Technology has become more prevalent in schools in recent years, with a big uptick due to the pandemic. Teaching online during the pandemic has shown us that high-quality tech tools are out there–but how do we continue to use these resources in our classrooms today?
The creation and use of digital music has also become more common today. How are we exposing our students to creating music through technology? I have found some online music resources that have transformed my teaching as an elementary general music teacher and have provided engaging content for my students.
1. Chrome Music Lab
One of the most popular technology applications in my music classroom allows for students to explore creating and manipulating different sounds. The Song Maker application is a great application where students can explore creating songs while considering music elements such as: Melody, Harmony, Tempo, Instrumentation. I use this application with my kindergarten students as we focus in on creating melodies and musical patterns.
One activity I found to be fun for older students is to have them complete the melody to a song their know. One of the most valuable parts of this application is the real time playback of students work. The playback allows even my youngest students the ability to hear their creations, reflect on their work, and make changes to match their thoughts.
2. Groove Pizza
Students create and connect different beats of various musical styles to construct a musical work. Students are exposed to and can create beats associated with Afro-Latin, Jazz, Techno, Rock, and Hip-Hop. These beats can be downloaded or shared to various music applications such as SoundTrap or Noteflight. I use this application particularly with my lower elementary students, but it can probably work with other age groups as well. Students can hear the differences between musical styles such as Jazz and Hip Hop.
Joseph Thomas is a kindergarten-fifth grade elementary music teacher for St. Louis Park Public Schools in Minnesota.
Works Cited
Create with Coldplay & Code.org. Code.org. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://code.org/coldplay
Google. (n.d.). Chrome Music Lab. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/
Google. (n.d.). Semi-conductor by Google Creative Lab – experiments with google. Google. Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://experiments.withgoogle.com/semi-conductor
MusicplayOnline. (2022, February 1). Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://musicplayonline.com/
Groove pizza. GroovePizza. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2022, from https://apps.musedlab.org/groovepizza/?museid=FPtuOlp8Q&
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