Community dynamics play a major role in determining the duties of music educators. What music educators do each day can vary greatly depending on their location. A middle school band director's job description in suburban New York is likely to look nothing like that of a music educator in rural Iowa. There is a substantial lack of literature to help teachers who choose to work in rural schools. This is surprising, since two-thirds of all public schools in this country are, by some definitions, considered rural and are responsible for educating one-quarter to one-third of all school-age children. Insufficient resources, geographic isolation from other music teachers, and other specific challenges of a rural setting can overwhelm even the most experienced music teacher. Low enrollment can place strains on the performance abilities of instrumental and choral groups and force rural teachers to be creative with instrumentation, repertoire choices, and scheduling conflicts. While the above conditions certainly do not apply to all rural locations, they are common. The presence of one or more of these situations requires a music teacher with immense talents and creativity, not to mention a strong sense of humor. Rather than lamenting these difficult conditions, effective rural music teachers find ways to make small-town life work in their favor which are being discussed here. (Contains 5 resources and 14 notes.)