Links, Apps, and Other Resources

Practice Tools

Sight Reading Factory - This website will generate random melodies for you to play on your instrument, even in the "Try it Free" mode. This is great for students preparing for NYSSMA! A one-year subscription gets your unlimited melodies and lots of customization options, and costs $35.

Metronome Ϟ a.k.a. Metro Timer App (Apple only) - metronome app [Free]

Tonal Energy (Apple & Android) - Tuner and metronome in one with lots of helpful features. [$3.99]

Bandmate Tuner (Apple & Android) - Select your instrument and it will show the note as you play, and help you adjust to get in tune. [Free]

Band Toolbox (Apple only) - metronome and tuner app [$0.99]

Jim Dooley Drum Loops on YouTube - a fun alternative to practicing with a metronome. You can also search for the tempo you want (e.g. 120 BPM drum beat, 80 BPM drum loop) to find more beats.

Music Note Reading

Staff Wars and Staff Wars Live - Space themed video game to help with note identification. Original Staff Wars is for Apple or Android. Click the name of the note as you see it. Staff Wars Live is Apple only. You actually play the note on your instrument to score points. [$0.99 each]

Music Racer - Choose "Note Names" or "Fingerings" and then choose your instrument from the drop down menu. Tell me if you get a high score!

Note Trainer - Scroll down to select your clef and use the sliders to pick the lowest and highest notes you will be quizzed on.

Note Identification - Click the gear in the top right corner to customize your quiz.

More Note Reading Practice specific to your instrument can be found linked with your instrument in the left-hand sidebar!!

Composing and Creating Music

Incredibox - Create your own music compositions on the fly. Available as an app or online with Adobe Flash Player.

Song Maker - Create a melody and a basic drum beat. You control the instruments and the tempo (speed) as well. The four measures you create will loop over and over again.

HookPad - Did you enjoy Song Maker but it wasn't powerful enough? Check out this more complex tool. Make sure you check out the Introduction Video and the User Guide for help.

Noteflight - Looking for a way to write more traditional music notation? This is your program. You can create up to 10 music scores, totally free. Layer different instruments together and play back your creation to see how it all sounds. If you want to record audio, you do need to have a paid subscription ($49 per year).

Sheet Music Online

8 Notes - This website has lots of sheet music you can download for FREE!

Sheet Music Plus - Huge resource for sheet music. You can digital download and print at home or order the actual books.

Music Notes - Sheet Music to purchase, download, and play. It will also play the music for you to help you learn it.

Music Games, Widgets, and Links

Chrome Music Lab - A collection of tools, widgets, and experiments in music and sound. Use the "Spectrogram" to "see" what your instrument sounds like when you play it (using the microphone button), use "rhythm" to explore the subdivision of beats, or use "Kandinsky" to experiment with turning pictures into music. There's lots more, too.

Google Blob Opera - Blob Opera is a machine learning music-making tool that imitates human singing and Western music harmonies. Each blob sings one vocal part (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass) with varied pitches and vowels. This activity works best with headphones and a computer mouse.

Google Doodle - Electric Guitar - Les Paul's Birthday. Play and record on an electric guitar.

Google Doodle - Synthesizer - Robert Moog's Birthday. Play with a keyboard synthesizer that has lots of interesting settings.

Google Doodle - Theremin - Clara Rockmore's 105th Birthday. Play a cool, early electronic instrument

Google Doodle - Piano - Bartolomeo Cristofori's 360th Birthday, inventor of the Piano (actually called the "pianoforte," play with the slider to find out why)

Google Doodle - Beethoven - Put back together some of Beethoven's most famous works in this puzzle mini-game.

Google Doodle - Hip Hop - 44th Anniversary of the Birth of Hip Hop. Play with some turntables!

Google Doodle - Oskar Fishinger - Fishinger's 117th Birthday. Art and music come together