Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from OUP and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

Looking for my YouTube Channel, or the manipulatives for my Play-Along Videos, click on the social feed buttons below!

TMEA Recap: Respect Play-Along Video

February 16, 2025  /  Amy M. Burns

✨ Calling all elementary music teachers! 🎶🎵

This past week, the Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Conference (ti-me.org) and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Conference (tmea.org) were packed with incredible sessions and inspiring presenters! If you love bringing fun and engaging lessons into your music classroom, you would have loved what was shared!

I had the joy of presenting on how to create interactive play-along videos using free tools—a great way to keep students engaged! Plus, I showcased MusicFirst Elementary Powered by Charanga (musicfirstelementary.com), an amazing, fully spiraled K-5 music curriculum with seven creative tools that make teaching more intuitive and exciting.

With resources for recorders, Boomwhackers, ukuleles, composition, Kodály, Orff, band, orchestra, and even digital music tools like DAWs with movie scoring capabilities, this curriculum truly has something for every young musician! 🎼🎸🥁

If you’re looking for fresh ways to infuse technology into your music lessons, this is a must-see! What tech tools do you love using in your classroom? Drop a comment below! ⬇️🎤✨

In my recent session TI:ME/TMEA about how to create play-along videos with free tools, I created a play-along video to Aretha Franklin’s Respect, written by Otis Redding. This is a great video to include in a study of Aretha Franklin, or showcasing women musicians, or studying influential songs from the 1960s.

Manipulatives

Check out my https://buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech/extras to grab the free manipulatives to help teach the rhythm patterns and play-along video.

Coming Soon


Comment

©2025 amymburns.com

Any info, student examples, pictures, graphics, etc, may be used with permission. Please contact me personally before using any info, student examples, pictures, graphics, etc.