TOP PICKS | 28 TOOLS
Great Apps, Games, and Websites for Music Education
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Bandimal
Captivating music creation app for young musicians
Bottom line: For iOS-infused preschool and kindergarten classrooms, this could be an excellent intro to electronic music.
Grades: Pre-K–K
Price: $3.99
Musical Me - by Duck Duck Moose
Lively activities introduce kids to music, rhythm, and instruments
Bottom line: This whimsical app offers kids a variety of ways to make and experience music while boosting their critical-thinking skills.
Grades: Pre-K–K
Price: Free
Sesame Street: Elmo's Musical Monsterpiece
Silly Muppets make learning music fun for young kids
Bottom line: A great intro to music concepts for young kids, but only engages one child at a time.
Grades: Pre-K–K
Price: $19.99
Easy Music - Give kids an ear for music
Music-exploration app offers great balance of play and guidance
Bottom line: Great, easily accessible approach to building the foundations for musical literacy.
Grades: Pre-K–2
Price: $3.99
Musical Paint for Kids
Create digital drawings, explore musical tones
Bottom line: With appropriate teacher guidance, this can be an engaging if limited creative experience for pre-K-grade 2 students that cleverly mixes drawing and music creation.
Grades: Pre-K–2
Price: $3.99
Piano Maestro by JoyTunes
Great sharing features help parents, teachers support piano practice
Bottom line: A cool way to get piano students, their teachers, and their parents on the same page, but it might need tweaking to remove some distractions.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free to try
Piano Practice with Wolfie
Stellar piano practice tool supports reflection, persistence
Bottom line: An excellent platform for supporting serious music practice if you can make it logistically work in your classroom.
Grades: Pre-K–12
Price: Free to try, Paid
LOOPIMAL by YATATOY
Dip a toe into DJing with drag-and-drop music app
Bottom line: The intuitive design strikes a nice balance between ease of use and a feeling of unique creative expression.
Grades: K–5
Price: $2.99
My First Classical Music App HD
Inviting, interactive app makes learning classical music fun
Bottom line: My First Classical Music App is a great interactive introduction to the Western classical music tradition.
Grades: K–5
Price: $4.99
Smithsonian Folkways
Text-centric world music site could use more activities, music
Bottom line: Kids won't hear every tune in its entirety, but Smithsonian Folkways' resources can help them comprehend and appreciate cultural music.
Grades: K–12
Price: Free
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten
Spirited digital re-creation of an educationally sound musical classic
Bottom line: Kids will delight in this wonderful digital update of a classic celebration of orchestral music.
Grades: 2–12
Price: Free
AtPlayMusic Recorder
Well-designed lessons, fun animations teach kids to play the recorder
Bottom line: A fun way to reinforce concepts, but deeper insights about technique and musicianship are best gained in the real world.
Grades: 3–8
Price: $3.99
GarageBand
Amazingly powerful audio workstation unleashes creativity
Bottom line: There's exceptional functionality in this solid, all-inclusive audio workstation that's fantastic for high-quality, anytime, and anywhere audio recording and sharing.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free 32 GB or larger iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 10 or later, or recently purchased Mac laptops/desktops, already have installed installed.
Math Science Music
Thoughtful tools teach STEM skills through music and creativity
Bottom line: Limited but quality content gives STEM teachers a new toolset for fostering engagement and understanding.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free
BrainPop
Clever animated hosts Tim and Moby masterfully tackle complex topics
Bottom line: Cartoon videos in this extensive collection break down ideas in clever and thoughtful ways.
Grades: 4–8
Price: Paid From $220.
Sound Rebound
Make musical contraptions with playful sound and physics sandbox
Bottom line: This engaging and open-ended sandbox app has limited functionality but will engross students for extended periods.
Grades: 4–8
Price: Free
BandBlast - The Music Education Revolution
Games, videos infuse music practice with play and personality
Bottom line: A cool, comprehensive resource for supporting beginning music students.
Grades: 4–12
Price: Free
Sound Shapes
Jazzy music game lets kids design levels and create music
Bottom line: A visually stunning music game that inspires creativity by providing simple but powerful tools to build your own music games to share with others.
Grades: 4–12
Price: 14.99
Audacity
Free online music-maker also a lesson in open-source software quality
Bottom line: With tons of quality tutorials and help, this free recording site is a real treat for those who don't have access to the branded software.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
Musical Futures
Multimedia-rich magazine highlights free international music curriculum
Bottom line: An exciting launchpad for engagement connects to a vibrant, growing community of music teachers.
Grades: 5–12
Price: Free
iTooch Music
Charming visuals, challenging quizzes build solid musical knowledge
Bottom line: iTooch Music is a terrific reference and review tool for beginning to advanced music students.
Grades: 6–9
Price: $5.99
Noteflight
Safe, collaborative space for creating and sharing original music
Bottom line: This useful, well-constructed music composition tool lets classrooms collaborate and comment on student-created songs.
Grades: 6–12
Price: Free, Paid The Studio version (one website for 75 students) of Noteflight for Teachers, designed for K-12 use, is $95 a year; the Classroom version (one site for up to 250 students) is $195; and the Teacher version (up to five 75-student classrooms) is $295. Users can also sign up for a basic free membership and create up to 10 compositions or subscribe to the premium Noteflight Crescendo version, which lets them write an unlimited amount of pieces, for $49 a year or $7.95 a month. Customized pricing is available for a the Noteflight Campus collegiate version.
The Orchestra
Stellar interactive features bring classical music vibrantly to life
Bottom line: A terrifically designed tool that invites students into the often unwelcoming world of classical music in a way that deepens appreciation and understanding of the complexities and beauties of the art form.
Grades: 6–12
Price: $13.99
Yousician
Appealing, feedback-rich tool helps kids build core musical skills
Bottom line: Paired with great in-person instruction, this is a fabulous tool to boost musical skills.
Grades: 3–12
Price: Free to try A one-instrument subscription is $19.99/month or $119.99/year. An all-instrument subscription is $29.99/month or $179.99/year.
SmartMusic
Music practice tool offers useful exercises but needs fine-tuning
Bottom line: Though assessments aren't in every activity and external factors can make it unpredictable, SmartMusic can still make practice more effective.
Grades: 7–9
Price: $140/year The educator version is $140 a year. Students can use the tool at home for $40 a year per student or at school with a $44-a-year practice room subscription, which provides access on school-owned computers
Auxy Studio - Music & Beat Maker
Loop beats like a pro with stellar music-maker
Bottom line: A stellar, approachable tool for constructing your very own digital beats and tracks.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free
Flat
Terrific composition tool empowers budding musicians to create, share
Bottom line: An excellent tool for writing and sharing musical creations.
Grades: 7–12
Price: Free to try, Paid The regular version is $4.90 per month, but educators can buy licenses for $1.50 each (whether the license is for a student or teacher). License packs begin at 10 for $15.
Soundtrap
Powerful online audio production with built-in collaboration features
Bottom line: Soundtrap is a uniquely collaborative music-production environment, but you'll want to evaluate the privacy issues and what the pricey EDU version offers.
Grades: 8–12
Price: Free to try, Paid 30-day free trial. Afterward, it costs $249 per year for up to 50 students and $474 per year for 100 students. This version includes all the premium features of the consumer version plus extra security and privacy for COPPA compliance and a teacher dashboard.