What are the resources for learning music? We have many to share with you
Hoffman Academy provides a wide selection of free resources for music teachers. From K-12 music educators to parents of budding maestros, this article offers links to digital activities and free printable materials for students of all ages. With printable and online games for music teachers, this collection of music education resources for teachers and parents will help your students grow as musicians.
Ready to access practice plans and even more music teaching resources? Try Hoffman Academy’s Teacher Studio for curated lesson plans.
What does music education include?
Music education includes teaching students core musical concepts, ranging from artistry and technique to music history and music theory. Learning to play an instrument like piano offers students a chance to gain core competency in creating music by experience.
Part of the process of learning to play an instrument teaches students to identify pitches (the notes of a song) and duration (the length of time and rhythm in which a note is played). A great resource for music educators to share with their students is our free Piano Learning Essentials for Beginners. Designed to help parents and students begin their musical journey, it includes everything students need to confidently correlate note names with the pitches on the keyboard. It also includes a handy guide to help parents become practice partners to help their students learn!
Music education teaches students about melody and harmony, or the tune of a song and the chords that go along with it. For educators, helping students retain information about key signatures and finger patterns can take time away from the fun of learning new songs. To help students solidify these concepts in their minds, our Key Signature Guide key signature chart is a visual reference that displays all the key signatures used in music, showing the specific sharps or flats that define each key. This chart is a handy tool for musicians, educators, and students, helping them to quickly identify, understand, and memorize the key signatures associated with both major and minor scales. With all fingers written on a separate keyboard graphic for each scale, it’s an excellent visual learning chart for Major Scales and Minor Scales.
Another key component of music education is rhythm. For early childhood music educators, Hoffman Academy’s Heartbeat Mat offers an intuitive resource for teaching rhythm to young musicians. This beginner level resource includes cut-out cards and an attractive mat showing the beats. Designed by music educators, the Heartbeat Mat helps students see, touch, hear, and clap the rhythms with understanding and accuracy from the beginning. As students increase in their rhythmic proficiency, our Simple Meter and Compound Meter resources can help them take their abilities to the next level.
As students play their instrument and learn to understand musical language, they’ll need to understand the elements of musical structure and musical expression. . Hoffman Academy’s Music Symbols Guide includes three reference guides in one so that students can understand the markings for articulations, tempo changes, and ornaments. This free Dynamics Chart resource can help students visualize and remember the names of dynamic levels in music.
What should be taught in music education?
A complete music education starts with creating a lifelong love of music and continuing curiosity to learn more! A music education should teach students to read and write music, also known as music literacy. Music theory and ear training, including identifying chords, rhythms, and musical structure, also form key parts of a musical education.
Music education includes learning about music history. Opportunities to be musically creative with improvisation and composition are also essential. These skills tie into broader life lessons, as well as offering students the tools to make fulfilling music later in life. Whether they choose to participate in a choir or in a band or orchestra, piano lessons provide students the fundamentals they need to succeed.
What are examples of music education resources that use technology?
Music education technology resources use the internet to bring concepts like music theory and history to the comfort of home on your schedule. One way music education technology has made leaps and bounds is in piano games for students. At Hoffman Academy, our Premium members can take advantage of online learning games designed to maximize their musical growth.
- Alphabet Towers reinforces the musical alphabet and helps students build scales and chords.
- Mystery Melodies trains young pianists to identify note combinations at sight, building the foundation for ear training.
- Piano Street uses stories and play to reinforce note identification on the keyboard for young pianists.
- Rhythm Shredder
- Rhythm Train, a digital flashcard game,
- Staff Crawler
In addition to our online games, MusicTheory offers free online music theory lessons to reinforce the basics of music theory, rhythm and meter. Teoria also offers free online text-based music theory lessons. In Teoria, students can select tutorials about reading music, intervals, scales, chords, musical forms, and more. Theta Music Trainer offers free ear training courses and exercises for homeschoolers. In the “Intro to Ear Training” course, homeschool students can experiment with volume and mixing.
What is the first thing to teach in music?
If the first thing to learn in music is how to listen, the first thing to teach is the same! The Hoffman Method uses listening to teach music – the same science as the first principle of emergent literacy, the science behind how children learn to read. Children use imitation to learn language, so a musical education starts with teaching children to experience music. Using the sequence of hearing, imitating, and then reading, Hoffman Academy’s music education resources help students explore melody and rhythm before exploring notational symbols. These steps follow the same sequence that every child experiences in learning their native language: hear, imitate, then read.
Our printable Games and Activities help students immerse themselves as they hear and imitate music. As your students learn to create and build chords, the Snowman Chord Set helps them build and match chords. The Pentascale Matching Game offers a delightful flashcard matching pattern for students as they practice key signatures and scales.
For reinforcing these concepts at home, the reference guides compile the information your students need to retain as they are getting started learning music. Our Pentascale Guide illustrates the building blocks of each five-note scales and Grand Staff Guide
Music education resources for teaching music to beginners
Our Hoffman Academy’s Online Store includes free and paid music education resources for teachers, parents, and musicians of all ages. Designed by music educators with beginners in mind, our Learning and Teaching Resources selections include flashcards and colorful music worksheets and packets. For the music educator trying to instill good practice habits, our collection of Music Planners can help beginners of all ages.
Hoffman Academy’s Teacher Studio offers music educators a studio management tool alongside teaching resources. With unit books and progress trackers, along with supplementary videos for students to practice with, the online Teacher Studio can help music educators offer their students a broad selection of resources.
We hope you’ll take advantage of all the many music education resources that Hoffman Academy has to offer! Best wishes to you on your piano learning journey.