Seven schoolchildren face the front of a classroom, smiling.

Our Program

Music Workshop’s free classroom curriculum is available to all K-8 teachers via our online portal. Create an account, choose a course, and you’re ready to start teaching. The hardest part is choosing which topic to teach first!

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On-Demand Courses

Music Workshop programming comes in five categories: musical genres, instruments, music from cultures around the world, careers in music, and Soundwaves. Teachers can download everything they need to teach a course from the Music Workshop portal, and materials are customized for grade levels K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. These courses are designed to stand on their own or be grouped together. So, they can be taught in any order and are easy to incorporate into an existing curriculum.

Photo of a jukebox

Musical Genre Series

  • Jazz
  • Birth of Rock
  • Evolution of Rock
  • Expansion of Rock
  • Rhythm & Blues
  • Country
  • Pop
  • Classical
  • Musicals
Drum set

Instrument Series

  • Piano
  • Guitar
  • Voice
  • Instruments of the World
  • Percussion
  • Strings
  • Brass
  • Woodwinds
Person holding drumsticks over a pair of drums

Culture Series

  • Native American Traditional Music
  • Latin America, the Caribbean & Central America
  • South America
  • Traditional Music from Africa
  • Popular Music from Africa
  • Music from the Continent of Asia
Man holding a guitar while singing into a microphone.

Soundwaves Concerts

  • Thunderstorm Artis
  • Pink Martini
  • Portland Cello Project
  • Ron Artis II and the Truth
  • The Playing for Change Band
Female DJ at a party

Careers in Music

  • Careers in Music 1
  • Careers in Music 2

How it Works

Each Music Workshop course is around 50 minutes long and combines video, teacher-led question and answer sessions, an active listening exercise, and a movement activity. By integrating music learning with reading, physical activity, active listening, and critical thinking, we not only engage and connect students but also show them how music can play a significant role in their everyday lives.

Here’s a peek at how teaching a Music Workshop course looks in a grade 3-5 classroom.

Easy, Fun, and Engaging

Here’s what a few of our teachers say about using Music Workshop in their classrooms.

“They were so overjoyed to see musicals that were current and relevant! One student was so thrilled when he saw a musical that he had watched with his parents that he almost popped when asked about it! Great connections! This is an incredible and valuable resource at our school. Thank you for all of the hard work that you do! It makes an amazing difference!”

Cami, Creston Elementary

“A few students that normally don’t seem very interested in music were very eager to answer the questions and learn about classical music. The program provided differentiation in my classroom so all students could be reached through a new aspect of music.”

Nancy, Kelly Elementary School

“They LOVED this first course! The information presented was easy for them to understand and extremely engaging. Keeping it relevant and somewhat contemporary is key! I am so excited about using this program. I haven’t been this excited about supplements to my curriculum ever and this is my 29th year teaching! THANK YOU!”

Linda, OABCIG Elementary

A collage of three photos, including a mariachi band, a standing group of drummers, and conga players.

Relevant and Vetted Cultural Content

We partner with a diverse network of advisors to create well-rounded courses packed with all the resources educators need to bring music to their classroom in a respectful and culturally appropriate way. Our program advisors bring deep knowledge of the cultures and musical traditions represented in Music Workshop programming, as well as their own talents and lived experiences. They also help us continually update our programs over time to keep them relevant as cultural lenses evolve.

Meet our advisors.

Here’s a preview of our course on Latin American and Caribbean Music and musical traditions.

Soundwaves

Music Workshop presents Soundwaves. Connecting music and life.

Bring the concert experience into your classroom! Music Workshop’s youth concert series, Soundwaves, is now available alongside other free programming in our teacher portal. Students can experience concerts from artists like the Playing for Change Band and Ron Artis II, which include conversations with the musicians about the connection between music and life.

Learn More About Soundwaves
A group of school children sitting on the floor of a classroom holding up papers with writing and drawing about music.

Standards-Based  Education

Music Workshop courses are developed to align with national standards for music and humanities education and to promote cross-curricular learning for students in grades K-8. We provide documentation detailing how each course addresses standards requirements for music, social studies, and English language arts in each grade band.

Get Started

Let’s work together to inspire students to enrich their lives with music.

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