Three years ago, I bought my first iPad, and two years ago, I was lucky enough to receive a grant for 8 iPad minis in my music classroom. Since using iPads in my classroom, I have come across TONS of different music apps, both free and paid. Today, I'm blogging about my 10 favorite iPad music apps! I've listed a price next to each app, and have linked all of the apps to the app store. I've also tried to list a variety of apps--some that only you would use on your own iPad, some that you could use on one iPad at a center, and some that could be used in groups with several iPads. Here is my list: #1: GarageBand , $4.99 (Free with some iPads) My all-time favorite music app is GarageBand. It is SUCH an amazing app, allowing students to create and compose on instruments such as the guitar and piano without knowing how to play those instruments. It also allows students to layer loops, which are like ostinati, and students can also record their own voices and instrumental playing.......

Three years ago, I bought my first iPad, and two years ago, I was lucky enough to receive a grant for 8 iPad minis in my music classroom. Since using iPads in my classroom, I have come across TONS of different music apps, both free and paid. Today, I'm blogging about my 10 favorite iPad music apps! I've listed a price next to each app, and have linked all of the apps to the app store. I've also tried to list a variety of apps--some that only you would use on your own iPad, some that you could use on one iPad at a center, and some that could be used in groups with several iPads. Here is my list: #1: GarageBand , $4.99 (Free with some iPads) My all-time favorite music app is GarageBand. It is SUCH an amazing app, allowing students to create and compose on instruments such as the guitar and piano without knowing how to play those instruments. It also allows students to layer loops, which are like ostinati, and students can also record their own voices and instrumental playing.......

Over the years, I've tried several different ways of teaching the notes on the treble clef staff. For a while, I used the silly sentences (like "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and "Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday" for the lines) and "FACE" for the spaces. Then one year I decided I'd show them that the treble clef is sometimes called the G clef because it crosses the G line four times. Then, they had to figure out that the next note was A, the note after that was B, etc. I thought maybe this was better than the silly sentences, but I quickly learned that although some kids get this, it really helps to have the silly sentences, at least at first! So I went back to that way of doing things. I began first getting them comfortable with the musical alphabet, then I would teach the lines/ silly sentences one day, the spaces the next, then I'd do a mad minute with them as a formative assessment. I'd take another day to do learning centers focused on......

Over the years, I've tried several different ways of teaching the notes on the treble clef staff. For a while, I used the silly sentences (like "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and "Elvis' Guitar Broke Down Friday" for the lines) and "FACE" for the spaces. Then one year I decided I'd show them that the treble clef is sometimes called the G clef because it crosses the G line four times. Then, they had to figure out that the next note was A, the note after that was B, etc. I thought maybe this was better than the silly sentences, but I quickly learned that although some kids get this, it really helps to have the silly sentences, at least at first! So I went back to that way of doing things. I began first getting them comfortable with the musical alphabet, then I would teach the lines/ silly sentences one day, the spaces the next, then I'd do a mad minute with them as a formative assessment. I'd take another day to do learning centers focused on......

Recently I had a colleague ask me how I practiced the musical alphabet and the treble clef with my students. I typed up some activities for her and thought I'd go ahead and post it to my blog. First, here are some activities for helping students to get more comfortable with the musical alphabet (a special thank you to Joan Litman for many of these ideas!) Up and down the alphabet:  Have the notes of the musical alphabet written on the board vertically. Start with A, end with G, and then write A again. The teacher points to the letters going up and down and the students say those letters (i.e. A B C D C B C D E F G A G F E, etc.) Ball game:  Students say the letters of the musical alphabet as they pass a ball around the circle. When the teacher plays the hand drum, students switch the direction of the ball and the direction of the musical alphabet. For example, the students might say “A B C D,” and then the teacher plays the hand drum, and they’d switch the direction of the bal......