Okay! Instrumental Music for Secondary Ed.
Have a look through the following resources.
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Virtual Classroom Music Room Instructions
Ever wonder how to make a Virtual Classroom? Want your students to make their own virtual classroom? Check out this resource for step-by-step instructions! Olivia Yachnick offers instructions to build a customized classroom using bitmoji, google slides, and google images. Virtual Classrooms can [ ...→ ]
Lesson Planet
Lesson Planet provides music educators with a range of dependable, high-quality lesson plans. Those with memberships to this site have access to 2000+ lesson plans created by music educators for music educators. There is a free trial period available before one needs to [ ...→ ]
@ms.powers_musicedu Instagram Account
Ms. Powers Music Instagram focuses on secondary general music. The page includes videos from classroom experiences that incorporate guitars, percussion, and vocals. Additionally, there are also occasional livestreams/videos on popular music in the classroom. All one needs is an Instagram account to get [ ...→ ]
Education Through Music
ETM partners music teachers with schools and parents so that music is part of every students' life. Their website details how their program works and what resources/services they provide. Their excellent distance learning resources provide parents with many opportunities to aid and participate [ ...→ ]
Teachers Pay Teachers
This website is full of resources for any teacher. With ideas for every topic, there are lesson plans, worksheets, games, and other activities for any age. Most have a small cost, but there are several free resources as well. Price: Varies Link: Teachers [ ...→ ]
KHS America & IMES Virtual Clinics
KHS America & IMES are posting new clinics each Thursday at 2PM ET until April 30. Topics addressed include everything from practice tips to philosophy. These are ideal for students at the secondary level and up. The website provides links to new livestreams [ ...→ ]
In Tune Monthly
This magazine for teenage students incorporates popular music and classical music and also includes a podcast. Each edition contains a listening list, guitar chords for a song, articles about a modern artist and more. There is also a teacher edition that explores these [ ...→ ]
Jazz Lesson Videos
"Jazz Lesson Videos" is an instagram page run by Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, a saxophone professor from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His page is centered around jazz improvisation. Chad provides video demonstrations of techniques, scales, licks, and exercises for students to practice. He [ ...→ ]
OrchestraTeacher.net
This website is ideal for orchestra directors in need of lesson plans and ideas. This site provides podcasts, blogs, video lesson plans, and worksheets in a wide range of subject areas. Through this resource, teachers are able to find guidance on distance learning [ ...→ ]
Noteflight Learn
Noteflight Learn is an extension of Noteflight Premium where students can create scores as well as play/sing along to a library of digital scores for Choir, Band, Orchestra, Guitar, Piano, and Pop ensembles. Students can record themselves and embed their recordings into the [ ...→ ]
Midnight Music
This site is designed for music educators who need help using technology! In 12 online courses, teachers can learn how to use programs such as GarageBand, Mixcraft, Sibelius, Audacity and more. There are lesson plans to go along with each course, and the [ ...→ ]
Fender Play
Students looking to learn acoustic or electric guitar, bass, and/or ukulele should know about this website! This website has over 2.5k online video lessons (and counting!) taught by professional musicians in addition to many different songs they can learn. These lessons are customizable [ ...→ ]
Solfeg.io
This program teaches general music skills as well as guitar, ukulele, bass, and piano through popular music. The free teacher membership includes a selection of pop and rock music that students can play along with. The interactive play-along mode shows the hand positions [ ...→ ]
MSL Masterclass Videos
This video offers a sample elementary-level french horn masterclass. If you want a customized masterclass series for your band students, fill out the request form on this site. As always, MSL helpers are available to fill any need or vision you have for [ ...→ ]
Jazz Artist Biographies for Kids
Ideal for younger students as an introduction to jazz, this resource provides different articles and videos on the style of jazz and famous jazz musicians. Each article presents the information in a style geared for younger students. In the introduction, "What's Jazz?", there [ ...→ ]
The Shed
The Shed is a website with online music classes that contain free audio, video, and PDF resources. Classes are provided in music technology, guitar, band and music theory. The site also has PDF worksheets, lead sheets, quizzes, and videos covering subject including harmony, [ ...→ ]
Nearpod
Nearpod is an instructional platform that merges formative assessment and dynamic media for collaborative learning experiences. Encompassing all K-12 subjects, teachers can either use platform lesson plans or create their own to upload for students. Teachers are able to track students' progress, hold [ ...→ ]
Smithsonian Music
Smithsonian Music provides general music teachers an online museum of World Music. Teachers can browse lesson plans, playlists, albums, and more by genre, geography, or artist. They also provide podcasts and playlists online for free. There are also free lesson plans about world [ ...→ ]
Edpuzzle
This free site is perfect for creating interactive videos in any music class. Choosing from online video sources like YouTube, teachers can add closed captioning, questions, notes, voice overs, and more. Students can view the videos and submit their responses on the website. [ ...→ ]
Finding Music Resources
The music students of Gettysburg College created this website to offer an easy way to sort through resources. Arranged in 30 categories, students curated and linked each resource. Price: Free Always Link: Finding Music Resources
Audacity
This source is perfect for creating music in general music or music technology classes. Features include recording, exporting/importing audio, editing audio, and MIDI input. Price: Always Free Link: Audacity
Sound Innovations Online
Sound Innovations Online by Alfred Music provides an online platform for instrumental students of all ages to access practice resources. SI lesson books are the virtual companion. Within SI Online, there are play-along tracks, masterclasses, supplemental pages, and extra repertoire for students so [ ...→ ]
BandLab for Education
Teachers of any level and area can use BandLab to teach recording, mixing, audio editing, and more. It is easy to use from both a student and teacher perspective, and students can submit assignments directly through the website. The program has a wide [ ...→ ]
Organized Chaos
This is an ideal resource for music educators looking for additional resources for online learning. This blog post gives ideas for remote learning in 4 categories: virtual teaching, online resources, no-tech resources, and professional learning opportunities. The specific resources are all linked for [ ...→ ]
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Academy
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Academy YouTube posts jazz lessons and videos on developing a practice routine. These are led by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In addition, the JALC YouTube posts full concerts performed by the ensemble. Price: Always [ ...→ ]
MIMphx YouTube Channel
The Musical Instrument Museum of Phoenix channel features tours and behind-the-scenes footage including musical instruments from all cultures, musical theater performance videos, and diverse talks from musical professionals of every background.Teachers can use these videos as listening assignments, on a platform like Edpuzzle, [ ...→ ]
A Practical Guide for Recruitment and Retention
Elementary and middle school instrumental teachers can use this guide from NAMM to learn about recruitment. This focuses on instrumental music programs while going into great detail about how to communicate with parents and how to bolster retention rates in programs. Additional materials [ ...→ ]
Teaching Skype Music Lessons
This is an ideal resource for those teachers seeking to teach online lessons. This YouTube presentation by Terry B. Ewell addresses the setup of equipment, software configurations, and other helpful hints for successful online lessons for one-on-one music instruction. Price: Always Free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih44tSdKDV4&feature=youtu.be [ ...→ ]
Music Education Resources Facebook Group
Music Education Resources is a Facebook group for music teachers of all areas and levels. It features lots of informational articles, links to additional teaching resources, and some entertainment to lighten the mood. This group should prove helpful to many music educators due [ ...→ ]
Royal Irish Academy of Music
RIAM Teaching and Learning Network has a collection of instrumental and choral lesson videos compiled by professors at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. There are piano lessons for beginners and intermediate players as well as more advanced. There are flute lessons and [ ...→ ]
Talking Up Music Education Podcast
Talking Up Music Education is perfect for all music educators as well as for interested secondary students. Each podcast features a guest; Vanessa Carlton speaks about being a singer-songwriter, and Eric Whitacre speaks on being a composer. The host, Executive Director of The [ ...→ ]
FJH Measures of Success for Band
These videos are great for beginning players. They do a great job at covering all bases, from how to take your instrument out of the case and assembling, to how to make a good sound, and working on different articulations. The videos express [ ...→ ]
Cleaning Your Instrument – YouTube Playlist
These videos are perfect for all wind instrument players to learn how to clean their instruments at home. They do a great job of explaining the cleaning and maintenance of most wind instruments in a short, but meaningful way. They ensure the instruments [ ...→ ]
The Shed – Rudimental Readiness
"The Shed" Rudiments videos are perfect for percussionists with some experience with rudiments at the elementary or secondary level. They do a great job at efficiently explaining and breaking down each rudiment. They also ensure they start with good technique from the beginning. [ ...→ ]
Tone Savvy
Tone Savvy is perfect for any level of Music Theory classes and performing ensembles. This resource has many customizable exercises for students to work on their fundamentals of music, ranging from note reading to melodic dictation to interval identification. The teacher can create [ ...→ ]
Little Kids Rock YouTube Channel
Little Kids Rock is a great organization that promotes the inclusion of modern band in the music classroom. Their YouTube channel provides free video lessons on drums, guitar, bass, keyboard and ukulele. There are also some inspiring performance videos and professional development videos [ ...→ ]
Soundfly
Soundfly is an online service offering professional-quality music courses not often offered in traditional school. Topics range from the role of producers to songwriting and performance. Many of the production and electronic composition classes require additional programs/software. Soundfly has many available courses offered [ ...→ ]
The Music Educator Blog
This blog is perfect for music educators of all grades and areas. The content ranges from articles about supporting one's students to podcasts with guest professionals about the classroom. Recently, helping the music educator teach from home has come to the forefront of [ ...→ ]
MusicTheory.net
This app provides teachers with simple, interactive music theory instruction through available lessons and exercises. This app is perfect for ensemble teachers and theory teachers looking for supplemental materials to assist students with becoming familiar with and practicing music theory concepts, as well [ ...→ ]
New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts Play!
The New York Philharmonic’s Young People’s Concerts are perfect for elementary music students, but there is value for secondary students as well. This site offers free NY Phil concerts with activities for students. Each concert listed has videos allowing students to interact with [ ...→ ]
US Army Field Band YouTube Channel
Good for listening assignments or daily inspiration, the US Army Field Band offers free live concerts over their YouTube channel at 1 PM ET every day. Performers include the Concert Band, Soldiers’ Chorus, Jazz Ambassadors, and Six-String Soldiers. The channel also contains several [ ...→ ]
Culturally Responsive Resources for Music Educators
This resource is ideal for educators who want help to be more culturally inclusive. An educator can get access to resources such as support in lesson planning, downloadable content, live Q&A sessions, and a monthly Newslette. The Patreon includes four different levels with [ ...→ ]
Vic Firth Rudiments
Vic Firth's rudiment page provides the fundamentals for percussionists of all levels. This resource includes information on standard rudiments, playing techniques, video lessons, drum set play along tracks, and more. Free Link: Vic Firth Website
52 Homemade Musical Instruments
This website provides a list of 52 instruments students can make at home. The instruments vary in complexity and necessary materials, so students will have plenty of options using items they already have at home. Most instruments work best for elementary students, but [ ...→ ]
Interactive Orchestra
This interactive orchestra website allows students to explore the different sections of the ensemble. Students can click through each section to read about the instrument families and complete fill-in-the-blank activities. Price: Always Free Link: Interactive Orchestra
WCSD Grade 6-12 Music Grid
WCSD provides an excellent daily guide for distance learning. Students will navigate the chart to select resources from categories such as music theory, performance, maintenance, and just for fun. The columns are sorted by category, with links directly labeled for ease of access. [ ...→ ]
Music Educators Creating Online Learning Facebook Group
All music teachers can find something of value in the "Music Educators Creating Online Learning" Facebook group. It contains resources for instrumental, choral, jazz, private instruction, general music, and more! This group is a "teachers-help-teachers" setting where anyone can post about a resource [ ...→ ]
Program Notes Project
This resource is suitable for students in performing classes such as chorus, band, or orchestra but can be expanded to a general music class.This project is in the form of a Google Slideshow. It begins with a description of the project for the [ ...→ ]
Choir Meme War
In this easily adaptable activity for all music classes, students make choir memes. This activity works nicely as enrichment and/or extra credit. Students can easily collaborate in Google Classroom and make memes via Google Slides. This activity encourages student creativity and new ways [ ...→ ]
Name that Tune Solfege Worksheet
This worksheet is ideal for students who are studying solfege and also beginning music theory/aural skills. Multiple key signatures are included. Since it is addressed to a classroom, having a version that students could complete via Google Docs/Forms as a quiz would be [ ...→ ]
4 Simple Steps to Taking Your Music Class Online
This resource is ideal for general music educators looking for help on how to transition their instruction to online learning. This video "workshop" is free to sign-up for (must provide name and email), and the instructor talks through a PowerPoint presentation about transitioning [ ...→ ]
Online Spinner Music Wheel
This resource is ideal for elementary and secondary instrumental teachers but would require some modification for use in online/distance instruction. One can use this board game-like spinner to randomly select an option to play a passage a certain way (staccato, quietly, loudly, and [ ...→ ]
Composition Project: Melody Recall
This introduction to composition is perfect for theory classes, online band and orchestra, and secondary general music! Clear directions on how to compose a basic melody for different instruments are provided. Students need access to notation software and the knowledge to create at [ ...→ ]
Flipgrid – Empower Every Voice
Flipgrid is an easy-to-use app and website perfect for providing a digital platform for classroom video based discussions. Teachers can create a "grid," which is accessible to students through their school emails, student ID, or a link, and then create discussions that students [ ...→ ]
Acapella App from Pic Play Post
This resource is ideal for secondary music teachers looking for a composition medium for online learning. The Acapella App is a great way to have students collaborate and create music together. Students can put together a song with multiple voices either by themselves [ ...→ ]
Band Resource Mega Bundle
F-flat author, Meghan Cabral, has offered a ton of flipped classroom materials for band directors looking to engage their students in remote learning. This bundle of materials includes PDF assignments with links to pre-created YouTube videos and TED talks that engage students in [ ...→ ]
What in the World?? Unusual Musical Instruments
This resource is perfect for K-8 general music teachers for lessons about non-traditional instruments. Students only require access to the provided YouTube videos and PDF worksheet of accompanying questions. Teachers can easily tailor this lesson for inclusion in a larger unit. Price: Free [ ...→ ]
Sight Reading Factory
Sight Reading Factory is perfect for teachers of ensembles who are looking to assess individual student sight reading. Teachers can customize online sight reading exercises as a practice and assessment tool. The program is compatible with Chrome, iPhones, Android smartphones, iPads and Android [ ...→ ]
Appcompanist
"Appcompanist" is perfect for teachers or students to gain access to thousands of free piano accompaniment tracks. The website provides users with the ability to adjust rubato, accents, and smoothly increase or decrease tempo as the piece plays without affecting piano quality. One [ ...→ ]
How to Sign Up for Smart Music (for students)
This website is a PowerPoint explaining how to use SmartMusic for students. This PowerPoint gives a visual on how to sign up for the program itself. The website is very helpful in showing a step-by-step process with arrows and clear directions. Price: Free [ ...→ ]
Zoom in “Music Mode” by RAMA Vocal Center / The Royal Academy of Music
This is a Zoom tutorial that shows how to change the audio settings to preserve the sound. Having access to the Zoom software is required, but this tutorial is a free resource. Overall, it's perfect for instrumentalists, vocalists, and any music teachers who [ ...→ ]
A Guide to Virtual Chamber Music
This video explains how to create chamber music through the free app, Acapella. Through this app, individuals can all perform their part of a song and can layer it with others to produce the piece as it would sound if they were playing [ ...→ ]
Teaching Music Online PDF
This informational article details how to design and structure an online music class. It has numerous ideas for assignments, assessments, and the overall layout of online learning. Teachers faced with moving to online instruction will find much of value here. Price: Always Free [ ...→ ]
SmartMusic
SmartMusic is a software that allows students to record and submit themselves making music, which can be used for assessments. Teachers can upload parts and full scores that students can use to submit a recording of themselves performing their part. This user-friendly program [ ...→ ]
MusicFirst
MusicFirst Classroom is the only comprehensive learning management system (LMS) for K-12 music education. It combines learning management software with engaging content and powerful integrated software to help educators monitor student progress, make lesson plans, and create assignments. Price: Cost Varies (You must [ ...→ ]
Social Media Bingo for Ensembles
This resource is best suited for secondary instrumental, but it is easily adaptable for a variety of ages & experience levels. Students complete a variety of music-related social media tasks on the bingo sheet including performing, listening to music, composing, and more. The [ ...→ ]
Read Ahead App – Sight-reading for the Modern Musician
This is an ideal resource for keyboard or piano teachers looking for online learning resources. This app is designed for building successful sight-reading skills on piano, including different exercises to build skills without the presence of a teacher. The provided lessons and supplemental [ ...→ ]
Target Note Intonation Drill Video
This video tutorial is perfect for secondary students to work on their intonation and air usage. Students will need a device to play the YouTube video, their major instrument, and a device to use as a drone. The video is only 8 minutes [ ...→ ]
String Masters (Online Lessons)
This is an ideal resource for string players looking to take or give online lessons. This program allows you to schedule and participate in lessons online or use professional tools for in-person lessons, as well as capture notes and record assignments. You may [ ...→ ]
Practice Log
This resource is ideal for students who need to keep track of their practice. The document has columns that allow the students to write down what they practice and how long. The document also has a column that allows an open-ended response asking [ ...→ ]
Unit Lesson: If It’s Not Baroque, Don’t Fix It
In this unit lesson, advanced music students demonstrate their knowledge of the Baroque period by performing a song. Teachers can assess both the performers and audience members (classmates) on their behavior and character as if they were living in the Baroque Era. The [ ...→ ]
Strategies for Effective Practice Time
Ideal for students who may be practicing on their own for the first time, this Google Doc gives tips and techniques on how to practice effectively. Tips include having supplies nearby, starting with a warm-up, have a goal, etc. This list can also [ ...→ ]