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!

Long-Legged Sailor Play-Along (Boomwhackers, Percussion, and Recorder) and Manipulatives

August 10, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

This is the fourth installment of my summer project of creating play-along videos of songs and concepts found in the Kodály and Orff Schulwerk approaches. This week, I feature the Long-Legged Sailor Play-Along (Boomwhackers, Percussion, and Recorder) video. Like my resources? Please consider buying me a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech

Each video (found on my YouTube page) will be accompanied by lesson manipulatives.

Here are the resources and manipulatives:

Blog: http://amymburns.com/elmusedtech/2022/7/16/lls or https://buymeacoffee.com

All of the parts and the video are included in the manipulatives found here at https://buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech/extras

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categories / #elmusedtech, Assessment, Google Slides, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Play-Along Videos, Recorder, Boomwhackers
tags / #elmused, #elementarymusicteacher, #free, #edtech, #elementarymusicteacherlife, #elmused tech, #mused

#teachertiptuesday: All About Me Activity: A Great Way to Start the Year!

July 29, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

🎶 Ready to kickstart the school year with a fun, creative activity? 🎶

What if you could introduce yourself to your students and let them express their creativity in music class—right from day one? Get inspired by this engaging "All About Me" project that combines art, technology, and music! Watch the video to see how I bring this activity to life and learn how you can easily implement it in your own classroom.

👩‍🏫 Click to watch the process & make your first days of school unforgettable! 👨‍🏫

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Materials for an Early Childhood Family Music Class

July 15, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

Looking to Engage Your Youngest Learners? 🎶

Discover how to create a fun, interactive Family Music Class that brings music to the littlest of learners and their families. From simple songs and movements to hands-on instruments, these classes are a wonderful way to foster musical bonding and create a lasting impact on early childhood education. 👶🎤

Learn how I turned this idea into a thriving monthly program—and how you can do it too! Dive into tips, logistics, and materials to get started.

Tap to see how you can bring music into your community! 👇

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Elementary Music Summit: MusicFirst Elementary Session Today!

July 09, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

This blog post was written by my good friend, Jim Frankel, President of MusicFirst. Please check it out below!

Written By Jim Frankel found at Music Tech Helper

Every summer, I look forward to events that bring music educators together—opportunities where we can share ideas, spark creativity, and re-energize for the coming school year. Over the past few summers, I’ve traveled around the country on behalf of MusicFirst, presenting at a wide variety of in-person conferences, but this year, there is an online event for elementary music educators that has really stood out - the Elementary Music Summit hosted by Bryson Tarbet (aka That Music Teacher). It’s a completely online, free conference designed just for elementary music educators, and this year’s lineup is nothing short of inspiring. MusicFirst is a VERY proud sponsor of the event, and we have a fantastic session planned that focuses on our amazing offering for elementary music teachers. Melanie Alexander, Mary Birkner, and Amy Burns are teaming up to present a session titled Sing, Move, Play, and Create with MusicFirst Elementary on July 9th at 1:30 PM EST . If you’re not familiar with MusicFirst Elementary yet, this is the perfect opportunity to dive in.

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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.