Digital Musicking

This website has information on Orff-Schulwerk workshops, certification courses, as well as access to resources and video demonstrations with a membership. This is a great website for general music teachers, as well as any secondary teacher wishing to incorporate movement and improvisation into their classroom. I highly recommend all general music teachers get involved in their local Orff chapter.

Quaver has a large amount of lessons available for teaching from PreK-8th grade. It is probably the most complete music teaching software resource I have found. This could be used in any general music class as well as ensembles. It is much more interactive than a textbook and the interface changes as the grade level increases so that it remains engaging for the age group.

Resource for the University of Florida Masters Program. This interactive program allows teachers to more effectively reach students through games, movement, song, and dance.

This website is awesome! I call it "Quaver the Saver." When you can't figure out how to explain a concept clearly, show a Quaver DVD. The DVDs are You can purchase the DVDs and access a multitude of resources with a subscription. Great for Elementary General Music.

Classics For Kids is a great website with fun activities and music resources for use in the classroom. Each month, they feature a different composer and provide activities, handouts, and listening maps that help students learn about various topics in classical music history. There are also online games for kids and lesson plans for teachers.

Classics for Kids is a website that is full of information about classical music for kids/students. It includes links to learn about various composers, listening examples, activities, games and quizzes about music. There are lesson plans also available for teachers, and a parent information link is also available. This is a great site for introducing students to the genre of classical music.

Site for a plethora of music information, games, activities, downloads, broadcasts, listening, all relating to music education.

Resource for finding technology tools in music education and more.

Bucket drumming is a favorite activity during rhythm units in just about any grade. Coach K makes this whole process easy and encourages us to share our experiences.

This is a blog post for music educators in search of quality PD podcasts. This article provides a list of many different podcasts that focus on specifically music education, technology integration, and general educational topics.

List of great podcasts for music educators

List of great TED talks for music educators.

A great list of resources for exploring different music altering apps.

This video discusses sound and vibration using music as a source. I use this with my first graders when we start discussing sound.

I use Music K8 videos to help enhance learning of several music concepts. They are fun to watch too!

I use this video to teach tempo with my 1st graders. It also helps them work on prepositions and classroom teachers will appreciate the help!

This interview makes an excellent argument for choosing iPads over Chromebooks, as well as addressing other district one-to-one directives. It also touches on some practical uses of technology in the choral classroom.

When integrating technology in the music classroom, teachers need to know exactly what having technology in music looks like. A representative from Choral Director Magazine conducts an interview describing how a teacher has integrated technology in his choir. He provides two examples such as SmartMusic to aid in sight-reading skills and Attendance 2 allowing students to take roll through QR codes as they walk in.

This article describes the difference between active and passive listening, and how to incorporate the elements of music to be used in active listening exercises.

This article provides several ways to integrate technology in the music classroom. To aid in administrating, the article suggests Google Drive using Google Docs and Google Forms. I personally am a huge fan of Google Classroom. The article also provides software such as SmartMusic for instructional use.

Rhythm Syllable Systems - What to use and why! is a blog in which David Row takes a look at the various rhythm syllable counting systems in use today. He gives a thorough explanation of each one as well as providing links for further information about a particular system. He also discusses that none of these systems give instruction or guidance about what to do with rests. Overall, he states that the choice is yours for which system to use with your students.

This is an online music curriculum that can be supplemental or can span the entire year using only Quaver. $$$

There are students who love music, but they do not want to sing or play an instrument. Music technology classes allow these students the opportunity to be creative while participating in their love for music. This blog discusses the importance of music technology classes and how fostering this skill can lead to a career in the ever growing music industry.

Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Auditions is a blog article by Marie Grass Amenta about a man who began his career as a demanding and emotionless choir director. His interpersonal skills were non-existant with his choir. After self-reflection he soon discovers this is not really who he is. A young girl who auditioned for his choir was seen crying afterwards and he decided he can't pretend to be someone he isn't. That experience was a life-changing moment after which he left his current position and went to a community chorus and is now in a more relaxed, enjoyable environment for all.