Digital Musicking

A collection of iPad apps that would be useful in a music classroom, divided into categories that include theory, performance, rehearsal tools etc. Each app is linked to the App Store for easy access.

This collection of podcasts features presentations and examples of communities and school districts that have made changes to increase their music offerings to children. Many of the podcasts promote music advocacy and the benefits of making music available to all children.

Yousician is a great resource for learning the guitar, bass, ukelele, or piano. Students can watch video tutorials and move up when they pass levels while playing songs with fun background music. The program/app provides instant feedback on pitch and rhythm. Teachers can use Yousician with a class on a Smart Board. In a group setting, Yousician cannot provide feedback, but it does provide lesson plans and even has a SongCreator. It is free to use with time limits on feedback, or can be upgraded to premium for $9.99/person with unlimited feedback. Students can sign up for their own account and teachers can track their progress through a Teacher account. It is fun, engaging, and provides a well rounded education in these instruments. There are knowledge tracks for each instrument which cover music theory and ear training.

This area of the Midwest Clinic website features the clinics and accompanying handouts (if available) that were presented at every Midwest Clinic dating back to 2000. The purpose of this section of the website is to share the sessions and their materials for teachers to access. This is a great resource for teachers to experience the sessions, especially if they were unable to attend. The sessions cover concepts from all areas of music education focused on both band and orchestra. There are many unique concepts and approaches to teaching music available on this website.

Great resources on the NAfME website on the "My Classroom" tab. Great ideas for every special month, advocacy, professional development, lesson planes, grants, and magazines.

The NAfME My Classroom website is an excellent resource for music educators. It provides links to journals, advocacy resources, professional development, and standards-based lesson plans. The lessons plan page offers both plans submitted by other educators and strategies for meeting the arts standards. By using the search tool, teachers can find lessons pertaining to a wide range of music content and age groups.

This is the blog of an orchestra teacher. She gives advice for beginning and middle school orchestra programs. I have used this blog many times when looking for different resources. She has really great ideas!

This is a great blog for orchestra teachers to obtain useful ideas and information that they can utilize in their classroom. It comes with plenty of ideas, games, assessments, tuning techniques, and other strategies that could be helpful for a new and seasoned teacher.

In this podcast, called "Find your entry point," Dr. Craig Hella Johnson, one of today's most respected choral conductors, delves into his personal teaching philosophy and discusses strategies to remain present and engaged with your choir and in the music making.

This article discusses the various types of licenses and permissions needed to be compliant with copyright law, specifically geared toward show choirs. Information like this is important to know as a choir director so that you can ensure that the music you are performing isn't infringing on any laws. It also protects your school/organization from unwanted (and often hefty) fines.

This article from the choral journal discusses issues surrounding including transgender students in the choral classroom. It centers around using meaningful conversation and dialogue to make these students feel comfortable. It also works through common scenarios and equips readers with vocabulary to address this in their own classrooms.

This is an excellent list by esteemed conductor Karen Bruno that showcases several pieces that are great for treble choirs. The best part of the list is that it doesn't showcase the same tried-and-true standards, but rather she goes beyond the typical scope and brings in works that are not so common. It's a great resource for programming!

This blog provides many applications for iPads in the choral classroom. It investigates Apple's "student-proof" technology, so that they don't get off task and use the iPad for other activities. It's a useful resource for anyone considering purchasing iPads.

This blog is a critique of the common "everyone gets a trophy" system of musical competitions that is pervasive in today's arts culture. The author expands to make a compelling argument to limit the amount of awards given in our school music programs (thus eliminating the participation certificate).

Exchange ideas with other teachers for using SmartMusic at their blog.

SmartMusic blog with useful articles.  Studio, ensemble, lesson, etc

The Smartmusic Blog, also called the Music Educators Blog is a blog based extension of www.smartmusic.com. The purpose of the blog is to give tips on many aspects of music education that teachers can use in the classroom, not just for information on the Smartmusic program. The blogs are written by music educators as well as Makemusic staff members. Teachers can use this website as their own personal professional development or as a ways to show students what is available in Smartmusic.

NPR ( National Public Radio) is a media organization that finds artists, hold interviews of various artists while airing it on their podcast or creating live videos. The musicians are from all over the world, some are up and coming artists and some are already famous. Tiny Desk concerts also offer a contest for bands or artists to enter this competition which will help expose them. You can find NPR all over the place. They are on public radio stations from around the US, there are videos online and can be found at YouTube, as well as their podcasts that are accessible from any computer or phone.

This is a Pinterest page geared towards music teachers. It provides you with many ideas on how to decorate your classroom or hallway. You can also access seating charts, lesson plans, organizational skills as well as basic ideas for your classroom. This is a fun page where you can be creative and explore others creative ideas for your program or students. Pinterest is a great place to share your own ideas while exploring so many others!

The Beginning Band Boot Camp is a website that focuses on teaching beginning musicians how to put together, clean, and play the various band instruments. The purpose of the website is to have a resource available for beginning students to access to help reinforce, through the use of video, the proper technique for these various concepts. Teachers can make these videos available to their students for reference.

The Music Parents Guide is a blog centered website that focuses on educating the parents of performing arts students. The purpose of this website is to help parents with ideas of how to support their performing arts child when the parents may have very little personal music experience. This website advocates for the importance of arts in the schools and connects parents to various resources pertaining to music education.

The Talent Code is a blog centered website by the published author of a book of the same name, Daniel Coyle. The Talent Code is a book that talks about the importance of proper practice and its link to success. The purpose of this website is to share ideas of effective strategies for successful practice that correlate with the book. The ideas that are shared have a direct connection for practice for students both at home and in the performing arts classroom.

This is a Facebook group for music teachers only. This is where music educators from all over can post, read, comment and share educational resources or discussions that you can relate too. I find a lot of the topics brought up in this group to be important. Additionally, this is a great way to network and meet other teachers in different parts of the country. You can share strategies and approaches of your teaching skills while learning about other innovative ways to implement in your own classroom.

The Highly Effective Band Room is a blog centered website focusing on numerous pedagogical concepts ranging from 21st century skills, technology, rehearsal strategies, and ways to incorporate numerous school improvement concepts into the performing arts classroom. The purpose of the website is to share ideas and concepts that the author has used in his classroom. There is also a list of various resources that are available from other websites that pertain to the various blogs available.