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Teaching Kids to Do Music
A resource for primary teachers who want to bring music into their classrooms but don't know how
The purpose of this site is to act as a resource for educators who wish to bring music into their classrooms. The goal is for this to be useful in mitigating some of the most common barriers between kids and their music making, barriers which fall under the broad categories of:
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Teachers, parents, students, or administrators don't believe music is an important part of schooling.
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Teachers have some instruments but do not know how to play them or use them in the classroom.
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Teachers have little to no instruments or resources for teaching music.
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Luckily, numbers two and three can be mitigated with some creativity and a little determination. The lack of understanding around music making and its importance is a trickier one to crack, but from small seeds grow big trees and with the dedicated work of music educators around Australia and the emergence of sites like this, hopefully we can begin to reclaim the joy of music.
'Why Teach Music?' contains information on what a quality music education actually does for a child's intellectual, emotional, and social development.
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'How to Play' lists common classroom instruments and provides simple instructions in how they work and how to play them at a basic level.
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'Music Fundamentals' contains a beginner's guide to some of the important aspects of music that are good for a budding music teacher to know. Each page has an introduction to the topic, along with some activities you can use in the classroom.
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The forum is where you can post ideas for the site, contribute resources, or ask questions. If you have an instrument that hasn't been covered yet, make a request post.
Don't Stop the Music
Soon after the original conception of this site, The ABC announced the launch of their docu-series Don't Stop the Music. They have teamed up with Musica Viva and the Salvation Army to not only create the series, but to develop a program for getting music education to schools that need it most. You can catch the episodes on ABC iView.
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Their excellent kit on building a musical school can be found here.