This really doesn't need a lot of introduction - it does what it says on the tin. This is a really "building blocks" session on the elements or ingredients of music. It was written for class-work - involves at least two individuals or groups - ideally three, but can work with two - so one parent/teacher, one pupil can make sense of it; one parent/teacher with two pupils, or even three pupils can really make it roll. provided they co-operate, this can work well with a mix of ages.
Notation is the name for the way we write music. The Stave is quite a usable introduction to how music is written. Notation 1 is a fairly intense look at notation, written for a GCSE class whose previous teacher hadn't shown them much! It should help KS3 pupils understand the way notation works. Don't try to understand the whole thing in one go - this was aimed to be delivered over a double lesson, with a couple of mini-breaks! A second sheet, looking at time signatures and key signatures will follow, also a sheet on volume and texture - but this should be useful for "starters". Music Dominoes is a fun game, for those who know some of this stuff already.
OK - you need just a little idea what you're doing to handle this, but the backing track is really inviting you to play, once you've got hold of that blues scale! A PowerPoint Introduction and then a smooth bluesy backing track you can sing, play guitar, piano or other istrument to. The key is C, so nice and easy. Get the scale, and the backing track will soon have your blues walking from your fingertips!
OK, OK! You might (or might not) want to be reminded that Santa-time is coming, and we're uploading goodies as we find them here (among many years of learning resources!) These are really easy, and have diagram instructions for piano/keyboard. They are almost easy enough to be "teach yourself piano/keyboard" material:
For some different approaches to making music using "found sounds" with your computer and a microphone, head over to our friends at composing with sounds for an introduction to the mysteries of musique concrète.
Need manuscript paper to jot down your music ideas? Don't want to go to the shops during lockdown? Can't wait to order it online when you're busting to write that tune? No Problem! Help is here! You can download our manuscript paper, and a version with lines for text underneath, using the links below. These are free to use; so print a few sheets, keep them handy for when the inspiration flows.
While they're not hugely educational, Wordseaches can be fun, and help a little with remembering vocabulary and spelling. Here are a few wordsearches using musical terms. Be careful - the answers are there as well, so watch which pages your learner is seeing!
Education.com: There are some useful, free worksheets here, some are more interesting than others, but many are worth a look:
A "goodwill" site set-up by a Birmingham (Alabama) music teacher, this site offers an amazing range of resources for introductory Music Tech, practical music making, and more general music theory ...
Some really great stuff on that site.For example, our friends at GCSE Revision Monkey have some excellent resources for Sciences.