Band instruction is not easy. Band instructors have to be a jack of all trades, in a way, but even jacks of all trades need support. There is a lack of support for band teachers, so we wanted to do our part to help give you resources to make teaching more effective.
Apps and Tools:
Songbpm.com:
A great site for giving you basic song information, songbpm.com is a database full of many different versions of songs. It provides the tempo and the length, serving as a quick and easy way to prepare to conduct or cue your band.
Metronome app
Metronome:
Free on the app store, this metronome app has a special tapping feature that will tell you the bpm of your taps. This is great when doing new arrangements or lesser known songs. Download it here!
FenderTune:
Tuners can be expensive, especially if you need them for more than one guitar. Thankfully, Fender provides a free Guitar Tuner app that makes it easy for students to tune their guitars without spending an arm and a leg on a tuner. Download the app here!
Musescore:
Creating band arrangements is so much easier with MuseScore. Musescore provides a software comparable to Finale or Sibelius, but for free. Sheets can be posted online, and can be exported as pdfs, mp3s, MIDI files, and more! Download Musescore here.
Part of Moosiko’s library of song lessons
Moosiko:
Quality in-person instruction is very valuable, but is made infinitely more valuable when it’s accompanied with a strong practice regimen. Moosiko offers structured practice through 190 song lessons in over 20 genres. Using color-coded, dynamic graphics, Moosiko makes practice fun. Request a demo here.
Twitter Tags:
Twitter has a great community of educators of all kinds. Here are some of our favorite music education-related hashtags:
#musedchat – great for collaborative problem-solving and webinars
#musiced – general discussion of all things music education
#elmused – catch-all for topics related to elementary school music education
Facebook Groups:
Facebook is a great place to connect with other music educators and get new ideas for the classroom, as well as how to deal with wrenches thrown in the mix (maybe like a pandemic or something?). Here are two of our favorites:
Music Educators Creating Online Learning
Music Teachers
If you found this list helpful, feel free to share it with your friends!