OUR METHOD
Whether you’re a teacher, at-home learner, or parent, we know you want the best music education experience. That’s why Practicing Musician’s Fundamentals of Music Mastery Concert Band and Strings methods follow the simple but effective teach, practice, track, and assess approach.
We developed the scope and sequence of each method in collaboration with leading music education experts – Chairs and members of the teams that researched, developed, and piloted the National Core Arts Standards and Model Cornerstone Assessments for Music and Chairs of NAfME Councils and Groups. Then, our team of specialized instrument instructors created a library of over 3,500 video tutorials, sheet music, assignments, and assessments tailored to each of the 15 primary band and orchestra instruments. Finally, all educators can participate in our ongoing peer-review process to continually refine the quality of our method.
The result is teaching tools you can trust, structured guidance to make at-home practice productive, and the ability to personalize and track student progress and facilitate mastery learning – all on one platform.
TEACH
For teachers, our video tutorials enhance classroom learning and increase student engagement. You can assign personalized 1-3 minute tutorials on each student’s instrument, and every exercise and song is arranged for ensembles to play together in class. For at-home learners and homeschoolers, our tutorials provide high-quality instruction on the instrument of your choice in the comfort of your home that allows you to play with your friends and family on day one – even if you are all picking up an instrument for the first time!
PRACTICE
PM is the ultimate practicing tool for your students. Depending on their skill level, you can guide students to practice instrument care and maintenance, observe and practice instrument-specific techniques, follow step-by-step music theory modules, and play song libraries to keep them entertained along the way.
Students mirror the instrument-specific techniques modeled in our video tutorials as often as they need in order to master each one. Theory concepts are explained in simple terms with on-screen visual reinforcement. Then, exercises, songs, and assignments allow students to practice the technique or concept they just learned. It’s almost like students have a private instructor at the comfort of their own home and on their own time! You can also use our video tutorials as a teaching aid in class so all instrument sections can learn and practice new concepts at the same time while you provide real-time feedback.
TRACK
You can easily track and hold students accountable for their progress with our learning management system (LMS). PM’s age-appropriate practice logs were adapted from the Model Cornerstone Assessments (MCAs). Our video tutorial reflection assignments were designed by team members that wrote the MCAs, so students can self-reflect while they learn and practice at home. And as with our content, you can use the LMS completely free of charge, forever.
ASSESS
Dr. Frederick Burrack, who led the teams that developed the Model Cornerstone Assessments for Music, reformatted the MCAs for integration into Practicing Musician’s platform. Currently, Dr. Burrack is Practicing Musician’s Chief Education Officer.
COMPARE
See how Practicing Musician compares to other leading Ed Tech resources!
DESIGNED BY K-12 MUSIC EDUCATORS
SIMILAR SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
AS METHOD BOOKS
ONGOING PEER REVIEW AND
REFINEMENT OF CONTENT
STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO TUTORIALS
SHEET MUSIC AND PROGRESS TRACKING
GROWING LIBRARY OF
K-12 EDUCATOR CREATED CONTENT
ACCESS ON ANY DEVICE WITH INTERNET
DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
FOR OFFLINE LEARNING
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
FREE TRAINING AND SUPPORT
THROUGHOUT SCHOOL YEAR
Practicing Musician
FREE
For K-12 music programs, forever!
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Other K-12 Music EdTech
$2-$20
Per student, per year
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Sometimes
Sometimes
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