Curated Resource Hub
Here you can find a database of music education resources that help to facilitate at-home music education, curated by teachers across Canada. If you have a resource to add to the hub, let us know at [email protected].
This hub is fully searchable and can be sorted by category, meaning you can quickly find resources that align with your needs.
How to navigate the hub:
- Use the search bar and search by keyword (music theory, elementary, music production, beat-box, recorder, etc)
- Click the column headings to filter resources by a particular category (onscreen/offscreen, grade level, language, etc)
- Click the resource title to be taken directly to the external resource website
In the User Category column, all resources are organized as follows:
- Resources that teachers can use with their students (Teacher Resources)
- Resources that teachers can use for themselves (Professional Development)
- Resources parents and guardians can use with their children (Parent Resources)
| Name of Resource | Description | Grade Range | User Category | Screen Use | Sign-in Required? | Available in French? | Resource Categories and Keywords | Date Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fender - Free Music Lessons | Fender is offering 3 months of free interactive guitar, bass, ukulele and mandolin lessons on their online music lesson platform. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource & Parent Resource | Both | Yes | No | guitar, ukulele, mandolin, bass, lessons, interactive | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| TeachRock | TeachRock offers dozens of lesson plans and learning resources that use the history of popular music and culture to help teachers engage students. Innovative lesson plans developed by experienced educators and top experts in the field foster genuine learning in areas including social studies, language arts, geography, science, STEAM, general music and more. They also offer resources specifically to help teachers facilitate distance learning. | All | Teacher Resource | Both | No | No | Popular music, rock music, music and culture, interdisiplanary, history | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Grammy Museum - Education at Home Program | Features several lesson plans that have students explore topics in electronic music production and the history of popular music. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource | Both | No | No | Electronic music production, popular music, MIDI, history | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Smart Music | SmartMusic is a web-based suite of music education tools that support efficient practice, helping musicians to develop and grow. Includes accompaniment, metronome and sight-reading tools. Free during COVID-19. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource | Both | Yes | No | Practice, music theory, metronome, sight reading, accompaniment, | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Mixcord | This tool allows users to connect, collaborate and create music with others who love to sing and play instruments. Moble app allows you to record, edit, sync up and share original music. | High | Teacher Resource | Both | Yes | No | Collaboration, music production, karaoke | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Smithsonian Folkways Lesson Plans | A collection of lesson plans, student activities and audio files that teach students about music from a variety cultures around the world. | All | Teacher Resource | Both | No | No | world music, music and culture | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Rock Hall Edu | Rock Hall EDU is a free digital learning platform that is full of resources and activities that use the power of rock & roll to engage students of all ages. | All | Teacher Resource | Both | No | No | Popular music, rock music, music and culture, interdisiplanary, history | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Incredibox | Incredibox is a music app that lets you create your own music with the help of a merry crew of beatboxers. Choose your musical style among 7 impressive atmospheres and start to lay down, record and share your mix. | Elementary, Middle | Teacher Resource | Both | Yes | No | Beat-box, popular music, songwriting, music production | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Little Kids Rock | Little Kids Rock features dozens of lessons, videos and guides that engage kids with rock, pop, Latin, and rap music. Includes learning resources that get students making music without instruments (beat-boxing, body percussion, etc) | All | Teacher & Parent Resource | Both | No | No | Hip hop, rap, beat-boxing, music production, body percussion, DAW, music production, songwriting, guitar, ukulele, singing | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Jeremy Fisher Junior Learn | Lyric sheets and activities to accompany online performance by children's artist Jeremy Fisher Junior. | Elementary | Parent Resource | Both | No | No | singalong, children's music | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Free Platforms for Remote Music Instruction: Compare and Contrast | Discusses how different video communication platforms perform in a music education context. | N/A | Professional Development | N/A | No | No | video streaming, online rehearsals | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Chorus Connection - Taking your Choir Rehearsals Online | Article that explores how to sing with others online | N/A | Professional Development | N/A | No | No | Singing, choir, choral music, rehearsal | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Teaching Choir Through E-Learning - Facebook Group | A Facebook Group devoted to exploring how to teach choir online. | N/A | Professional Development | N/A | No | No | Singing, choir, choral music, rehearsal | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| E-Learning in Music Education - Facebook Group | A Facebook Group with thousands of music teachers discussing e-learning. | N/A | Professional Development | N/A | No | No | online education, remote teaching | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Teaching Music Online: How to Engage Students Through Your Virtual Classroom | Article that explores approaches to keeping students engaged with making music from home. | N/A | Professional Development | N/A | No | No | e-learning, distance education | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| The Music Podcast for Kids | A fun and educational podcast that teaches kids about the many apsects music offers. From different styles and genres of music to music from around the world. Some episodes have supplemental PDF resources. | Elementary, Middle | Teacher & Parent Resource | Off-screen | No | No | Listening skills, music theory, musical instruments, musical genres, world music, funny | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Making a Recorder Mute at Home | An easy guide to help turn down the volume on your kid's recorder! | All | Parent Resource | Off-screen | No | No | recorder | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Carnegie Hall - Resources for Music Educators | Lesson plans, teaching videos, and full concert videos for students and teachers in grades K–2 that focus on music from around the world | Elementary, Middle | Teacher Resource & Parent Resource | On-screen | No | No | world music, music and culture | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Music Play Online | A vast collection of music activities, games, and lessons that engage K-6 students with music performance and music theory. Videos include singalongs and recorder lessons. | Elementary | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | Yes | Music theory, recorder, boomwhacker, ukulele, guitar, rhythm | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Youisician | Yousician offers thousands of songs, exercises, and teacher-crafted lessons all in one app. Free for teachers during COVID-19. | All | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | No | Singing, guitar, ukulele, bass, piano, lessons | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Chrome Music Lab | Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments. Activities explore music and its connections to science, math and art. Students can also create their own music. | All | Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | Composition, music production, science, math, art, dance, theory, rhythm | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Toronto Symphony Orchestra - Education Resources | Various resources that engage students with a musical celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial. | All | Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | Yes | Orchestral music, Canadian music | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| BandLab | BandLab for Education empowers teachers and students with everything they need for collaborative, engaging and meaningful learning. Offers a free songwriting and mixing tool, virtual instruments and recording functionality. | All | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | No | Music production, music collaboration, lessons, music technology, beats, looping, songwriting, composition, sound mixing | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Musictheory.net | Several interactive, online music theory modules. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | Music theory, music analysis | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| TED Talks on Music | A list of several TED Talks that discuss music-related topics. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | Music psychology, music and the brain, music history music and culture, videos | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| ToneSavvy | A collection of several music theory, rhythm and ear-training exercises. Free for teachers during COVID-19. | High | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | No | Music theory, ear-training, rhythm, dictation | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Breezin' Thru Theory & Composing | A collection of interactive lessons that engage students with music theory and composition. Free for teachers during COVID-19. | High | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | No | Music theory, ear-training, rhythm, dictation, composition | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Looplabs | Looplabs is a collaborative cloud based music studio that lets anyone, regardless of technical skills or ability, quickly and easily make professional quality music anywhere, anytime and with anyone. | Middle, High | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | No | Music production, music collaboration, lessons, music technology, beats, looping, songwriting, composition, sound mixing | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Mazaam | A musical game that supports the cognitive development of children from 4 to 6 years old through introducing them to classical music. | Elementary | Teacher Resource | On-screen | Yes | Yes | Classical music, music theory, music games | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Orkidstra Online Resources | OrKidstra’s KiddlyWinks is a popular, fun-filled, value-based music education program for elementary school-age children | Elementary | Teacher & Parent Resource | On-screen | No | No | Singalong, recorder | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| PBS Kids Music Games | Several music games for kids that feature characters from popular TV shows such as Arthur and Sesame Street. | Elementary | Teacher & Parent Resource | On-screen | No | No | Games, music theory, primary, Pre-K | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| Bridging the Gap: Teaching and Learning Music Online Webinar | A recorded webinar that introduces teachers to how to adjust their teaching to an online environment. | N/A | Professional Development | On-screen | No | No | e-learning, distance education | 2020-05-01 00:00:00 |
| NoteBoard by Ten Kettles | NoteBoard is a super-simple online instrument you can play with your computer keyboard or on your mobile device. It's perfect for exploring different keys, working on your next musical idea, or learning to transcribe by ear. | All | Student, Teacher & Parent Resource | On-screen | No | No | online instrument, music theory, composition, songwriting | 2020-05-22 |
| Treble Clef Escape Room Challenge | Challenge yourself or your students by playing the Treble Clef Escape Room Challenge! | All | Student and Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | game, e-learning, distance education, ear-training, rhythm | 2020-05-22 |
| MusiCounts Learn Town Hall: Music Education & COVID-19 in Canada | A recorded panel discussion moderated by MusiCounts' Nick Godsoe that features teachers from across Canada (BC, AB, ON, NL). This discussion centres around how COVID-19 has impacted music education as well as the lasting ramifications it will have as we approach the coming school year in September. | N/A | Professional Development | On-screen | No | No | e-learning, distance education, transition to online learning | 2020-05-22 |
| Groove Pizza | Groove Pizza is a music app that allows you to create and play with grooves using shapes and math! | All | Student, Parent and Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | e-learning, math, shapes, geometry, online instrument, distance learning | 2020-05-22 |
| aQWERTYon | aQWERTYon (QWERTY accordion) is designed to simplify the process of improvising, learning, and making music with your computer keyboard. Users can even play along to their favourite songs using the search tool. | All | Student, Parent and Teacher Resource | On-screen | No | No | e-learning, keyboard, piano, computer, online instrument | 2020-05-22 |
| Whackanote | A fun and interactive game to teach kids how to identify and read musical notes! Whackanote can be played simply by using the number pad on your computer keyboard. | Elementary, Middle | Student | On-screen | No | No | e-learning, theory, musical notation, reading music, game | 2020-05-22 |
| Song Maker | The Majesty of Music and Math | Meet Song Maker, an app developed by Chrome Music Lab which kids to create and share their own songs, add beats, melodies and harmonies. | Middle, High | Student | On-screen | No | No | online instrument, beat-making, songwriting, music, math | 2020-05-22 |
| Treble Note Clef Flashcards | A fun online game which enables students to identify Treble Clef Notes via flashcards. A great resource for those looking to engage their students in music theory. | Middle, High | Student | On-screen | No | No | music theory, e-learning, game, flashcard, treble clef | 2020-05-22 |
| Name That Note | Play Name That Note, an online note-reading workout for music students! Players select either the treble of bass clef, then pick their level of difficulty. | Elementary, Middle | Student | On-screen | No | No | music notation, theory, e-learning, game | 2020-05-22 |
| Pentatonic Scale Activity | Lesson plan for an activity for elementary and middle school students that introduces a pentatonic scale often used in the music of east Asia. | Elementary, Middle, High | Teacher | Off-screen | No | No | Lesson plan, pentatonic scale, East Asian music | 2020-06-02 |
| Smithsonian Jazz | Check out the cool jazz tunes and stories about jazz musicians we have here for you! Visit "Jazz Classes" to hear the elegant Duke Ellington, the scat singer extraordinaire Ella Fitzgerald, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, and swingin' Benny Carter. There is also a cool Duke Ellington Interactive lesson. For those of you who want to find out more about jazz, click on "What is Jazz" to answer your questions. Teachers: Groovin’ to Jazz includes thirty-one original recordings with lesson plans designed for intermediate level (ages 8-13) and middle level (ages 13-15) students. Some lessons have worksheets to go with them. | Elementary, Middle, High | Student, Parent & Teacher | On-screen | No | No | Jazz, Lesson Plan, Ella Fitzgerald, no instrument, history | 2020-06-02 |
| Native Drums | Teachers can download free, printable, teacher resource kits directly relating to provincial curricula. These materials are usable as is or customizable for use in the classroom. | Middle, High | Student, Parent & Teacher | Off-screen | No | No | Indigenous drumming, lesson plan, e-learning | 2020-06-02 |
| Black History Month Teaching Lessons | February is Black History Month. Explore the many contributions of African Americans with several cross-curricular lessons, printables, quizzes, and activities below! Utilize these resources for grades K-12. | Elementary, Middle, High | Student, Teacher | Off-screen | No | No | Black History Month, Lesson Plans, Teachers, e-learning | 2020-06-02 |
| Soundslice.com | Soundslice is an interactive website which allows you to play along with "live" sheet music. This website offers a variety of pay to play as well as free resources. Slow down, speed up and loop your sheet music to make sure you're playing every note correctly and on-time. Additional resources on how to use this tool can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2wFslbGwri2XNqKtDwBnw. | Middle, High | Student, Parent & Teacher | On-screen | No | No | notation, editor, music, e-learning, | 2020-06-02 |
| ArtsAlive.ca | The National Arts Centre presents ArtsAlive.ca Music, a place for students to learn about orchestral music, great composers, as well as other music resources. Students can engage with acitivities, games, and an instrument lab. | Elementary, Middle | Teacher, Student & Parent Resource | On-screen | No | No | Games, music, instrument lab, history, composers, orchestra | 2020-06-02 |
| Backyard Beats | Backyard Beats has a collection of DIY craft-struments students can build themselves at home. Then students can follow along by watching live online at TVOkids.com at 6:05 pm. Don't miss this fun opportunity to get aquainted with DIY instruments. | Elementary | Student | On-screen | No | No | diy, instrument, home, harp, tambourine, keyboard, bagpipe, guitar, xylophone | 2020-06-02 |
| The Centre for the Study of Black Culture by York University | Music Resources | This website explores the African Canadian music scene with its rich mixture of diasporic flavours from such places as the West Indies, Africa, the United States, South America, and the Maritimes. On the music section of the site you'll find information about many kinds of music and the artists who are producing that music - from Hip Hop to Reggae, Calypso to Classical and more. | All | Student, Teacher | Off-screen | No | No | African Canadian music, History, Calypso, Classic, Folk, Jazz, Rap, Reggae, Soul, Steelpan | 2020-06-02 |
| Music Family Space Invaders Quiz | Test your knowledge of musical instrument families and have fun with a 'Space Invaders' style bonus upon answering each question correctly. Do not type a 'space' before or after the answer to avoid missing the questions. There are 20 questions. | Elementary | Student | On-screen | No | No | game, challenge, music theory | 2020-06-02 |
| Orchestra Game from the Magic Flute | Using sounds to identify instruments, Orchestra Game is a fun and fantastic to enhance the ear training capacities of elementary students. | Elementary | Student | On-screen | No | No | game, music | 2020-06-02 |
| Classics for Kids | A website that provides helpful classical music resources to plan your online music curriculum. A fantastic resource for students, parents and teachers. This website has music history, music games, as well as activity sheets. | Elementary | Student, Parent and Teacher | Both | No | No | classical music, activity sheets, lesson plans, teach, online, games, composers. | 2020-06-02 |
| Music Tech Teacher | A series of elementary and middle school level quizzes, puzzles and games about music notes, rhythms, instruments, composers, and more. FOr those without Flash, Ms. Garrett recommends using the Puffin browser. | Elementary, Middle | Student, Teacher | On-screen | No | No | worksheet, music, online learning, theory, flashcards, instruments, composers, quizzes, puzzles, instruments | 2020-06-02 |
| Decolonizing the Music Room | Decolonizing the Music Room is a non-profit organization that seeks to help music educators develop critical practices and to build a more equitable future through research, training and discourse. This website contains a myriad of podcasts, songs, stories, repertoire and resources dealing with the intersection of social justice and music education. | N/A | Teacher | Both | No | No | Lesson plan, resource, social justice, Anti-Black Racism, Black Lives Matter | 2020-06-15 |
| TeachRock | #BLACKLIVESMATTER: Music in a Movement | A lesson plan which guides students through the formation and mission of the Black Lives Matter organization and movement, the significance of an anthem to a group of people, and how modern music such as Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" and Beyoncé's "Formation" celebrate Black culture. This guide contains several activities for students and can be conducted offline. | All | Teacher, Student | Offline | No | No | Lesson plan, resource, social justice, Anti-Black Racism, Black Lives Matter movement, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Black culture | 2020-06-15 |
| The Score | White Fragility in Music Education | In this podcast, Eric Jimenez and Justin McLean discuss the current status of culture and how racial lines play a major role in the lives of us as people and educators. The Score is an Urban Music Education Podcast that seeks to provide tips and strategies through honest discussions on teaching music in an Urban setting. The goal is to provide a positive and solution-based narrative to create more effective, compassionate and culturally relevant music educators. | N/A | Teacher | Online | No | No | Podcast, white fragility, music education, #BlackLivesMatter, social justice, advocacy, curriculum | 2020-06-15 |
| New York Times Lesson Plan | Teaching With Protest Music | This lesson plan was created by the New York Times. It is a guide for educators looking for ways to incorporate protest music into their lessons. This guide provides a brief summary of protest music and its integral role in social justice movements. It also provides questions and topics that teachers can use to engage students in this topic. This includes the civil rights movement, Anti-apartheid movement, Hip-Hop, and #BlackLivesMatter. | Middle, High | Teacher, Student | Both | No | No | Protest Music, Lesson Plan, New York Times, Eric Garner, Pete Seeger, #BlackLivesMatter, Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., Public Enemy, Kendrick Lamar, South Africa and Songs of Freedom, Anti-war, Anti-apartheid, activity | 2020-06-15 |
| Teaching Tolerance | A database of free music lessons and learnings plans for educators with an emphasis on social justice topics. These resources are sorted by age group and contain supplementary materials designed to make lesson plans more inclusive. | Middle, High | Teacher | Online | Yes | No | Tolerance, database, music education, learning resource, social advocacy, social justice, lesson plans, Race & Ethnicity Ability Gender & Sexual Identity Bullying & Bias Rights & Activism, Justice, Action | 2020-06-15 |