Elementary Music Technology and Integration
Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrumental class, directs the FH Modern Band, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory, having served as director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on integrating technology into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year, and the 2026 NJMEA Distinguished Service Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), is available from Oxford University Press (OUP) and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.
Looking for my YouTube Channel or the manipulatives for my Play-Along Videos? Click the social feed buttons below!
Looking for a little Halloween fun that still builds musical skills? These two songs give young elementary students opportunities to sing, count, move, and explore rhythm—with simple extensions you can use right away!
Read MoreFive students hiding under scarves, one waiting to turn off the lights, and another ready to make the wind blow with an instrument…this is October in my elementary music classroom! 🎃
If you’re looking for counting activities that get your youngest musicians chanting, singing, acting, and playing instruments, here are two of my classroom favorites.
Last week, I highlighted Stephanie Leavell’s Five Perfect Pumpkins, a newly discovered favorite. This week, my countdown continues with #4 and #3!
This is a simple counting song to the tune of London Bridge. Each time one of the ghosts leaves, you take out a boo.
Do you hear a Ghostly Sound?
Stand real still, look around.
Do you think three ghosts are near?
Boo, boo, BOO!
Prop: add a scarf or a parachute and the students throw it on the last boo.
This is one of my youngest students’ most requested October activities. We turn it into a little performance, complete with scarves, instruments, and a very enthusiastic lighting crew!
Here’s how we bring it to life:
Five pumpkins: Five students each take a pumpkin’s line. They hide under scarves and pop up when it’s their turn to sing.
The light keeper: One student turns off the classroom lights on “Out went the lights!”
The sound effect: Another student plays the whip crack on that same line.
The wind: One student plays wind chimes, a gong, or a triangle on “Ooo went the wind!”
We repeat the song and switch roles so everyone gets a turn.
My tip for managing those much-wanted instrument parts: Before we begin, I give every student a chance to try the special instruments. Since these only come out at certain times of the year, everyone is eager to play them! Trying them first helps when students are assigned a different role during the song.
We also practice being flexible when our first-choice part goes to someone else: “Every part helps us tell the story!”
Prefer a fall-themed version? Replace the line about witches with “The second one said, ‘There’s a chill in the air!’”
Two simple counting activities, plenty of student participation, and lots of reasons to repeat them!
Which would your students choose first—the black cats or the pumpkins?
Stay tuned for #2 and #1! 🍂
Costume parades, schedule changes, and students who can hardly contain their excitement—Halloween week calls for a little extra creativity in the music room!
This week, I’m putting that energy to musical use by attaching glow sticks to rhythm sticks and mallets for our play-alongs. A little glow, a steady beat, and plenty of music making!
Need something for your classes, too? Check out these Halloween-themed play-alongs and matching manipulatives. From Boomwhackers to body percussion, you’ll find ways to keep your students playing, moving, and making music through the Halloween excitement.
Read More
Your Orffestration is on the screen. You’re ready to teach. Wouldn’t it be great to press play without leaving your Canva slide?
Read More
Create an Ostinato Slide in Canva—with a Template to Get You Started! 🎶
Want to make an ostinato slide for your elementary music classes? I’ve recorded a Canva walkthrough so you can follow along and create your own!
Today, a teacher in the Facebook Elementary Music Teachers Group shared a great ostinato slide made in Canva. When several teachers asked for a how-to video, I thought my Buy Me a Coffee followers might enjoy a tutorial, too!
Read More
Pumpkins, counting, and a big “SPLAT!” October brings so many opportunities to get our youngest musicians singing and moving. Here are five of my favorite fingerplays and counting songs, along with ways I use them in my elementary music classes.
Read MoreLooking for fall music activities to get your students singing, moving, and playing instruments? I’ve gathered six favorites featuring scarf movement, body percussion, Boomwhackers, xylophones, storytelling, and rhythm coloring.
Explore the videos and lesson ideas below, along with free manipulatives and paid resources to support your teaching. Whether you need a movement break or an activity to build into a lesson, there’s something here to try!
Read MoreYour students are excited to play Boomwhackers—but how do you turn that excitement into listening, teamwork, and music making? From establishing a rest position to choosing play-alongs, here are some of my favorite tips and resources to help you get started.
Recently, I joined Eric Young and Dr. Mary Birkner for “Fun with Classroom Instruments: Bring Your Instrument and Play Along!” Sponsored by MusicFirst Elementary, this webinar explored resources and teaching ideas for barred instruments, ukuleles, Boomwhackers, and recorders.
Read More
Looking for a fun way to get your elementary music students listening and moving? This week’s new play-along features a remix of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and “Hair Up” from Trolls, with patterns students can trace using their fingers or follow with scarves!
The video includes zigzags, wavy lines, rising lines, and short and long dashes. As the music plays, the lines change color to guide students through the movements. Begin by exploring the patterns without music, then add the video, and finally bring out the scarves!
Read MoreLooking for fresh ideas to get your elementary music students playing and making music? Join us this Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET for Fun with Classroom Instruments, a free, interactive MusicFirst Elementary webinar.
Keep a ukulele, recorder, barred instrument, Boomwhacker, or another classroom instrument nearby and play along with us! We’ll explore practical activities you can bring into your music classroom, whether your students are just beginning or are ready for a new challenge.
🎁 Join us live for a chance to win! We’ll have giveaways for a Studio 49 glockenspiel from Teaching With Orff and Boomwhackers—available to live attendees.
Come ready to play, explore, and leave with ideas for your next music lesson!
Fun with Classroom Instruments: Bring Your Instrument and Play Along With Us!
Wednesday, October 7 • 7:30 p.m. ET
This week’s play-along video is one that focuses on movements and rhythms so that you can choose how to use them in your classroom. In the States, Autumn begins this week. I chose a medley of songs that include the months of September and October, and the seasonal weather that is associated with fall in certain parts of the world. This video does not mention Halloween or pumpkins, but more in the lines of leaves and the weather becoming colder.
The songs are:
“September” by Earth, Wind & Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk)
“Harvest Time” by Luke Bryan featuring The Bartaks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4QTpRoYLdg&t=20s)
“Just Like Autumn” by The Tuesday Crew · Jordy Searcy · Carly Bannister (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I--bUH-JJdA&t=87s)
“Autumn Leaves” by Ed Sheeran (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vpk9zYYeBs&t=22s)
Added to the blog this year are the digital manipulatives and ideas on how to perform this with students.
Like my resources? Please consider buying me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech
Read More
Looking for fresh ways to get your elementary music students playing? Join us for Fun with Classroom Instruments, a free, interactive MusicFirst Elementary webinar on Wednesday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Bring an instrument and play along! We’ll explore activities for ukulele, recorder, barred instruments, Boomwhackers, and more. Come ready to make music and gather ideas you can bring into your classroom.
🎵If you attend live, you’ll also have a chance to win a Studio 49 glockenspiel.
Whether your students are picking up an instrument for the first time or are ready for a new challenge, we hope you’ll join us for an evening of music making.
👉Register Here: https://www.musicfirst.com/fun-classroom-instruments
Fun with Classroom Instruments: Bring Your Instrument and Play Along With Us!
October 7 • 7:30 p.m. ET
Canva or Google Slides—which works better in an elementary music classroom? I use both, but for different jobs. I revisited my comparison from last year to look at what has changed, including Canva’s new offline access and Google Slides’ design tools. In the updated post, I share how I choose between them for lesson visuals, clickable sound examples, play-alongs, and those days when the Wi-Fi is unreliable.
Read More
Sometimes it is helpful to have more than one version of a classroom resource! I created an alternate edition of my “9 to 5” Rhythm Play-Along featuring a slideshow of Dolly Parton through the years.
Students can clap, play instruments, or use body percussion as they follow the rhythms scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The slideshow offers teachers another visual option while keeping the musical activity the same.
Choose the version that works best for your students and classroom setting—and have fun making music with Dolly!
Read MoreWhat if your students could begin playing along on the ukulele—even if they know only one chord?
MusicFirst Elementary (MFE) recently introduced several teacher-requested updates, and one of my favorites is the new ukulele app.
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, I created a steady beat body percussion play-along featuring Celia Cruz and Tito Puente’s recording of “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In.”
Cruz and Puente recorded their version in 1969, combining two songs from the Broadway musical Hair with the energy and rhythms of Latin music. The recording worked beautifully for steady beat practice—but I knew it could also become an engaging rhythm-reading activity.
So this week, I turned it into a steady beat rhythm play-along!
Read More
What if the same play-along could help students understand chords, practice reading traditional notation, and perform successfully—even when your classroom does not have enough pitched percussion instruments for everyone?
Read MoreWhat happens when students become the composers behind a film?
The September Midnight Music webinar is coming up in just a few days, and we’ll be exploring Soundtrap’s new video-scoring feature. You’ll learn practical tips for using the feature and discover creative ways students can compose music and sound effects to accompany a video.
Read More
Add movement, music history, and plenty of energy to your elementary general music classroom with this new body percussion steady beat play-along featuring Celia Cruz and Tito Puente’s recording of “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In.”
Cruz and Puente recorded this version in 1969. It combines two songs from the Broadway musical Hair and gives them an exciting Latin-music makeover.
Read MoreYour elementary music classroom never stands still—and your teaching resources should grow right along with it!
Read More