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Music Resources

These are our personal recommendations for educational music resources. We have no affiliation with any of the sites listed below, nor do we make any kind of commission. This guide serves as a complimentary list of websites and apps we recommend for parents/students who wish to experience the basics of music. After trying out some of these resources, we highly encourage students to enroll in lessons to establish a foundation for healthy technique, posture, expression, and artistry. Happy playing!

Music Theory Websites

  • Music-Theory.net: This website offers free music theory lessons perfect for those wanting to learn how to read music. They also offer listening exercises to improve recognition of pitches, intervals, and more.
  • Teoria.com: Another music theory website supplementing free listening and pitch-identification exercises, as well as offering a short tutorial on reading music.
  • One-Minute-Music-Lesson.com: This website specializes in bite-sized music theory segments and offers each lesson in both video and text format.

Music Apps & Videos

  • Hoffman Academy: Offers a series of free beginning piano tutorials aimed at children, a well-rounded and amusing video series (purchasing a subscription adds in games and worksheets that can be printed out)
  • Piano Marvel: A piano app focused on introducing basic elements of music, such as rhythm, notes, chords, and other essential music-reading skills through classical and popular pieces (they have a free plan and a subscription, both are excellent for exposing students to fundamentals of music).
  • Piano For All: A piano program centered around chords and learning how to play familiar tunes quickly (program consists of a bundle of eBooks and an app that go together, great for visual students who learn by watching).
  • Synesthesia: A piano app that allows students to see the notes and play without any prior music knowledge (a digital piano with USB or MIDI is necessary to run the app; this is a great app for those who want to play piano right away with a tremendous library of pieces available). Their website offers popular songs for purchase, or students can import their own MIDI or MP3 files from trusted sites, including many YouTube piano channels

Music History

  • Famous-Composers.net: This website details numerous biographies on renowned composers ranging from the early days of the Renaissance Era (around 1400) all the way to the 20th Century.

Songwriting, Producing

  • Berklee College of Music: An online course that provides a free sampling of several musical disciplines, including songwriting, film scoring, orchestration, producing, and more.
  • GarageBand: This free Apple app includes a full array of instruments and layering tools to create original songs and compositions. An excellent way to play around with songwriting.
  • Audiotool: This is another free music production app for Windows or Chrome browsers. Includes an incredible amount of features just like GarageBand for those wanting to experiment with creating their own music.

Music Games

  • Inside the Orchestra: This page offers several activities for identifying instruments in the orchestra.

Jazz Theory

  • The Jazz Piano Site: Resource for learning jazz music theory and technique, including jazz chords, scales, modes, improvisation, and much more.