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.

Countdown to 2024: 10 Elementary Music Activities for a First Day Back to School #10

December 23, 2023  /  Amy M. Burns

#10 First Day of School Rhythm Play-Along

Looking for a fun and interactive way to get your students to play music together? This simple, generic play-along video can be used at the beginning of a new calendar year, school year, or quarter. It's designed for elementary students between the ages of 5-9 and uses classroom percussion instruments. Use it on the first day of class to build an entertaining and cohesive group dynamic.

Auld Lang Syne

The rhythms covered are quarter notes (crotchets), eighth notes (quavers), and dotted quarter notes followed by the eighth note. The recording is a mashup of Yo-Yo Ma (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA9osfZu0jc) and Learning Guitar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhDAzEg1wU4). The materials used to create the video were Katie Wardrobe’s Midnight Music’s Big Free Music Notation Library (https://midnightmusic.pages.ontraport.net/ultimate-guide?source=popup) and Canva for Education program (https://www.canva.com/education/).

Teaching Manipulatives

Get your hands on these manipulatives which contain the following:

  • Yo-Yo Ma's original video

  • Interesting facts about Yo-Yo Ma

  • A link to the source of the facts so students can learn more about him

  • The Leading Guitar YouTube channel video with the accompaniment track as a resource

  • Rhythm patterns featured in the play-along video

  • The play-along video.

This tool can be used for teaching rhythm notation or evaluating reading skills. It is particularly useful when working with very young children, as it can be used for rote learning purposes.

Countdown to 2024:10 Elementary Music Activities for a first day back to school

It's that time of year again – my annual countdown to the New Year! To kick off a new year, I'm sharing ten fun-filled elementary music activities for the first day back to school. Whether you're returning from a holiday break or beginning a new school year, these activities are perfect for any month. Be sure to check back daily, hit the like button, subscribe, or bookmark this page for later updates as we count down to the New Year!

Come back tomorrow for #9!

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