This post may contain affiliate links. You pay the same and I get a small commission. Yay! (Please see my/our full disclosure for further information.)
I’ve been there. You sit down to lesson plan and it takes forever. Or you need a song or an activity to fit a class and you just can’t find one. Not only is it annoying, but it’s also time consuming! So… Where can you find free music lessons? I’m talking totally free and available and ready to use?
The good news? There are a few places! The websites below all include ready to go free music lessons you can use in your elementary music class.
Free Elementary Music Lessons
Becca’s Music Room – Free Resource Library
First off? My website. Because you’re already here.
Hi, I’m Becca, an elementary music teacher and sharer of all the things music education.
I keep a free resource library full of activities tha you can do with your elementary music students. This includes slides, posters, printables, centers, and more.
My personal favorites?
- Snowball composition: Who doesn’t love throwing things? And making it into solfège or treble clef composition? Sign me up!
- Frog Song slides: These Google slides include 4 of my favorite songs about frogs that your students will be obsessed with! There’s also videos and sheet music. You’re welcome.
- Rhythm composition: Turkey and flower composition are both included for free, where you can add rhythms to create measures! These are super cute, make great crafts or centers, and will keep your kids busy.
- Kookaburra: Kookaburra is my FAVORITE song for the older kids, and these slides will help you teach it! It also includes Kookaburra 4 corners, which your students will beg you to play from now on. I’m not sure if I should say sorry or you’re welcome.
To join the free resource library, all you need to do it click here. You’ll enter your email, and I’ll send you the password.
After you’ve join, you can access two ways:
- Click the link in my emails
- Click the tab at the top of this website (I recommend bookmarking it) that says FREE RESOURCE LIBARY. Then, enter the password I sent you. Click on whatever you want to use! And check back– I add things periodically. (Note: Everyone has the same password, and it’s in the emails)
Beth’s Music Notes
If you’re looking for folk songs, this is the place to go. Beth keeps her website full of folk songs and singing games, and many of them have options for what to do with them.
I especially love how she has it organized so you can search by concept, holiday, country, theme, etc. I aspire to have my website that organizaed one day.
Free Elementary Music Lessons on Youtube
Yes, youtube has tons of music lessons, but I especially love the rhythm play alongs that people make. These are such an easy way to practicing reading rhythm and playing instruments, and they are so much more fun than using rhythm cards!
Here’s a few of my favorite creators:
Teachers Pay Teachers
Also known as TPT, this is a place where teachers post free and paid lessons ideas.
Although some are available for purchase (and usually worth every penny!), many things are available for free.
I suggest searching whatever it is you need to teach (quarter rest) and then using the filter to filter for free.
I also have a store on TPT, and it includes freebies! Click here to check out some freebies in my store.
OAKE
The Kodaly association has a huge library of lessons that you can look though. There are usually links to other websites you may not have found on your own. I love that they are organized by type and by level, so you can find different activities depending on your needs.
Note: I haven’t looked through everything, so it is possible some are paid, but the ones I looked at are not.
Songs from Holy Names University
If youre looking for folk songs and singing games, you can check the kodaly database at the holy names university for more ideas. You can search by concept.s It includes a lot of the typical Kodaly pieces along with dances or games if there is one.
Music Teacher Blogs
And, of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that there are blogs where people post lesson ideas– just like this one. I have hundreds of lesson ideas including songs, games, centers, and activities, not to mention that I also have professional development like classroom management and other things. If you need something, use the search bar on the right or on the bottom to look for what you need.
Here’s the link to my blog posts.
But I don’t have everything, and there are other people who have lesson ideas too!
Here’s a few of my favorite blogs when I get stuck:
- Make Moments Matter: https://makemomentsmatter.org/
- Music Teacher Coffee Talk: https://www.musicteachercoffeetalkpodcast.com/
- Anacrusic podcast: https://annemileski.com/
- Aileen’s Music Room: https://aileensmusicroom.com/
These music teachers also have social media (I think I follow everyone on Instagram) so you can check there too! I didn’t add it as it’s own because the ideas end up coming randomly– you can’t search for what you need like you can on the resources above.
Free-ish Music Lessons
These resources I’m categorizing as “free-ish”, because they are included in your subscriptions to the sites, however, you might be subscribing to them anyway. My district, for example, requires all of us to join NAFME. So if you already have them, then they come with ideas!
NAFME
Chances are, you are a member of NAFME, and if so you can get ideas there! I still get the magazine ailed to me (because I live in the 1800s), but you can use their website to view the online magazine, webinars, and more.
I’m qualifying this under free-ish, because most music teahcers are already members, but you do need to be a member to access.
Orff Association
On the same vein, The Orff association has tons of lessons and ideas– but only for members. If you’re already a member or thinking about it, it would be great! They have many videos where you can see lessons in action, which I think is the most helpful.
https://aosa.org/about/what-is-orff-schulwerk
Your district
One final note: See if your district has something available. They may have a curriculum, and online portal, or even some books laying around somewhere. It may or may not help, but there’s no harm in asking. Reach out to your supervisor or other music teachers near you and see what they have that could help!
Alright, theres a few free and free-ish places to get your elementary music lessons.
Don’t forget to join the free resource library to get access to all the fun things in my elementary music library.
Happy teaching!
Becca
