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.

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Tools to Help All of Your Students Feel Included in Elementary Music Class

September 30, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns


https://youtube.com/shorts/eXWkrYy8Dr4?feature=share

The other day, I watched @ellsworthsings on TikTok speak about including all students in choir. He showcases the https://www.coughdrop.com/ website so that students who are non-verbal can participate in choir. This is beautiful and fantastic. It made me think about more tools that can help the elementary music class feel inclusive to all.

Here are some tools that can be used to assist with all students making, creating, and doing music in our music classes:

Coughdrop

In this video, you see @ellsworthsings give a wonderful example of how to make a song for the student who is non-verbal. He uses pictures to represent the words and then adds his own voice instead of using an AI-generated one, so that when the student taps the picture, the phrase of the song is sung.

This particular app can be run on iOS, Android, and on the website, which makes it work on a variety of devices. It does have a monthly subscription price or a one-time price. There is also a free trial.

This made me look into finding something similar that might be free. I found this article titled "Best AAC Apps of 2025," where Coughdrop, along with other AAC apps, is listed. When exploring this list of apps, I could not find one that could do what Coughdrop does for free. In addition, many of the apps do not have the platforms that Coughdrop has, so it would only work on limited devices.

Here is @ellsworthsings video if you cannot access TikTok to find it:

https://youtu.be/5P2fVMo6gsY

Dr. Musik

This site is one of my favorite sites. Created by Thierry Simard, a Canadian elementary music teacher, this site includes music games, music reading activities, music creation apps, and virtual instruments.

The virtual instrument apps will give your students the opportunity to play instruments that they might not be able to do in the traditional way.

Virtual Xylophone


The virtual xylophone includes note names, solfa, Boomwhacker colors, various modes and scales, and can be performed by tapping on the bars or using the keyboard pad on a device. Connect the student or teacher device to a pair of speakers, and the students can now perform with the rest of the class.

Virtual Recorder


For students who cannot play a recorder in the traditional way, use this virtual recorder to give your students the opportunity to learn to play the recorder. They can tap the screen or use the device's keyboard. You can also add accidentals. This can also serve as a great resource for checking on how to play certain notes.

Virtual Ukulele


This site will help students learn to play, strum, and perform on the ukulele. There is also a guitar option.

This site is so helpful for students who need to play instruments in non-traditional ways and have access to a device with speakers, so that they can perform, learn, and make music with their classmates.

What about Virtual Boomwhackers?


MusicK8 has created a site with diatonic Boomwhackers and Chromattix Boomwhackers.

There is no option to use the device's keyboard, as this is only used as a touchscreen or by using the mouse to tap on the Boomwhacker.

Are There Any Other Virtual Instruments?


There are plenty. Another one I adore is playxylo.com Carlos, the creator, is continuously updating it and this site is so very helpful for students who need a virtual xylophone. The sound quality is excellent as well!

A simple Google Search or asking an AI Tool will help you find more virtual instruments!

Creatability - Experiments with Google

This site's goal is to "explore how creative tools – drawing, music, and more – can be made more accessible using web and AI technology." Explore the Keyboard to make music by moving your head. Look at Seeing Music to visualize music for those who might not be able to hear it. And try out Body Synth to make music by moving your body.

I hope that these tools give you ideas to explore with your students!


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