Amy M. Burns

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 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech 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, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from 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 on the social feed buttons below!

Countdown to 2026: 10 short activities that you can use when you return from break - #9 Rhythm Games

#9 Rhythm Games

Let's begin the new year with a review of identifying and reading rhythm patterns. By using movement games and free websites such as Rhythm Randomizer (https://www.rhythmrandomizer.com/) and Rhythm Dice (https://4four.io/rhythm/dice), you can review rhythm patterns in a fun way.

Rhythm Randomizer - https://www.rhythmrandomizer.com/

Use the settings to choose:

  • Playback (Tempo, Pitch, and Metronome)

  • Measure Count Selection (1, 2, 4, or 8)

  • Time Signature (Simple, Compound Alla Breve)

  • Note Selection (Basic Notes, Basic Rests, Simple Beamed Notes, Mixed Beamed Notes, Tuplets, Dotted Note Combinations, 8th Rest Combinations, and Syncopated Combinations)

  • Share Settings (Share the link)

Uses in the Classroom:

  • At a station, the students will click on the screen, perform the pattern, and then click the "Start Playback" button to hear if they performed it correctly.

  • This can also be done as a whole group or assigned individually using the link.

  • Improvise using solfa patterns.

  • Use these as rhythm flash cards to practice reading and performing rhythm patterns.

  • Take screenshots and print out the rhythm patterns to use during class.

Rhythm Dice (https://4four.io/rhythm/dice

Use the settings to choose from one to four dice, adding various rhythm patterns.

Uses in the Classroom:

  • Roll the dice and have the students read and perform the rhythm pattern as a group or as a station.

  • Set up barred instruments in a pentatonic scale, roll the dice, and have them improvise a melody to the rhythm pattern.

  • Use the dice as flashcards to practice reading and performing rhythm patterns.

  • Have two students perform a steady beat. Have another student roll the dice and then create a melody pattern using solfa. Then, the student sings the pattern with the two students who are playing the steady beat.

Click the "4four" logo to see more options!

Come back tomorrow for #9 as we are getting closer to 2026.

©2025 amymburns.com

Any info, student examples, pictures, graphics, etc, may be used with permission. Please contact me personally before using any info, student examples, pictures, graphics, etc.