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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keys and Scales are Sets

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Music theory lessons can be very tricky for some people. Children with a basic understanding of musical concepts take on the task of transposing music and identifying scale sets. This would be a good topic to address prior to discussing...
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Website
Other

Alien Travel Guide: Elements of Music the Basics

For Students 3rd - 8th
Fine site created for Canadian schools devoted to basic elements of music, including pitch, acoustics, time signatures, keys, and rhythm.
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Activity
OpenStax

Open Stax: Catherine Schmidt Jones: Key Signature

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about key signatures with this well written tutorial. You can test what you have learned near the bottom of the page with a key signature problem. The solution is available with just a click of the mouse.
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Interactive
Music Theory

Music theory.net: Steps and Accidentals

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides an explanation of half steps, whole steps, flats, and sharps. Illustrated examples accompany these definitions.
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Interactive
Music Theory

Music theory.net: Key Signature Calculation

For Students 9th - 10th
An explanation of key signature calculation for advanced music students. Discusses the use of sharps and flats in music composition, with illustrated examples. (You may need to download Flash player to view this site.)
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Website
Other

Dr. Brian Blood: Music Theory and History Online

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhaustive resource with everything concerning music theory. From ear training to music history, this site covers it all.
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Unit Plan
Other

Tone Savvy

For Students 9th - 10th
You will find many free games that will help you develop your music theory knowledge. Learn rhythmic dictation, key signatures and intervals as well as several other topics concerning music theory.
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Article
Other

Theory on Tap: The Circle of Fifth

For Students 9th - 10th
A nice site that breaks down into three sections: "what is the circle of fifths", "finding key signatures" and "guitar tuning and the circle of fifths."
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Interactive
Music Theory

Music theory.net: Key Trainer

For Students 9th - 10th
A terrific tool for music teachers and students! Test students' knowledge of key signatures with this online quiz. Click "toggle" to check answers along the way, or click "setting" to customize the quiz.
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Interactive
Quia

Quia: Musical Elements

For Students 3rd - 5th
A great matching game to reinforce music vocabulary and an understanding of the elements of music.
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Article
OpenStax

Open Stax: Catherine Schmidt Jones: The Circle of Fifths

For Students 9th - 10th
A way of organizing the various key signatures, the circle of fifths is a good tool to help visualize the relationships of the different keys. This tutorial includes several self checking quizzes to test your knowledge.
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eBook
Other

Ruby Cliff Computing: Elements of Music Notation

For Students 9th - 10th
Fine site that focuses on music notation and on learning how to read it with a focus on the guitar. Includes charts, tips, and other useful information.
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Handout
Toby Rush

Music Theory: Circle of Fifths [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A music theory worksheet regarding the circle of fifths.
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Handout
Toby Rush

Music Theory: Key Signatures [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A music theory worksheet regarding key signatures. Requires Adobe Reader [PDF].
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Article
Other

Music Theory First Aid for Struggling Students

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides music theory information on such topics as rhythm, intervals, scales, chords, etc. Also, there is a fine section which describes the basic concepts of form and structure.
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Website
Music Theory

Music theory.net

For Students 9th - 10th
An online beginning music theory and ear training site. This site is for students to use at home to reinforce what they learn in class.
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Handout
Other

Teoria: Key Signatures

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Teoria's Books offers a short, easy to read article on Key Signatures. An interactive keyboard makes the learning more fun.