technology

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 view posts!

Price: Free

Link: Ms. Powers on Instagram

Created by Google, Word Synth allows students to experiment with language and music. Users input their own words/phrase to be spoken on pitch. Drag the blocks up or down to change the pitch on any given word. Users can change the tonality and pitch center, the voice used, tempo of playback, and the ratio of singing to speaking during playback. The program also includes a tutorial!

Price: Free

Link: Word Synth

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 program will help you understand iPads, Chromebooks, Macs, and PCs. There are a few free resources in addition to those included in the subscription.

Cost: $39 per month or $390 per year

Link: Midnight Music

This online resource allows you to create sheet music and educational activities for students, especially useful in a music theory classroom.  Teachers can organize classes, collaborate in real time, contact students, add comments to assignments and work offline.  This can be used at school or home and is compatible with many different devices.

Price: Free (Basic plan), Paid (monthly, yearly, and lifetime subscription options)

Link: Flat

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

Mixxx is software perfect for secondary technology and general music classes. Teachers can utilize Mixxx to create and perform live mixes with digital music files. Students can upload several songs to the software, then mix them into their own compositions. Featuring a turntable simulator, musicians of all ages can add exciting elements to their mixes.

Price: Free

Link: Mixxx

This is an ideal resource for music educators looking for a web-based digital audio workstation (DAW). Soundation is a DAW for those editing music who prefer a higher quality of output and recording. This resource features virtual instruments and over 700 loops and effects. With subscription, pricing ranges from $1.99 to $6.99 monthly per person.

Price: Free during COVID-19 (3 month trial) with paid upgrades available

Link: Soundation

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 for free as well as additional paid courses, and is available for students as well as teachers looking for professional development.

Price: Some free courses, some paid

Link: Soundfly

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 least 2 levels of harmony to complete this assignment. This is already formatted for an online class setting. A grading rubric is provided, and teachers would be able to modify this flexible lesson for inclusion in a larger unit. Author: Sarah Gulish

Cost: FREE during COVID-19

Link: COMP-1_-Melody-Recall

Click here to access a google drive file. You must “Make a Copy” first and then you can edit. 

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 or with their peers. Note: Students must be 16 years old to create an account and everything students create is public for everyone on the app.

Price: Free Always with Paid Upgrades Available

Link: Acapella App

This resource works well for vocally-oriented classes as well as the secondary music technology classroom. Students compose & record a vocal melody, add accompaniment tracks to match, and submit them for grading. The resource provides a grading rubric. This is a self-contained lesson with room to adjust difficulties for age. Subscription to Noteflight Learn and SoundtrapEdu allow one to take full advantage of the resource. Teachers can easily adapt this for instrumentalists as well through the Google Drive link to copy and edit. Author: Danielle Larrick

Price: Free during COVID-19

Link: Tonal Pattern Composition Lesson

This resource is great for both general music & music tech classrooms of all ages. This is a self-contained lesson and only requires speaking in rhythm. Teachers might use it early in the year as an “icebreaker” activity. The project allows for the use of applications/softwares to create a rhythmic accompaniment. The rapping portion allows some creativity, but also provides structure in creating rhythms.

Price: Free always

Link: “Rap My Name” Lesson Plan

These lesson plan units and resources are ideal for educators planning lessons for third through sixth grade music. Created by Carole Corman, these lessons cover topics such as physics of music, music appreciation, music technology, music theory, and performance. The units also include assessments, worksheets, and additional resources. These lesson plan units are ideal for in-class activities, but are also adaptable to be done at a distance.

Price: Free Always

Link: Elementary General Music Lesson Plans

This resource is ideal for elementary music educators who are looking for an online learning resource for their students that is fun and culturally informative. It is an interactive app that allows for the user to travel around the world and learn about different instruments and cultures. There are quizzes along the way that test one’s knowledge of both music and geography/culture.

Price: $5

Link: Jazzy World

This assignment is perfect for high school students in a music technology or general music class. This would be good for the middle or end of a unit on film music or on emotions in music. There are two projects in this lesson plan – a songwriter analysis assignment, and a composition assignment. Students need to have access to Logic or a similar software.

Price: Free always

Link: Songwriting/Composition Assignments

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 least 2 levels of harmony to complete this assignment. This is already formatted for an online class setting. A grading rubric is provided, and teachers would be able to modify this flexible lesson for inclusion in a larger unit. Author: Sarah Gulish

Cost: FREE during COVID-19

Link: COMP-1_-Melody-Recall

Click here to access a google drive file. You must “Make a Copy” first and then you can edit. 

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 using collaboration. Students can put together a song with multiple voices either by themselves or with their peers. Note: Students must be 16 years old to create an account and everything students create is public for everyone on the app.

Price: Free Always with Paid Upgrades Available

Link: Acapella App

Perfect for junior/senior high music tech, this is billed as a back-to-school review. Students answer included questions about their musical backgrounds and then present that information through a medium of their choice. Any software that the teacher has available can be incorporated into this project. This could be used for several class periods (one to introduce, one to work, one to present). Given how open-ended this is, it can be altered to suit one’s students and circumstances.

Price: Always Free

Link: Musical Me: An Easy Back-to-School Tech Lesson