viola performance rather than education, she brings a performer’s perspective to the classroom.

Her teaching philosophy centers on avoiding stagnant, traditional approaches. “I basically vowed to never have a music class be stagnant and stiff and lacking the modern touch,” she says.

How the class runs

Erica’s structure is simple: “We split our days between learning the violin and learning song production and Soundtrap.” Students get one day a week on each, creating a balance between traditional instrumental skills and modern K-8 music technology.

When students complain about violin day, Erica explains the rationale: “I want you to learn the violin so you have a tangible… you can go to high school and say, ‘I want to join your orchestra.'” But she’s clear about the bigger picture: “Ultimately, Soundtrap is the thing that is going to be the one that really can do the most for you throughout your life.”

The problem before Soundtrap

Engagement and traditional limits

Traditional music education, while valuable, doesn’t reach every student. Erica recognized this gap early in her career, especially for students who struggle in conventional academic settings.

“Any student that is typically struggling in a classic school setting ends up thriving in one of the arts,” she observes. “Like we get to be a sanctuary for anyone who’s not quite fitting in. And I feel like Soundtrap is an even deeper layer.”

This deeper layer matters for students who need alternative ways to demonstrate their capabilities and find their academic confidence.

The turning point

Pandemic as catalyst

While Erica used Soundtrap before 2020, the pandemic transformed her approach. “The pandemic was the real turning point for always using it and doing paid subscription,” she recalls.

Remote learning highlighted Soundtrap’s collaboration features. Students could communicate through chat and even video chat through the platform, maintaining connection during isolation. The crisis revealed what students needed most: creative outlets that felt both safe and engaging during unprecedented stress.

Outcomes you can see and hear

Engagement as the daily driver

Student demand tells the story. “It’s like my main academic incentive for all the kids,” Erica explains. Every year brings the same conversation: “What if we don’t want to play violin? We just want to do Soundtrap.”

The platform taps into natural learning patterns. “I love that it kind of taps into like the video game mindset,” she says, describing her hands-off teaching approach. After one intro day, students explore independently. “Do you play video games? You just kind of click around and figure it out.”

Confidence and a safe space

For students dealing with anxiety and academic pressure, Soundtrap provides sanctuary. “Any student who struggles with loud noises or… really just needing like a sanctuary space—that is it’s serving that for all of them,” Erica notes.

The impact extends beyond music class. “It really is very special. It’s a special sanctuary where kids can have a positive experience with technology in school.”

“It’s like my main academic incentive for all the kids.”

Visibility for students who feel unseen

Erica’s most powerful stories center on hidden talent revealed. She recalls one student from last year: “He is so deeply struggling in all of his classes and really just struggle to connect with school… and I feel like it gives them a chance to be seen, the students that are just not being seen.”

When this student shared his creation, the response was immediate: “Multiple teachers cried… no one sees them and they write this song and everyone is like, ‘That kid did that? Oh my gosh.'”

These moments of recognition create ripple effects throughout the school community, changing how educators and peers see individual students.

Parent connection and community

The impact travels home through shareable tracks. “I have the time to sit down and share the student tracks with the parents and send it home,” Erica explains. Parents receive something concrete to celebrate: “Your son or daughter wrote this.”

“It’s bonding. It’s community. It’s music. It’s them believing in themselves,” she reflects. This home-school connection reinforces student confidence and creates family pride around creative achievement.

Assessment that lowers pressure and raises quality

Rubrics that reward process

Erica’s assessment approach balances structure with creative freedom. “I try to make all of the rubric tangible and nothing creative,” she explains. Requirements might include: “The song needs to be one minute in length and no more than two minutes. The song needs to have 10 tracks… has to have piano, bass, whatever else is up to you.”

This framework provides clear success criteria while leaving room for individual expression. With 104 students across grades 5-8, the variety in responses stays consistently engaging: “It is all over the board the way they answer this prompt.”

Empathy and bravery in share-outs

Classroom presentations become community-building moments. “It becomes more about bravery to share your project,” Erica notes. The sharing process teaches vulnerability and empathy: “You can’t be making comments or giggling about whatever while someone else is sharing because you’re about to share next, so you all have like this empathy web happening.”

Students learn to support each other through the discomfort of creative exposure, building social-emotional skills alongside musical ones. This approach aligns with social emotional learning through music principles that emphasize emotional development through creative expression.

Budget and implementation reality

Prioritizing Soundtrap in the budget

“It is completely invaluable.”

Erica prioritizes Soundtrap, calling it “completely invaluable” and adjusting her budget to pay for it. She manages 104 seats for 5th-8th graders, with Soundtrap’s flexibility proving helpful with enrollment changes. This real-world use case offers a practical reference for other educators considering Soundtrap for Schools.

Advice for other educators

Keep it simple and let kids explore

Erica’s implementation philosophy emphasizes student discovery over teacher control. After one intro day showing basic features and tutorial access, she steps back: “I’m pretty hands off in how I teach it to them.”

The video game analogy guides her approach: “Do you play video games? You just kind of click around and figure it out.” This mirrors how students naturally learn digital tools, reducing teacher burden while increasing student ownership.

What students need now

A release valve for pressure

Modern students face unprecedented academic stress. “Kids are so stressed out,” Erica observes. “Because of technology, there is a lot of immediate feedback in a very intense way with their grades. They know, parents can know their scores at all time… the pressure just builds and builds and builds.”

Creative spaces provide necessary balance: “If creative spaces like Soundtrap don’t exist alongside the wave of immediate feedback… the pressure panic attack side of things are not going to end or have any sort of release button.”

One word: confidence

When asked to sum up Soundtrap’s impact in one word, Erica’s response comes immediately: “…confidence … because that can bridge out into all the areas of confidence that they’re gaining.”

This confidence transfers beyond music class, supporting student confidence development across subjects and social situations.

Try Soundtrap in your classroom. See how audio creation can transform student engagement and build confidence across your curriculum.