Tag: free

Announcements, Music Theory, Printables, Worksheets

“Printables” page has been updated

Joy Morin
Picture 6
click image to enlarge

If you head over the the Printables page, you will see that it has undergone a complete makeover!  I was having a great deal of difficulty with the WordPress plugin I was using to organize and display my printables, so finally I scrapped it totally and found another one.  Although it is not as fancy as before (i.e., there are no longer any preview thumbnails of each file), it gets the job done!

The following posts have been updated so that the links to each pdf are now working:

You can also simply visit the Printables page to see a listing of all the pdfs currently available.  Enjoy!

repertoire / methods, Resources

Free Sheet Music @ pianostreet.com

Joy Morin

Picture 4Free sheet music is always a good thing, right?  :]

By signing up for a free Silver membership over at pianostreet.com, you’ll have access to free pdfs of classical music scores, including:

  • Bach – 15 Inventions
  • Beethoven – 32 Sonatas
  • Burgmuller – 3 pieces from 25 Easy and Progressive Studies
  • Schumann – Traumerei
  • Tchaikovsky – 2 pieces from Album for the Young
  • . . .and other random pieces by composers such as Mozart, Clementi, Listz, and Brahms — including an arrangements of Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee.

If you upgrade to a Gold Membership, you’ll have access to even more music.  Personally, I am planning to stick with my free Silver membership.  I am thrilled to be able to print (for free!) these great classics for my students, particularly for the ones with little money to spare for piano lessons during these rough economic times.

Music Theory, Resources, Technology

Resources @ makingmusicfun.net

Joy Morin

Have you seen makingmusicfun.net yet?  This site is full of free resources for both teachers and students.  All the materials available at Making Music Fun have super-cute graphics in an “under the sea” theme.

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For teachers:

  • Sheet music (both arranged and unarranged, organized by level)
  • Composer worksheets
  • Music achievement certificates
  • Practice charts
  • Manuscript paper
  • Intervals worksheets
  • and more!

For kids:

  • Music theory arcade games
  • “Meet the composer” section
  • “Meet the orchestra” section
  • Children’s songs

There’s plenty to explore at the Making Music Fun website.  Let me know what you find!

Composition, Music Theory, Resources

Best free manuscript paper

Joy Morin

Picture 6Just thought I’d share a little tip today about where to find THE best free manuscript paper (in my humble opinion): Antonjazz.com  

There are hundreds of sites out there that offer free manuscript paper (aka staff paper).  But this is my absolute favorite.  

Now, you must know, I do a little composing every now and then.  And I have discovered that I am a very picky manuscript paper person.  It has to be just right. 

I always print the “Blank manuscript paper with 10 staves, no clefs” paper.  It’s very economical and flexible.  It’s professional and clean-looking.  

Does this paper work for young students?  Not so much.  I’d recommend finding something bigger.  With wider spaces.  (Suggestions, anyone?) 

But I love this manuscript paper for myself and my older students to use.  It’s perfect for that. 

—————

Do you have a favorite manuscript paper, as I do?  Please let us know by commenting below.

Group Classes, Music Theory, Printables, Worksheets

Music Theory Review Tests A-J plus a Guide

Joy Morin

If you navigate over to the Printables > Worksheets area, you will find some new worksheets listed.  This set of Review Tests was originally created for group keyboard classes of various age groups, but they may easily be adapted for other uses.  The set is basically a set of progressive worksheets testing in the areas of basic piano skills and music theory.  They may work well for group lessons, or just for single students to brush up on their theory skills.

  • Review Test *GUIDE* — This chart provides the teacher an easy guide for what concepts must be introduced to the student in order for them to successfully complete each Review Test on their own.

Concepts covered in each worksheet:

  • Review Test A — finding the keys A – G on the piano; finger numbers; quarter and half notes.
  • Review Test B — naming notes on the staff (treble clef: middle C to G; bass clef: F to middle C); whole and dotted half notes;  terms & symbols: treble clef, bass clef, staff, barline, double barline, repeat sign, forte, piano.
  • Review Test C — C, G major 5FPs (five-finger patterns);  terms: slur, staccato, accents;  drawing barlines in rhythms in 3/4 and 4/4 time;  intervals: unison, 2nd, and 3rd.   Continue reading “Music Theory Review Tests A-J plus a Guide” →
Announcements, Composition, improving as a teacher, Resources, Technology

A Closer Look at MuseScore: FREE music notation software

Joy Morin
Picture 5
Screenshot of my demo song in MuseScore. Click to enlarge.

Move over, Finale and Sibelius!  There’s somebody new in town.  MuseScore is a music notation software available FREE online for anyone to download.  After doing a brief test drive last spring (mentioned here), I decided to take a closer look now that it’s available for Mac users.

I’ve been a faithful Finale user since 2005, mainly because Finale is the software of choice at the colleges I’ve attended.  I use Finale to make worksheets for my students and to notate my original compositions and arrangements.  Buying Finale 2009 last September cost me an arm and a leg, so I was quite curious to see how MuseScore would compare.  Is it worth spending all that money on Finale when you can get MuseScore for free?   Continue reading “A Closer Look at MuseScore: FREE music notation software” →

Composition, Resources

MuseScore: free music notation software

Joy Morin

Have you heard about the new free music notation software called MuseScore?  I have heard nothing but favorable reviews about it thus far.  Personally, I do not currently have a great need for it, since I use Finale software at college.  But this may very well be a great resource for teachers who do not wish to invest in expensive music notation software (let me tell you, Finale costs an arm and a leg!) or, for students who have an interest in composition.  I was glad to hear about MuseScore.  Ever since Finale started charging ~$10 to download Finale Notepad (a simple, previously-free version of Finale), I have been on-the-lookout for something else to recommend to my students.

Mac users are unfortunately out of luck, because MuseScore is currently only available for PC’s. [Correction: MuseScore IS indeed now available for Macs.  Sorry for the misinformation!] I breifly tried out this software on my husband’s PC, and it seems to be fairly user-friendly.  If you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to Finale or Sibelius, MuseScore is worth a look!

[Now that MuseScore is available for Macs, I plan to download it and blog more about it soon. Check back soon!]

Resources

Free Easy Piano Arrangements for Students

Joy Morin

Have you ever had a student who has a particular interest for learning familiar tunes?  The internet is becoming a wonderful resource for easy piano arrangements – which you can commonly download and print for free.  One site in particular that I have turned to frequently for my students is a site called G Music Theory by Gilbert DeBenedetti.  His arrangements were perfect for a student I once had who wanted to be able to play some of her favorite songs.  So I assigned a few of these “just for fun” pieces for her to learn on her own.  It was a big hit – she loved them. 

When you visit his site and click on Free Piano Music, you’ll find that he has a large amount of music sorted by difficulty (from Beginning to Intermediate) – including some duet music.  What a great resource for those adults or little ones who want to learn to play their favorite tunes! 

Be sure to check out the rest of the site – there are a number of music theory worksheets and other resources available as well.

Printables, Studio Business

3 Printables for Interviewing New Students

Joy Morin

Just added: THREE new printables on the Printables > Studio Business page:

  1. Beginner Student Interview Form
  2. Transfer Student Interview Form
  3. Student Information Form

These resources are useful for conducting student interviews at the first lesson with a new or transfer student.  The interview forms help evaluate the student’s musical aptitude and background, to help the teacher determine what level repertoire the student should be playing, as well as what technique exercises should be assigned.  The student information form is designed to gather basic contact information from the student — as well as some information from the parent regarding the child’s personality/learning style and musical background. Read on….

Continue reading “3 Printables for Interviewing New Students” →

Music Theory, Printables, Resources, Worksheets

New Worksheet: Intervals (unison-5th)

Joy Morin

Do you find yourself telling students how much easier it would be if they learned to recognize intervals on sight when they are sight-reading?  Here are two new free, printable worksheets, designed to help students who have difficulty distinguishing between different intervals on the staff.  The first one is for younger students who have just begun reading staff notation.  It teaches and quizzes the difference between unisons, 2nds, and 3rds.  The second worksheet is a little bit harder, adding 4ths and 5ths into the mix.  Enjoy!

  • Worksheet: Intervals Unison through 5th

This worksheet is designed to teach/quiz the student in identifying the intervals unison through 5th, in both treble and bass clefs.  The top line gives an example of each type of interval, and the rest of the page is dedicated to quizzing the student on identifying the interval.

To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Intervals Unison through 5th worksheet.”

  Intervals Unison-5th Worksheet (40.6 KiB, 20,343 hits)

See also:  New Worksheet: Intervals Unison-3rd

Music Theory, Printables, Resources, Worksheets

New Worksheet: Intervals (unison-3rd)

Joy Morin

Do you find yourself telling students how much easier it would be if they learned to recognize intervals on sight when they are sight-reading?  Here are two new free, printable worksheets, designed to help students who have difficulty distinguishing between different intervals on the staff.  The first one is for younger students who have just begun reading staff notation.  It teaches and quizzes the difference between unisons, 2nds, and 3rds.  The second worksheet is a little bit harder, adding 4ths and 5ths into the mix.  Enjoy!

  • Worksheet: Intervals Unison through 3rd

This worksheet is designed to teach/quiz the student in identifying the intervals unison through 3rd, in both treble and bass clefs.  The top line gives an example of each type of interval, and the rest of the page is dedicated to quizzing the student on identifying the interval.

 To download, visit the Printables > Worksheets page and scroll down to the I’s for “Intervals Unison-5th.”

  Intervals Unison-3rd Worksheet (39.0 KiB, 21,828 hits)

See also: New Worksheet: Intervals unison-5th