From the Top is a PBS series that features young performers on the Carnegie Hall stage. Each clip includes background and an interview with Christopher O'Riley (host and sometimes piano accompanist). There are representations of almost every major instrument in band and orchestra as well as vocalists, choral ensembles, pianists, and guitarists. The young performers have selected pieces in a variety of styles and some have amazing background stories, including an Olympic skater and one about the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The website also includes podcasts and a section for teachers that includes lesson plans to incorporate along with each episode. Clicking on From the Top at the bottom of the page gets you to more recent
streaming videos from the show at fromthetop.org
This site is for professional development that provides videos of changing technology to be used in the classroom. For example, training in Go Noodle, Garage Band, Finale Notepad, etc....
This website offers many applications to help teach virtually anyone to play piano. These apps use the latest gaming software to help make learning the piano fun.
JoyTunes makes absolutely phenomenal piano learning apps, especially PianoMaestro, which I use with my second graders. They download the app on their iPads, and it guides them through the basics of piano playing, all the way through playing simple songs and melodies. It's definitely worth checking out!
I know this isn't a "website", per se, but I need to share Dudamel conducting the fourth movement of Dvorak's "New World Symphony" since I just bookmarked the listening map. This is such a wonderful performance, and it demonstrates how crucial the conductor is in coercing a certain sound from the performers!
This is a great website called wheeldecide.com. It's one of the only "spinner" websites I've been able to find, and it works perfectly for when you've got some extra time with your younger elementary students. I just load up the songs and games they know, and I let one of the students spin the wheel and we sing and/or play whatever song/game comes up. They love it!
This is a great Prezi I happened to find as I was looking for resources to teach "Sansa Kroma" to my third graders. If you use that song in your setting, it's worth checking out!
This site is FANTASTIC, and I hope it never goes away! It's got each instrument's preeminent part from Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" and I use it as review as well as for a summative listening assessment where students have to identify the instrument that's playing.
This is a VERY old website, but if you teach square dancing (we do "Camptown Races" in fourth grade), this is the resource for you! You can click around to find detailed names and instructions for probably any square dance move you can think of, and each one also includes an animated GIF showing what each move should look like. This was a great resource for me as a non-dancer!
If you teach any sea chanteys, you might be able to find some information as well as an authentic recording of them at this website by the Hyde Street Chantey Singers. (I've found that Firefox works best for this website, for some reason.) I use this site when we learn "John Kanaka" in fifth grade.
This blog is run by Angela Harman, who is an orchestra teacher in Utah. She has several great posts on starting beginner strings, recruitment, and even re-energizing rehearsals. She also has a book on shifting, which can be tricky to teach.
This website has a bunch of resources! They have free, downloadable files like beginning of the year checklists. They also post a lot of instrument specific articles, like proper techniques and how to teach them.
Offers free resources and information on the history of Rock & Roll. It looks like there are online lesson plans and more resources available if one signs up for an account with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There's also information on field trips and educational opportunities for those who are able to take students to the museum in Ohio.
The Choir Ninja podcast is an excellent resource for choir directors of all types! Ryan Guth provides insight and advice on how to handle common issues that arise when directing choirs. Several prominent members of the Choral Director community have also made guest appearances on this program, and provide their own insight.
Allows you to watch performances from different angles in order to see the conductor and different instrumentalists. Allows for a unique view of an orchestra where you can be up close to the people playing in a way that the full view of an orchestra doesn't allow. The interactive nature of being able to change camera angles is also engaging, and would get students interested in seeing the different facets of a whole symphonic performance.
This podcast is hosted by three middle school band directors in Texas. They conduct their podcast in between classes, and they discuss the ins and outs of band in their middle school classes. They provide several resources to use in sectional classes in middle school band and offer advice.
A podcast produced by three active middle school band directors from Texas. They offer insight and advice on everything from fundamentals, sight-reading, student retention, and more. Episodes vary from eight minutes (on small topics) to hour-long discussions depending on the topic. They do a great job offering practical relevant advice and is an easy way to get professional development in the car on your way to and from school.
After Sectionals is an entertaining and informative podcast about the struggles and benefits of being a music educator. This podcast contains a lot of varying information regarding the many aspects of being a director. It is a great resource for beginning teachers, as it provides a look into the profession from experienced educators!
The purpose of this podcast is to offers helpful and relevant information to beginning band teachers. The podcast is run by three band teachers based in Texas that share their strategies and experiences in their podcast. The website would be an excellent resource for a new or struggling band teacher who needs some tips to help improve any band program. Simply title podcasts make it easy to find the necessary information to address any concerns.
This website is for a podcast I have been listening to for a few years. The podcast is very interesting an informative. It give a different perspective on teaching band. Though I don't teach in a similar situation, things can be applied to my situation.
This podcast covers three band directors that all work in the same middle school. This discuss all different types of things but it is interesting to listen to how the three work together with their different classes. I have listen to this podcast in the past and their are even times she records her lessons with her students.
This is a website devoted to this history and performance of Taps. There is information regarding how to properly perform this bugle call. Also, there is information about bugles in general and their role in the military. Great for teaching trumpet players (and really all musicians) about this very well known call.