SKIP TO CONTENT

Managing Resources – Music:
Annotated selection of resources for teachers and learning designers


Annotated selection of resources for teachers and learning designers

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra: Learning

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) provides an online learning program that includes concerts for schools designed to introduce and engage students with orchestral music. This resource also includes public masterclasses that may be useful for educators interested in professional development.

American Choral Directors Association: Classroom Management

This resource provides advice to educators through a basic overview of strategies for managing behaviour in the general music classroom.

Association of Music Educators

Based in Victoria, the Association of Music Educators (aMuse) is a support organisation that provides professional development programs for Victorian primary, secondary and instrumental music teachers, organises student performance activities including master classes and festivals, and can provide independent advice on curriculum matters.

Australian Chamber Orchestra: Education

The Australian Chamber Orchestra's (ACO) education resource includes a schools program for primary and secondary students. This resource offers a school ticketing system, regional concerts, access to open rehearsals and professional development for educators. Selected special projects run by the ACO are designed to promote the use of music education in schools and communities.

Australian Music Centre

The Australian Music Centre (AMC) is a national support organisation for musicians and performers. AMC also provides general resources introducing students to Australian music. Australian music has been organised into a timeline, and there are examples of different cultural influences and themes, a selection of instrumental overviews, and a history of orchestral, vocal and choral music.

Australian National University School of Music

The Open School of Music at Australia National University (ANU) provides programs in schools from early childhood classes through to university entrance. Programs include The 'Music Engagement Program' and 'Hand-in-Hand', a program to support teachers and students to perform at aged care facilities.

Australian Society for Music Education

The Australian Society of Music Education (ASME) is a support organisation that advances music education at all levels as an integral part of general education and community life, and as a profession within the broad field of music. It achieves this by providing educators with access to the Australian Journal of Music Education and regular conferences.

Carnegie Hall

This US site offers Australian educators access to an online resource centre, which include lesson plans, teaching guides, video and audio clips on writing lyrics, concerts at the Carnegie Hall, and a variety of culturally diverse music. There is also access to games and listening guides, for example 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'. The online community allows secondary students and educators to upload performances and music and to connect with musicians globally.

Cultural Infusion: Sound Infusion

Cultural infusion creates and delivers innovative education programmes. Sound Infusion is an online interactive learning tool that incorporates music and culture from all over the world. Students can create their own songs and participate in social media activity. 

Edutopia: 'Using Music in the Classroom to Inspire Creative Expression'

This is an article by Gaetan Pappalardo, which provides advice for educators and a sample lesson plan for integrating music in the general classroom. 

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's (MSO) education and community outreach program features a schools program for primary and secondary students, as well as concerts in regional cities. Teaching kits of supporting material will be available from term 2, 2013.

More Music Toolkit

The More Music Toolkit provides resources and online advice to educators, with a particular focus on troubleshooting common issues. Under the 'FAQ/Case Study' tab, teachers can access professional development opportunities, resources and suggested solutions to common issues regarding music education. There is a useful checklist under the 'Getting Started' tab for teachers to assess the quality of music programs.

Musical Futures

Musical Futures is a UK based movement driven to reshape music education by teachers for teachers. The site contains resources written by teachers about their experience teaching music, teaching packs on integrating Musical Futures into curriculum, and access to recent case studies, reports and articles.

Musica Vivia

Musica Viva provides music programs in schools. Programs include live performance, a professional development course and teaching resources, composition workshops for secondary school students, and an artist-in-residence program where professional musicians take classes and work with children with particular needs.

Music: Count Us In

Music: Count Us In is a program that involves more than 600,000 students and teachers from schools all over Australia who learn, rehearse and then perform the same song, on the same day, at the same time. The song is written by students in collaboration with professional musicians. A new song and classroom resources for teaching are developed each year.

Music Education

This site contains links to lesson plans and worksheets, articles, audio clips, books, government policy and electronic resources in music education topics as diverse as assessment, composition, Indigenous music, instrumental music, vocal music and performance events.

Northern Territory Music School

Northern Territory Music School (NTMS) is a support organisation for educators. NTMA staff work with primary and middle schools, teaching and developing choirs and working towards performances.

Opera Australia

Opera Australia's website offers both programs for schools and a collection of online resources for educators.

Opera Queensland: Open Stage

Opera Queensland offers a range of in-school and on-site workshops for both primary and secondary students.

Orchestra Victoria: On the Move

On the Move delivers education workshops to primary and secondary music students. The program also offers regional concerts.

QMusic: Teacher Resources

This site offers a set of guidelines for teachers to implement the Music Generators program, including lesson plans and guidelines. Music Generators was an intensive song writing program which was piloted in four schools across Queensland. 

Queensland Symphony Orchestra: Events

The Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) offers programs for schools. QSO performs events specially aimed at children, and also engage with school partnerships with schools in the Brisbane metropolitan and regional areas.

Seymour Centre

The Seymour Centre, part of the University of Sydney, offers programs for primary and secondary school students and professional development opportunities for teachers. Programs for 2013 cover dance, drama, music and Shakespeare.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra website provides both information on programs for schools and online educational resources. Activities such as concerts for primary and secondary schools, open rehearsals, regional tours and professional learning workshops for educators are included in the schools program. Online teaching resources include an education resource library.

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) offers programs for schools. Students and teachers can also attend open rehearsals, creative collaborative performances and music development opportunities. Touring programs include mini TSO.

TES Connect: Teaching Resources

This UK site is regularly updated and contains 1,605 Free KS1 general resources around themes as well as lesson plans and related audio tracks, and interactive whiteboard activities. Topics and themes explored through music include training in listening, rhythm, growing up, being responsible, health and the environment.

The Arts Centre: CC sMASH

This site allows users to rip, mix, burn and share audio content. The loops and samples on this site are user generated and students are free to download them and make new music under the conditions of the Creative Commons licence. Students are encouraged to upload their creations. The organisation provides professional teacher learning sessions.

The Digital Music Educator

This regularly updated US blog offers music teachers in elementary schools free resources and lesson plans. Blog writer and music teacher Owen Bradley also posts regularly about his experience as a music teacher. The site provides links to sites that contain music teaching strategies, lesson plans, classroom tools, children’s songs, online songbooks, music related mobile and table applications and copyright-free music.

The Musical Staffroom

The Musical Staffroom is a blog with general resources around themes written for teachers, by teachers. The blog contains posts from music teachers describing their experiences implementing plans in the classroom, ideas for games, musical activities engaging with events like the Olympics, and ideas for encouraging students and colleagues to participate in musical activities.

The Song Room

The Song Room provides programs in schools, and their tailored, long-term music and arts-based programs cater to children in disadvantaged and high need communities. The programs are sustainable and run over a period of six months. The Song Room provides in-school workshops. The site also provides The Song Room Online, a comprehensive membership program to support schools and teachers by providing access to tailored resources and advice.

West Australian Opera

West Australian Opera (WAO) offers programs for schools. Students can view main house productions, with a pre-performance talk with a music historian. Bookings also receive a program, CD, poster and education pack. WAO provides interactive performance workshops in-schools and at His Majesty’s Theatre. WAO also tours regionally.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) offers concert programs in schools. The concerts are accompanied by detailed guides about the background and composition of the piece and the musicians who play it. Educators can also access audio playlists. The WASO YouTube channel plays interviews and concerts and webcasts from the concerts can be viewed through the WASO iPhone application.




This project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.