Low Cost MusicTechnology Options For The Music Education Classroom
Low Cost MusicTechnology Options For The Music Education Classroom

Finding ways to stretch your budget in a music classroom is always important and even more so when trying to purchase high tech electronics, software, and other materials.  This article provides an updated list of dozens of different low cost or free alternatives to expensive music education products.  It includes such categories as music notation software, drill design software, special needs hardware, and many more.

 

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The Star Spangled Banner- Free Sheet Music For Band Inst.
The Star Spangled Banner- Free Sheet Music For Band Inst.

This document contains sheet music for all common instruments to play The Star Spangled Banner, also known as the sheet music to the National Anthem of the United States of America. You can view the sheet music online or download the individual parts arranged for all common concert band instruments.  If you do not see your instrument listed please scroll to the bottom of the page and try one of the the other instruments.  Most musicians will be able to find at least one instrumental part that matches their range and preferred key signature.  If you are seeking a simple piano version of the song please select from the voice, trumpet, or alto saxophone versions.

 

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Using Plickers as an Assessment Tool in the Music Education Classroom
Using Plickers as an Assessment Tool in the Music Education Classroom

Music, band, choir, and orchestra classrooms can be huge and assessing the knowledge and retention of individual students in such a large class can be daunting.  Plickers are one of several solutions that can be adapted to work in large groups, making the act of assessing a student’s understanding a little easier and a whole lot faster.  

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Is Marching Band A Sport? Pros, Cons, and a Reality Check
Is Marching Band A Sport? Pros, Cons, and a Reality Check

In recent years the question of whether or not marching band is a sport has been brought up time and time again for various reasons and by various groups.  On one side you have the YES crowd who says that marching band is competitive, physically demanding, and every bit as much a team event as any traditional sporting event.  On the other side of the coin are those who say no, that marching band is NOT a sport and it is a musical pursuit that happens to involve coordinated movements.  Both sides are right, but to make a final decision we need to look deeper into the facts.  Read on to find out what they are!

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Portable Digital Audio Recorder Buying Guide With Reviews
Portable Digital Audio Recorder Buying Guide With Reviews

Scroll down to view the comparison chart of over a dozen different portable digital audio recorders.

Buying a portable digital audio recorder is a major decision.  The balance between price, features, and quality is a fine line that has many different options to choose from.  There are dozens of different models of portable digital audio recorders, some of which have drastically different sets of features yet sell for roughly the same price.  This easy to read head to head comparison chart and guide to many of the more popular portable digital audio recorders is intended to help potential buyers more easily see these differences and make an educated buying decision.

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Apps and More for the Choral Classroom
Apps and More for the Choral Classroom

The number of apps, software, and gadgets available for use in the music classroom continues to grow each year but finding things that can actually be beneficial to your classes grows more and more difficult as well.  We spoke with Dr. Christopher Russell, Director of Choirs at Oltman Middle School in St. Paul Park, Minnesota to get his must-have list of apps.

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Online Web Design Resources and Software

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A listing of tools and free software that you can use to spruce up your web site. The list includes web design resources and software, calendar scripts, photo galleries, message boards, and contact forms.

 

Online Web Design Resources and Software

Make Your Web Site Cool Without The Extra Work!

{mosimage} This is a listing of tools and free software that you can use to spruce up your band's web site. The list includes web design resources and software, calendar scripts, photo galleries, message boards, and contact forms.

Jump To Another Section:

 

   

Web Design Resources:

 

The following links lead to sites that can help you fine tune your web site or make important decisions about how it is going to look. All of these tools are free for personal use.

  • Web Site Speed Test - Examines any web page, tells you the overall size, and checks it for any problems that might slow down your visitors. This is the tool to use to find out if your web page comes in under the magic 50K size limit or to show you just how HUGE your page truly is.
  • Color Scheme Generator - If your colors clash or are too close together it will distract your viewer and may even drive them away from your site. This color scheme generator lets you pick a base color aand it shows you what colors will compliment it.
  • Windows Power Toy- Image resizer - An add-on that allows you to right click an image on your desktop and resize it without having to open it in an image editor. VERY handy!
  • The Gimp - A powerful and free graphics editor that compares to Photoshop for most tasks. It does have a higher learning curve than Photoshop, but for the price you can't beat it.
  • IrfanView - A less powerful but very useful image editor and viewing program. It doesn't allow all the fancy editing effects of The Gimp or Photoshop, but it handles most routine tasks.



SCRIPTS AND APPLETS

 

Some of the scripts below may require access to a web based database server known as a mySQL server. Before making any decisions be sure to check and see if your local web host has an SQL server installed and if you will be allowed to create a database on it.

Many of the scripts also require that the server have PHP installed on it. Most web servers come with PHP scripting enabled automatically, but check with your administrator first.

Google Gadgets:

The absolute EASIEST way to add dynamic content to your web pages. Small applets, inserted into your web page code, allow you to display any of dozens of special gadgets ranging from RSS readers and calendar viewers to weather reports and analog clocks. Shown below is an example of a calendar gadget linked to a personal Google calendar (this one happens to be for a local cub scout pack).

Get Your Google Gadgets Here!

 

Calendar Scripts:

 

Follow the directions contained in these packages to add different calendars to your web site's pages.

 

Photo Galleries:

 

A photo gallery script allows you to quickly and easily add photographs to your web site without the hassle of uploading and editing pages each time you want to add something new. Please note that some of these scripts require additional software to be installed in the operating system of your web server. If the software is not already there, you will need to ask your system administrator to install the needed files.

  • Gallery - A nicely done and cleanly presented photo gallery application. Upload your photos through the web interface and publish them for everyone to see.
  • Tiny Web Gallery - A small yet very functional web photo gallery that has the added benefit of not requiring a database to store information in. For servers that do not have access to an SQL database this is an excellent alternative.
  • Coppermine - One of the best free photo galleries in existence. However, it does require access to a mySQL database system to save all of the image data.
  • The AutoGallery - A nice alternative if all of your photos are already on your web site and sorted into directories. This script will read the directories and put them into image displays without having to re-upload and name every singly photo.

 

Message Boards:

 

  • phpBB - An easy to use and maintain bulletin board system that can handle hundreds of users. It does require a mySQL database to run.
  • Simple MachinesForum - The same system that is used on the MusicEdMagic forum. You can change the look of the system by switching themes to give it the look that you want.

 

Contact Forms:

 

  • Contact Form Generator - Allows you to customize your contact form and choose form four different computer languages in case your web server does not support PHP. Just follow the directions, hit submit, and then copy/paste the code into your web page.
  • Feedback Form - A simple, free feedback form that can be included on any web page.

 

Note:  The articles on this site may contain referral links to sites such as Amazon and other online retailers.  The small amount of income received from these links has helped keep MusicEdMagic.com up and running for over ten years now.  Thank you for your support!