Online resources for young musicians and parents/carers

Here are just some of the innovative online musical activities and resources being made available to young musicians during this time of social distancing and schools closures. From live-streamed concerts to resources for making music online there’s a lot to get your teeth into and enjoy.

We’ll keep this page updated as we find more resources, so if you know of anything useful which you would like to share do get in contact and we’ll add it here.

Last updated: 2 April 2020

MUSIC RESOURCES, GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

RPO at home

The musicians of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra want to keep music-making alive during these challenging times. They’ll be releasing various resources in the coming weeks including videos, their brand new game, podcasts and quizzes.

Southbank Sinfonia

A family-friendly collection of short video resources from fun facts about your favourite composer, to the history of the concerto.

The Ultimate List of Online Music Education Games

A blog with lots of links to music games & sites.

BBC Ten Pieces

Full of ideas to keep music alive while we are sharing time at home, including films, lesson plans, instrumental arrangements & live events.

Soundplant

Turn your computer keyboard into an instrument using this great software from Soundplant (Free version available).

Beat Goes On

Online daily streaming of STOMP-style body percussion.

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group

BCMG are releasing resources twice a week designed especially for children to do at home.

Sound and Music

A carefully curated collection of 60-second recordings introducing children to a range of music and sounds from Björk to Beethoven, folk music to field recordings. Sign up for free.

David Walliams’ Marvellous Musical Podcast

Classic FM’s 10-part podcast presented by TV personality David Walliams aimed at introducing children to the wonderful world of classical music.

Play On

ABRSM’s new platform to support and inspire your musical journey.

NYOGB’s Spotify playlist

The National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain have selected their favourite revision soundtracks for those studying or working from home.

Drake Music

Resources for parents/carers in the SEN/D community.

Royal Academy of Music

#RAMplaysON – Follow RAM on social media to access a range of digital content from their community including living room concerts and solo recitals.

London Mozart Players

‘At home with LMP’, an initiative that will keep you connected to their wonderful musicians by going virtual. Enjoy performances by LMP musicians and associated artists virtually from the comfort of your own home.

Sing Up at Home

Sing Up at Home has themed playlists of songs to fit every mood – including songs to calm and relax you, songs to get you moving, and empowering songs to lift you up. There are also songs and activities for learning about topics, and every week a new Song of the week will feature an engaging teaching video as well as audio tracks, lyrics, musical score and various activities that go along with it.

Team Tutti

Team Tutti is a self-guided interactive music making platform which explores composition, theory and technology through an online musical ‘sketch pad’. They release weekly videos taught by animated characters, delivering fun and engaging lessons which combines musical concepts with creative challenges to encourage the implementation of new skills. It also has an interactive quiz to assess learning!

Soundtrap

Using online recording studio Soundtrap, teachers and students can create, communicate, and collaborate to explore creative sound making through music creation, podcasting and more. The cloud-based studio offers a safe learning environment that can be accessed via any device, at any time, from any location.

In response to current needs, Soundtrap for Education is free, on an extended trial basis, for any school that signs up to try it with students this term.

LIVE STREAMED CONCERTS AND GIGS

Classic FM

A list of all the major classical concerts and events being streamed online.

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Free live streamed jazz concerts from Jazz at Lincoln Center in the US.

JamBase

A list of worldwide live streaming gigs and concerts.

City of London Sinfonia

Comfortable Classical at Home. 10 minutes concerts live-streamed on Facebook.  Suitable for anyone and everyone but particularly suitable for parents and carers with very young children, young people with sensory impairment conditions and adults and older adults who may be living with dementia… 

Making Music

Lots of creative ideas for making music together and advice on which online platforms to use.

RAMA Youtube video – zoom settings

Demonstration from the Royal Academy of Music Vocal Centre in Denmark on how to adjust your audio settings on Zoom.

Jamkazam

An online music platform and social network for musicians / bands to make music together.

OTHER

What musicians can learn about practicing from current brain research

Video series produced by Dr Molly Gebrian

Part I: Introduction and the basics of how the brain learns

Part II: Random practice: the best practice method for reliable performance (https://youtu.be/FQRspEicnMQ)

Part III: How to actually use your metronome (https://youtu.be/2KBAnSOjWmU)

Part IV: The importance of sleep in learning (https://youtu.be/7DyBhVp0bDw)

Part V: Mental practicing (https://youtu.be/c6PQ8c7DK9U)