lessons

Teacher Theresa Sharp created this PDF resource.  The pages provide teachers with public domain songs, activities, and assessments for teaching the element ti. For each grade level there are links to videos, editable worksheets, and differentiated lesson ideas for teaching synchronously and asynchronously. Download the PDF for free right here!

Price: Free

Link

BrainPOP is perfect for elementary general music teachers. Topics include basic note reading, scales, and harmony as well as famous musicians and instrument families.  Each topic comes with several interactive activities/games and a video lesson. Some activities and lessons are free, but the teacher account has access to full lesson plans with standards.

Price: Limited free access, paid subscription for full access

Link: BrainPOP

Lauren Marcinkowski’s “Music at Home Bingo” provides students a non-digital activity to enrich their musical experiences. This PDF includes multiple sheets for different ages of learners as well as multiple days’ worth of lessons. With the included instructions, both teachers and parents can administer this activity.

Price: Free

Music at Home Bingo

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 “Think Like a Musician” music education video series provides tips and tricks for improving technical accuracy.

Price: Free (donations accepted)

Links: Education Through Music Online

Teachers Pay Teachers is the world’s most popular online marketplace for original educational resources with more than four million resources available for use. It features ideas for every topic: lesson plans, worksheets, games, and other activities for any age.

Price: Free and paid resources

Link: Teachers Pay Teachers

Julie’s Greenroom is a music and performance arts based TV series for Pre-K to early Elementary audience. Hosted by Julie Andrews, the show has a puppet/human cast and guest artists. The cast represents a variety of disciplines from Stomp to ballet.

YouTube description:

“Join Fizz, Riley, Peri, Spike, and Hank, as they explore the magic of the performing arts under the mentorship and teaching of theater legend Julie Andrews. Together, Ms. Julie and her assistant Gus team up with some very special guests to help the Greenies learn about the creative workings of the different performing arts.”

Price: Free with Youtube; Longer shows require Netflix Subscription

Link: Julie’s Greenroom

Face Time with Composers is for elementary music educators looking for quality online resources for their students. Students can “Face Time” with famous composers and learn more about their compositional style. Each lesson focuses on one composer, while bundles including multiple composers are also available for purchase.

From the creator:

“If you are looking for a new, fresh, and fun way to introduce composers to your students, look no further! Face Time with Composers offers your students a humorous, factual, and fun way to get to know famous composers. After watching this goofy and informative video, your students won’t forget the composer they just learned about!”

Price: Lessons are $5-12 each

Link: Facetime with Composers

Fender Play is for musicians looking to learn acoustic or electric guitar, bass, and/or ukulele. This website has over 2.5k online video lessons taught by professional musicians along with hundreds of different songs to learn. These lessons are customizable, and students can track their progress as well as the skills they learn.

Price: Free trial available, paid subscription

Link: Fender Play

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 elementary through secondary videos on all instruments.

Price: Free

Link: Music Service Learning Sample Masterclass Video 

From MathScienceMusic.com:

“aQWERTYon is a browser-based musical instrument that transforms your computer keyboard into a customizable music controller. Designed to be intuitive for beginners and expressive for experienced users, it maps scales and chords across the QWERTY layout, enabling real-time music-making without requiring traditional instrumental skills.

Ideal for music education and creative play, aQWERTYon includes multiple built-in sounds and visual feedback. It can be used to explore music theory interactively, compose melodies, and perform live or in the classroom.”

Price: Free

Link: aQWERTYon

The ACDA Facebook Group provides choral educators with a place to post and view comments, videos, and lessons ideas. Posts are geared towards high school and collegiate teachers but some videos and posts include middle school lessons and songs.

Price: Free

Link: American Choral Director’s Association Facebook Group

This website gives ideas for elementary music and links to other resources. Included in this resource are links to a Facebook page to ask questions, a list of ideas for hands on dances and movement, Chrome music lab, The New Victory Theater in NYC, and YouTube videos of lesson ideas from other teachers. While this resource was published during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the resources attached are useful in remote learning settings.

Price: Free

Link: O For Tuna Orff

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 they can engage with their practicing at home in different ways. Students can access SI Online by entering a product code from their physical book. This site can be accessed via computer, tablet, and mobile device.

Price: Free, requires Sound Innovations Book

Link: Sound Innovations Online

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 Free

Link: JALC Jazz Academy on YouTube

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

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 books work on memory, speed, accuracy, tempo, and continuity.

Price: Free always (Four supplemental books for $14.99 each)

Link: Read Ahead App

This is an ideal resource for keyboard or piano teachers looking for online learning resources. Students can use this to build successful sight-reading skills on piano without the presence of a teacher. Lessons and books work on memory, speed, accuracy, tempo, and continuity.

Price: Free always (Four supplemental books for $14.99 each)

Link: Read Ahead App

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 books work on memory, speed, accuracy, tempo, and continuity.

Price: Free always (Four supplemental books for $14.99 each)

Link: Read Ahead App