1. Classic Cat - http://www.classiccat.net/#black
Classic Cat is a tool that can be used to look up classical music files. You can look up a multitude of composers and listen to various pieces of their work. You can even look up composers based on the type of instrument. This would be a very useful tool in the class for listening to different composers being studied or different types of styles being studied. It is also useful for listening to examples of pieces your band might be performing.
2. Musopen - https://musopen.com
Musopen is a Web 2.0 tool that allows you to find sheet music and music downloads. There is a radio option that selects a random composer to play music from and gives a condensed bio about that composer. You can search by composer, performer, genre, and other various categories. This tool would be very useful in the classroom for finding sheet music and listening to that piece. The radio feature would also be good in the classroom for giving the students a variety and also a background on the composer.
3. Noteflight - http://www.noteflight.com/login
Noteflight is a tool that allows you to compose music online. It is created to work with all age levels including small children. Noteflight is interactive and allows you to share your work with friends and the world. This would be a great tool in the classroom especially for melodic dictation. This tool would give students the freedom to express their musical ideas through music and put it on paper. The interactive aspect of it also makes it easier for teachers to interact with their students.
4. Music Theory - http://www.musictheory.net/
MusicTheory.net is a great tool for doing lessons and drills online. You can go through lessons like you would in a classroom on this site. After you or done with lessons you can then move on to doing drills. It is available online or on a smartphone. This tool is a great resource for students to do practice lessons at home. As a teacher I would use this site to encourage my kids to use for extra drill practice. It is also great for refreshing on basic music theory lessons. It is a tool I have used myself and I highly recommend it.
5. Musipedia - http://www.musipedia.org/
Musipedia is an online encyclopedia of musical numbers and tunes. It allows you to go on and enter a tune in several different interfaces in order to identify the song. Even if all you know is the beat Musipedia will find it. In the classroom this would be great for students who know songs but can not remember who they are by or even the name of them. Having a musical library in your brain can be very difficult but Musipedia helps make it easier by identifying a piece if you only know parts of the song.
6. Jam Studio - http://www.jamstudio.com/Studio/index.htm
Jam Studio is a unique tool that allows you to create your own digital music. With this tool you do not have to know how to read music to create your own music. There is a detailed blog on the page with step-by-step details and ideas to help you get started. In the classroom this tool could be used as a fun assignment to get the students creative juices flowing. One great thing about this tool is your kids do not have to be able to read music so you could start this assignment with early learners and still have fun.
7. Songza - http://songza.com/
Songza is a tool very similar to the well known Pandora App. This tool allows you to pick from various genre's of music ranging from Classical to Hip-Hop. It is laid out very well and is very user friendly. For a classroom this tool would be great for broadening a student's musical library. In a band setting the students could go on Songza and listen to various Classical songs, both instrumental and vocal, or if you were studying different types of music they could find that genre on the site and become familiar with it by listening to various pieces.
8. Purple Planet - http://www.purple-planet.com/#
Purple Planet is a site created by Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey that contains their own composed and copyrighted pieces. They allow public use of the music as long as you credit the source or you make a donation. They have several different genres of music to choose from and all of the music has a more acoustic sound, not digital. This would be a great site for students to use if they were doing a presentation on different types of music and how they affect a person's mood. Included in the genres are relaxing, dramatic, and heavy duty so there would be many options for the kids to choose from. The best part is all of the music is free to download as long as they credit their source.
9. Blip.fm - http://blip.fm/
Blip.fm is a fun tool that lets you be the DJ. All you have to do is sign up for a free account and then you can become a DJ for your own radio station. With your station you have access to millions of free songs to choose from and you can share your station with friends via social media sites. Creating a station where the student was the DJ would be a fun activity for kids in the classroom. The teacher could have the kids create stations based on specific genres of music and have the kids share all of their stations so they broaden their horizon of different music. This would be an activity that could range from middle school to even college level students.
10. Soundzabound - http://www.soundzabound.com/
The tools I found while doing this assignment were all very unique and fun. Some I have used before and some I will look into using. I highly recommend choosing at least one and using it. They are great, fun tools and the best part is almost all of them are free!
