Most teachers try to keep class from turning into a comedy show. Mak Barton puts it on TikTok. The Maryland high school choir director describes her account, @makbarton, as “musical standup unironically,” and more than 300,000 people follow along for her parodies, choir warm-ups and running list of the things her students say out loud.
At a glance
- Name: Makynzie “Mak” Barton
- Job: High school choir and theatre director in Maryland
- Known for: “Musical standup” about teaching, plus viral choir covers
- TikTok: about 301,500 followers and 21.8 million likes
- YouTube: about 34,000 subscribers
- Training: University of Delaware (undergrad) and Berklee College of Music (master’s), both in music education
- Handle: @makbarton
Who is Mak Barton?
Mak Barton is a choir and theatre director at a public high school in Maryland, now in her fifth year there. In the FAQ on a recent YouTube vlog, she lists her age as 26 and says she studied music education at the University of Delaware and went on to a master’s at Berklee College of Music. Her TikTok bio adds one more job title: comedian, sort of. “Musical standup unironically,” it reads.
The day job does not stop at 3 p.m. She calls it a “7-3 and a 3-7” of music: choir and theatre at school, then rehearsals and Sundays as a church worship leader. Her YouTube tagline sums up the mix: “joyful noises + a good jest.”
Why is Mak Barton famous on TikTok?
Her breakout format is the teacher parody. In December 2024 she rewrote “The 12 Days of Christmas” from a student’s point of view (“on the first day of Christmas my teacher gave to me an essay due next week”), adding social anxiety, failing grades and six hours of homework as the verses pile up. The caption says it plainly: “this is a JOKE we LOVE and SUPPORT our teachers.” It now has about 16.6 million views.
Her other running bit is a list of things her students have said to her that week, delivered deadpan. One January 2025 edition, which has about 8.7 million views, opens with “It’s only been three days” and includes students asking whether she would ever get a low taper fade and who Justin Timberlake is.
What are her biggest videos?
- “12 Days of Christmas” teacher parody (December 2024): about 16.6 million views.
- Her choir’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” (May 2026): about 14.6 million views.
- Tasting a student’s homemade curry chicken (May 2026): about 14.4 million views. Her verdict: “Dude, this is actually good.”
- “Things my students have said to me this week” (January 2025): about 8.7 million views.
- Treble choir learning RAYE songs (March 2026): two videos with about 4.6 million and 4.4 million views.
Reader poll
Would you have joined Mak Barton’s choir in high school?
What does she teach other music teachers?
Between the jokes, a lot of her content is practical. Her warm-ups, like a recent “chromatic choir chaos” solfège drill, get shared by other choir directors, and in one October 2026 video she admits a common secret of the job: piano is not her instrument. “Voice is my instrument,” she says, before explaining how she writes chord names into every new piece of sheet music so she can keep a rehearsal moving.
She arranges popular songs for her choirs and shares some of those arrangements on MuseScore. On October 16, 2026, she led a session called “Culture & Content” at the Maryland Music Educators Association Fall In-Service, where her speaker bio says she talks about building a culturally responsive classroom and how teachers can use social media to advocate for their programs.
What is Mak Barton’s fundraiser?
On October 29, 2026, she posted a more serious video. She describes her school as a Title I school where many students live below the poverty line, and as “the school that everybody talks crap about” in the area. Then she lists what her students have done anyway: choirs rated Superior at the state festival every year she has been there, a theatre program that staged Les Misérables last year (Shrek is next), and a girls’ lacrosse team that reached the Maryland state semifinals.
She says the money will go toward equipment, apparel and repairs for those programs, and toward costs her students often cannot cover, like trips, meals and All-State Choir, where she says registration runs $500 to $600 for students who make it. The donation links go straight to the programs’ booster accounts and are in her link in bio. Her ask is simple: give “anywhere from a dollar up,” or just leave a comment to help the video travel.
Does Mak Barton make her own music?
Yes. As Makynzie Barton, she released an R&B single, “Lovesick,” in October 2021, available on Apple Music and Spotify. On YouTube she also hosts the Big Sister Pod, short episodes on burnout, friendships and big changes, plus travel vlogs and day-in-the-life videos.
Where to follow Mak Barton
- TikTok: @makbarton
- YouTube: @makbarton
- Instagram: @makbarton
- Music: Makynzie Barton on Apple Music
- Links and student fundraiser: linkin.bio/makbarton
This profile is based on Mak Barton’s public TikTok and YouTube videos, her link-in-bio page and her Maryland Music Educators Association speaker page. The LA Note did not interview her. To protect her students’ privacy, we have not named her school.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mak Barton?
Mak Barton (Makynzie Barton) is a high school choir and theatre director in Maryland and a content creator known as @makbarton. She calls her videos “musical standup”: comedy about teaching, choir warm-ups and student covers. She has more than 300,000 TikTok followers.
What does Mak Barton teach?
She directs the choirs and the theatre program at a public high school in Maryland, and she arranges popular songs for her choirs. Outside school she leads worship at church.
Where did Mak Barton go to school?
She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Delaware and a master’s at Berklee College of Music, both in music education, according to her YouTube channel.
What is Mak Barton’s most viral TikTok?
Her teacher-themed “12 Days of Christmas” parody from December 2024 has about 16.6 million views. Her choir’s cover of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” (14.6 million) and a video tasting a student’s homemade curry chicken (14.4 million) are close behind.
Does Mak Barton release music?
Yes. She released the R&B single “Lovesick” as Makynzie Barton in October 2021; it is on Apple Music and Spotify. She also shares her choir arrangements on MuseScore.
How can I support Mak Barton’s students?
In October 2026 she started raising money for her school’s choir, theatre and girls’ lacrosse programs. The donation links to the programs’ booster accounts are in her link in bio and on her TikTok.
Bill Choudhry is a digital marketer who specializes in e-commerce, with a not-so-secret knack for the entertainment industry. He channels that passion into features and interviews for The LA Note.
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