FREE MUSIC EDUCATION GAMES-
Most of these games were designed for very young kids, but can still teach some great basics to people of all ages! Actually, there were some that I really enjoyed. I could sit and play Mission to Learn for hours! I've played every game on here and have written a brief review of my top picks. The first 11 were found directly from Playhouse Disney! Wow! Who knew, right? Gotta love those Little Einstiens!
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| Image from ovguide.com |
1. Rhythms in the House is a pretty fun one. It reminds me of those cool percussion ensambles. It teaches how to layer different sounds (which are played at different rhythms that all work together) to make a cool, syncopated musical piece. You can record your song, too. It's pretty fun for about 5 minutes, then it gets old.
2. Mission to Learn is AWESOME! If your child likes watching Little Einsteins, this is so cool. Even if they don't they may love this. You click on what episode you'd like to learn more about, and it tells ALL KINDS of FUN FACTS about these super-educational shows! It's not just music education- it teaches art, geography, history, performing arts, and so many other random fun facts...most of them in relation to music/composers. This game is seriously a GOLD MINE. You can also watch each episode from there.
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| Image from mouseclubhouse.com |
3. Ocean Treasure Hunt is great for teaching your child the NAMES and SOUNDS of each instrument. It teaches quite a variety, such as: a wood block, snare drum, bass drum, castanets, bass, violin, french horn, timpani, tuba, bassoon, piccolo, trumpet, cello, cymbals, xylophone, accordion, oboe, trombone, steel drum, saxophone, clarinet, harmonica (which doesn't really sound like a real harmonica, btw), harp, guitar, tambourine, trumpet, etc. It also teaches about famous paintings, their names, and the names of the artists. Awesome game! I'm so glad I found this one!
4. Quincy and the Magic Instruments is a shape/sound matching game. The kids match the instrument with the sounds it makes. It teaches how different types of instruments lend themselves to certain styles of music. This is great! You may want to have them play Ocean Treasure Hunt before this one so you can quiz them on the instrument names. After playing this game, maybe try listening to different instruments and have your child see if they can pick out what instruments are being played in the song.
5. Leo and the Musical Families teaches kids how to identify the different musical families (Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, and Percussion). The object of the game is to help each lonely instrument find their correct family. On the first level, they visually identify each one as well as by listening. On the second level, they identify the correct family by sound alone. On the third level, two instruments play together (it explains that it's called a duet), and you have to identify both musical families.
6. Echo Time with Annie teaches kids about notes in relation to one another. They use the computer keyboard as a 12-note piano and can make up their own songs. Once they have played it, they can hear their new song played on different instruments (marimba (which sounds awful), trumpet, and piano) and with other silly sounds (a frog croaking, cat meowing, dog barking, and a pig oinking). They may start to recognize that music is EVERYWHERE after playing this game. They can also play a note echo game. It's very similar to a Simon says game. FYI- This game may really bother children with perfect pitch...and can tend to get a tad bit annoying to the mom in the next room (you may want to get headphones). Haha! All in all, I think it's pretty cute and a fun learning game for tiny musicians. My little girl got such a kick out of hearing the kitty meow the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb!
7. My Masterpiece doesn't really teach about music, but I thought I'd include it because I liked it for my kids. The kids simply create their own art background for their favorite Little Einsteins characters while listening to classical music. They can change the song, too. The thing I liked the most was that it lets them used more techniques than other similar games. There's sponging and airbrushing, as well as different sized paintbrushes.
8. Leo's Barnyard Baton Your child can have a go at conducting. It helps them understand how tempo, dynamics, and layering sounds are used to make a great performance. They can follow along and conduct using their mouse.
9. Silly Song Machine- I wasn't CrAzY about this one, but it's still kinda cool. Each Einstein kid is ad libs along to famous musical pieces. You choose who gets to "solo" at what time and record your masterpiece.
10. The Great Sky Race is kind of a fun one to listen to your child play. They play while listening to great composers (Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and George Bizet). This teaches mouse control/hand-eye coordination. They also learn what allegro means as they pass through the allegro tunnel and speed up. They also briefly follow along to the rhythm as the "pat, pat, pat..." to the beat with the space bar.
11. World Music with Manny teaches children some culture by playing music from all over the world, such as: Hungary, Ireland, Austailia, Spain, Scotland, India, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Germany, China, Indonesia, and more. They have to match up the music to the correct country it comes from. You are also given the option to print a world map, showing each country's music they've featured.
12. Music Match is a great one to help your child with sight reading on the piano. They are timed and scored, which is great for incentive to beat your last score.
13. Barnyard Friends (Game 2) is an interactive flashcard game. The child is shown a card with a note on on a staff and has to find the names of each note. (I had problems with games 1 and 3).
14. Repeat the Melody is another "Simon Says" game. You have to repeat the melody you hear on the virtual keyboard. Each note is labeled- Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. You can also make up your own melody while watching it's placement on the staff and play it back.
15. Note Reading Quiz is great for teaching to be able to read notes on a treble staff. You are timed and scored to help you work to increase your note reading speed.
There are also some fun dance education games on there in the music games section. Kids can learn about different dance moves and create their own dance.
FREE ON-LINE VIDEOS/INSTRUCTION
FOR PIANO
Piano lessons on-line? YES! Check these links out, they're amazing. I do want to give her (Anne, the creator of these videos, etc...) a plug for all her hard work she's done. Though it is all free, she has a "donate" button on her site. If you feel so inclined to donate toward her efforts, please do! I can't believe all she's done at no cost to the public.
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| Image from http://www.pianodiscoveries.ca/ |
Ledger Line Notes, Sharps, Flats, and Naturals, Semi-tones and Whole tones, How to build major scales, How to build the Circle of Fifths, Major and Perfect Intervals, Minor Intervals, How to build Triads.
Intermediate Rudiments Videos-
The Circle of Fifths- Major keys, Double Sharps and Double Flats, Relative Minors on the Circle of Fifths, Minor Scales, Technical Degree Names, Augmented and Diminished Intervals.
Ipad Rescources- She's thought of EVERYTHING! Check it out!
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| Image from http://www.pianodiscoveries.ca/ |
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| Image from http://www.pianodiscoveries.ca/ |
Piano Teaching Aids Activities- Includes 22 different games you can play with your kids/students. Some of which give a youtube explanation of the game and free printables (Levels 1-8).
Printable Piano Technique Books- (Levels 1-8) She includes a typed description of the content of each book. She also includes a youtube video briefly showing you the content of each level. So awesome!
FREE ON-LINE VIDEOS/INSTRUCTION
FOR GUITAR
This site holds an incredible weath of knowledge. This guy (Sherm, the creator) really knows his stuff! If you or someone you know has ever wanted to learn to play the guitar, here's your chance! I'm in awe of the time and effort he has put into this website at no cost to you. I'm trying to talk him into adding a "donate" button, too! Check it out and tell your friends!
Clear, Step-by-step chord construction videos-
Major Open Chords- A major, C major, D major, E major, G major, and F major.
Minor Open Chords- A minor, D minor, E minor, and F minor.
Understanding notes on the fretboard-
Lessons 1, 2 & 3
Printable Chord Charts- To print, click on each chart image within these links and go to file & print.
12 Major Chord Charts
12 Minor Chord Charts
12 Diminished Chord Charts
Major Open Chord Charts
Minor Open Chord Charts
Open 7 Chord Charts
Printable Scales Charts and Modes-
12 Pentatonic Scale Charts (blues scales)
12 Ionian Mode (major) Charts
12 Dorian Mode Charts
12 Phrygian Mode Charts
12 Lydian Mode Charts
12 Mixolydian Mode Charts
12 Aeolian Mode Charts (minor)
12 Locrian Mode Charts
Printable Warm-ups and Excercises-
Schradieck Excercises- (Section 1, Excercises 1-10) This is one of his biggest secrets to building chops and fluidity! He calls them "Shred"iek excercises. :) He uses Schradieck's school of violin techniques to help build chops and fluidity. They are written for violin, but he has added guitar tabs to these awesome excersises. He suggests you warm up with one each day.
Permutations of 4 Excercises- (24 Permutation sheets) This is a classic warm-up sometimes called the 1,2,3,4 warmup. He says, "If we use all these different combinations as we warm up we can teach our fingers a new level of dexterity and limberness".
Scale Excercises- He says, "...These exercises can be very beneficial for someone who intends to improvise or write solos using scales".
Jam Tracks-
This website is AMAZING! He's also recorded midi jam tracks to practice along to in each key.
Pedal Tone Bass and Drum Tracks in all 12 keys- These are also great for building your improvising skills.
Folk Song Tracks- Each song is recorded at different tempos and keys to help you adjust as your skill level increases. It also includes printable guitar tabs of each song.
2-Chord Folk Songs and 3-Chord Folk Songs.
MORE FUN MUSIC EDUCATIONAL IDEAS
How to make Homemade Chimes
Homemade musical instruments
More music games
23 comments:
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i just read your blog.its realy informative.thank you very much for publishing the article.
Early childhood specialists have found that being encouraged to play with musical toys and instruments at an early age can have a dramatic effect on children's development in early and later life. Children exposed to music lessons over several months perform better than those that have not.
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