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This website provides directions on how to create numerous musical instruments. Using common and inexpensive items, you can follow directions to create instruments such as juice can shakers and jingle bracelets.

This website provides directions on how to create numerous musical instruments. Using common and inexpensive items, you can follow directions to create instruments such as juice can shakers and jingle bracelets.

I use this resource when students are unable to participate in a performance or other activity. They are given the directions from this website (as well as others) to create their own instruments!

The website provides helpful information for assessing and diagnosing common mistakes on the clarinet. The author of this website offers useful advice for educators who may not understand the intricacies of teaching beginning clarinetists. This information would be most relevant for band directors and private studio teachers. 

This is the Standards of Learning for music education in the Commonwealth of Virginia as adopted by the Virginia Board of Education in 2013. As Virginia does not adhere to Common Core, these Standards are the basis for K-12 public school music curricula across the state.

Amazing music listening resource for music teachers. The cool thing about this website is that it shows how music can unify and connect people all over the world. It contains videos of a common song being recorded by musicians all over the world on a variety of different world instruments. Great resource for world music drumming. Many videos are free, but some require a subscription now.

Cross-curricular lesson idea that uses a variety of educational technology tools including GarageBand. There are other similar lessons on this site that also provide and interesting model to consider.

Article written to support the use of technology to compliment instruction and enhance student learning instead of technology for technology sake. Teachers should use social media cites, e.g., blogs, to facilitate discussion and feedback from students, create online PLNs. The cross curricular benefit is increasing writing facility and literacy. A couple of concerns are cyberbullying and parents who may question how much learning is taking place with social media. Educators can help others, including students, understand that music learning can take place outside of the classroom through social media and broaden the audience.

This website contains PDFs of wind band music that is available for free to download in the United States. The music is public domain or available via a Creative Commons license. This is very helpful with finding older music or replacing parts, especially with music that is out of print.

This band music library includes pieces that were written for American Town Bands. American Town Bands used to be so popular that almost every town in my region of Massachusetts had one. Sadly, these bands have been slowly dying out. Thanks to this website, you can find free music that those bands used to play and revive them with your ensembles.

This is a clip with Bobby McFerrin, using the audience to sing. Bobby McFerrin improvises over the top as he creates the baseline for the audience to sing. He also mentions that the pentatonic scale is understood by all of his audiences no matter where he goes. This can be an interesting way to introduce a pentatonic scale to students, or improvising in a pentatonic scale. This is part of a larger TED talk entitled "Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus"

This TED Talk informs students about the natural connection humans have with music. Bobby McFerrin describes the nature of the pentatonic scale. This is a resource I like to introduce when first learning about the pentatonic scale. This shows students that music and nature are connected. I also use this for my students when I talk about the Fibonacci sequence with my math and music unit.

Also known as Practica Musica, this is a well rounded course in music education and composition.

Ars Nova is a music software publisher that offers a number of excellent resources to sharpen one's proficiency in theory, part-writing, and counterpoint. Their software can be useful tools to recommend to advanced high school/undergrad students.

Flat is a cloud-based online music notation software. This is another alternative to Finale Notepad, MuseScore, and Noteflight.

FLAT is essentially Google's attempt at notation software. Thus, it is extremely intuitive. Though more limited than other programs, it essentially does everything a student composer would need. Students can sign up for an account with a Gmail address and can easily share their scores with each other and their teacher.

Music notation softwares like Finale and Sibelius are quite costly for students to purchase and use. Flat.io is a free online music notation software that allows you to notate music online, and share it with your friends in the cloud. It is collaborative in a way that people get to comment on your music, and you also get to comment on other people's compositions. All you need is to sign up with either google, facebook, or with your email address. It is a good resource for teachers to set notation assignments, and while students do the assignments, they learn many concepts in music such as tempo, speed, dynamics, phrasing, structure, to mention but a few.

This document is the Prince William County (Virginia) Schools music curriculum K-12. This curriculum is based upon the Virginia Music Standards of Learning. Each music teacher in PWCS adheres to this curriculum for instruction.