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Digital Resources for Music Education

This presentation shares free or low-cost digital musical resources I have found that can help you and your students make more music at home, and more music together in your classes!

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Wherever possible, I have included direct links to the products, apps, websites, and tutorials I have created. I have also included as many Google Suite compatible products, extensions and websites as I can find!

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Categories of Digital Musical Resources:

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These resources are far from comprehensive-if you have been using a program or an app that you really like, PLEASE share them with me and our panel!

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Apps/Websites for Note-Reading, Improving Rhythm, Music Theory

Phone and Tablet Apps:

Website Resources:

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Music History, and Video Lesson Resources from Ted Talks, BulletProof Musician Blog

TedEd has a wonderful series of free, premade lessons on the performing arts which include short videos and quizzes that you can assign to students. There are several Ted talks about music. Here are links to these wonderful resources!

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TedEd Lessons on the Performing Arts

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TED Talks about Music:

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BulletProof Musician Blog: Research-backed articles about performance anxiety written by professional violinist and psychologist Noa Kageyama. Very good for middle and high school students! He has a podcast as well!

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Apps/Websites for Metronomes, Tuners and Sheet Music

Websites for Metronome/Tuners:

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Phone Apps for Metronome/Tuners

  • Soundcorset (free!) Here’s a tutorial I made for how to use it: SoundCorset Video Tutorial
  • ClearTune (costs $3.99)
  • Tonal Energy (costs $3.99)

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Website for Sheet Music: www.imslp.org

  • This is an archive of all music that is in the public domain. You can find most “classical” pieces here-solos, quartets, duets, full symphonies! It’s a fantastic resource!

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Music Recording/Arranging Software: Garageband, Song Maker, Audacity, Soundation

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  • For Apple Products, Garageband is a program available for iPhones and Apple devices. It allows you to record yourself playing music on different instruments and it has lots of pre-recorded instrument sounds you can use to create different effects.

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  • For Android Products: Walkband and MusicMaker Jam are two similar apps that are available for Android.

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  • Google has an app extension called “Song Maker” from the Chrome Music Lab that is web-based and allows you to create your own music.

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  • Soundation is a free website for recording and arranging music.
  • Audacity is also free software for recording and arranging music.

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Music Performance and Recording: Acapella

  • Acapella is a phone app that allows you to record multiple video tracks of music performance.
  • It is available for iPhone and Android devices. It doesn’t work on computers or Google phones yet :-(
  • You can collaborate with other people on the app by sharing videos you’ve made with others so they can add their own recordings to it.
  • You can get a free account that allows you to record up to one minute free or you can buy a subscription and make longer videos.
  • I use this app to create practice tracks for my students to play along with, but it is really fun to just use it for your own creative projects as well!
  • I have made this Acapella tutorial video if you would like to learn more about how to use it:
    • https://youtu.be/hlnIz-ecsJg

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Music Performance and Recording: UpBeat Music App

  • UpBeat Music App is a free website that allows you and your students to record themselves playing music and work in a “virtual” practice room to bring it together!

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  • It is a combination video chat and recording/rehearsal session!

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  • Here is the website for this: https://upbeatmusicapp.com/

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Free Music Composition Software

  • MuseScore and Noteflight are free computer-based music composition software. They work as well as Sibelius and Finale and can export files as .pdf for students. Musescore also has a library of arrangements and compositions other people have made that you can often download or play for free! The software takes a bit of practice to learn, but the user manuals are great and there are many tutorial videos on YouTube. They are a great resource for students interested in composing, and the fact that they are free makes them appealing to everyone!

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  • Google Flat is a Google Chrome extension best used for composing short segments of music. The Chrome extension allows you to directly insert musical excerpts into Google Docs or Google Slides under “add-ons” in your menu options. It has some limitations, but it’s great for short musical exercises a student can practice. I did this with Google Flat! --->

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  • The Google Play Store has many music composition apps as well that are compatible with the G Suite.

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Music Practice and Performance Resources

If you are looking for programs that develop music practice and performance skills, as well as provide access to an extensive digital library of sheet music, SmartMusic and Music First are two premium resources to check out!

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I have used SmartMusic with my students for the past two years. It has a large library of music and provides extensive play-along options for students. Most method books are in SmartMusic as well, making it convenient for students to practice at home with guided tracks. You can assign excerpts and playing tests that students record directly into SmartMusic for you to access and evaluate.

�The cost for SmartMusic is $80 a year for teacher access and $40 a year for student access. Last year, SmartMusic made their entire program free for a limited time during our transition to virtual learning.

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I am less familiar with Music First, but it also includes a library of music, as well as specialty lessons on music theory. Cost for the year is $9 per student, with packages of premade lessons on various topics and skills that you can add to your account.

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Google Suite Music Education Resources

Google has provided many options for virtual and hybrid learning through its Google Suite and Google Classroom. Below is a list of Google-compatible apps, programs and extensions I have shared in my presentation, as well as two apps, Mote and Screencastify, that are useful apps for student feedback and developing lesson content.

General Amazingness Google Apps

  • Google Mote: Allows you to add up to one minute and 30 seconds of audio comments to student work under “comments” instead of typing a comment. You can play and sing in this extension!
  • Google Screencastify: Record your computer screen to do voice-overs. Useful for tutorials or pre-recorded lessons.
  • Kami extension for annotating PDFs. This extension allows students to complete worksheets online through Google. Compatible with Google Drive and Classroom, students can save their work and turn it in without having to print
  • Chrome Music Lab: A brilliant resource for music apps specifically designed by Google for Music Education!

Google Music Theory, Note-Reading and Rhythm Comprehension apps

Google Metronomes, Tuners

  • Google Metronome
  • Google Tuner (only works on Chrome OS devices, but will work on Chromebooks!)

Google Music Recording Resources

  • Song Maker

Google Music Composition and Notation apps

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What Music Technology Resources Do You Know About?

  • I realize my presentation is not a complete list. So, I have created a JamBoard for us! Use it to tell me about other apps, programs, websites you use to create music digitally.
  • If your school has a professional G Suite license, Jamboard is an interactive whiteboard app that comes with the suite. You can use it to facilitate discussions with your students!
  • Jamboard Info

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  • When you post on our Jamboard, please give me as much information as you can about the resource you have-A web address would be fine, but make sure to include the title of the program and how you get it (also whether it’s free or if it costs)

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Here’s the link to the Jamboard: https://jamboard.google.com/d/1EWLhwzQvozqZ714OxJnHHq2EvP0dWI6AxuLqP9eqeYU/viewer

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Contact Information

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or know of other great music education resources!

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Email: erica.photiades@aps.edu (work) or ephotiades@gmail.com (personal)

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I also have a YouTube channel where I have created practice along videos for my students and tutorials on how to use some of the apps and programs I discuss in my presentation. It’s a work in progress, but I am happy to share any resources I have with you!

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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MsPhoOrchestra/playlists

Channel Name: MsPhoOrchestra