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K-6 music links

The following websites provide links to teaching ideas, interactive sites  and music software .

Teaching ideas

Click on the icon to visit this free online resource for Middle Years (Years 5-8) specially designed to assist teachers and students to explore music in a fun, practical and creative way! See and hear over 140 instruments online Compose your own piece of music using modules of sounds in the Experimental Sound Studio Explore individual and group projects, such as "Discover a Day in the Life of a Musician"

The Viva Zone has been developed by Musica Viva Australia with the support of The Ian Potter Foundation, in association with Ricksure.

Musical Mysteries
Music education site exploring sound, rhythm, mood and the orchestra from BBC Northern Ireland Schools for ES1, S1 and S2.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Education Program  
The site is primarily designed to provide information on the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Concert series but resources are available in pdf format under Discovery, in the Teacher resource section. No score excerpts or sound files are included but recordings of the repertoire are readily available. The primary resources are written as teaching activities with worksheets for the students. Suitable for Stages 2 to 4.

AskEric: Lesson Plan Collection  
Lessons submitted by teachers and academics in the USA according to a given selection criteria. It consists of short lesson ideas, mostly with a cross curriculum perspective, and includes suggested assessment strategies. Has relevance to NSW curriculum but the activities are brief and rarely suggest strategies for further development. Lessons are grouped for different stages.

Boston Symphony Orchestra: Lesson plans  
Lesson activities developed for the Boston Symphony Orchestra Education program . Contains interdisciplinary lessons that can be used by music and arts specialists as well as classroom teachers. Lessons are listed for American grades K-3, 4-8 and 9-12 but are most suited for Stages 1 to 3 in the NSW curriculum.

MENC: From the top 
A series of lesson plans developed by the American National Association of Music Education (MENC). Based on the American radio program From the top, it provides a series of interviews and musical examples in RealAudio format which are supported with lesson plans and worksheets in pdf format. Suitable for middle school years.

Take Note Music
Take Note Music Resources support Kodaly and Orff based music activities for primary music education.

Interactive sites

BBC Radio 3 - Games Homepage  
An interactive site which includes music games entitled Rhythm Grid, Beat Machine and Dhol Player where simple compositions can be created, saved and downloaded. In the Gamelan section, learn patterns by imitation which can be played as online karaoke. Uses Shockwave. Suitable for Stages 3 and 4.

Milko Music Machine 
An interactive site which uses Shockwave to create a music video. Three choices of style are available for the user to drag and drop images for the video clip, vocal track and effects. Although it uses preset sounds and images, it encourages the user to make choices about the type of sound and use of effects as well as what is stylistically convincing. Suitable for Stages 3 to 5.

New York Philharmonic  
The kids zone of the New York Philharmonic web site. An interactive and comprehensive introduction to the instruments of the New York Philharmonic through the instrument storage room and musicians lounge. Also contains composition activities, musical games and quizzes and an online lab for making and learning about making musical instruments. Suitable for Stages 2 to 4.

Dallas Symphony  
Visit the music room of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's site to discover various activities for students, parents and teachers to learn about the orchestra. Suitable for Stages 2 to 4.
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Music technology

Finale Notepad 
A free download which provides an easy introduction to computer music notation. A simpler version of the full Finale program, it is available for Windows and Macintosh. Very easy to use, notes are dragged and dropped onto the staff, lyrics can be added, the music can be played back, printed and saved. Suitable for Stages 3 to 6.

Soundbyte Music Network 
The Soundhouse at the Powerhouse Museum. Provides free downloads, information on software, lesson ideas and composition opportunities. It is necessary to register in order to access the teaching ideas but there is no charge. Suitable for Stages 3 to 6.
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