Amazing Online Music Resources for the Entire Family
Staying inside has put many of our kids activities on hold, including organized sports, theater and music lessons. If you want to put this time to good use, there are lots of music resources that are offering free or inexpensive ways to stay connected to the universal language. From instrument lessons, Broadway shows and nightly opera, keep scrolling to find easy ways to keep your kids laughing, singing and making their own music.
Music Together Online
Music Together Worldwide has gone virtual! The new program, Music Together Online, is bringing their music and movement classes to homes through many of their independently owned and operated centers. Spring and summer classes are now available and will offer interactive and play-based experiences for the entire fam.
Fiesta with Flor
Children's singer and puppeteer Flor Bromley is sharing "Fiesta with Flor." The Spanish musical programs are perfect for preschool and kindergarten age children and are live-streamed every Monday and Friday at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Flor's Facebook page. Every week, kids will get to meet a unique puppet character and learn new songs, finger play, make music, dance and hear stories.
Lessonface
Mini musicians can take advantage of all that practice time by heading to Lessonface, a digital platform for live music lessons. The program uses with highly qualified music teachers and professional musicians to teach children of all ages, with lessons based on level, price range and date and time availability.
Sirius Radio: Tunetopia
Tune into "Tunetopia," a new daily series of performances featuring kids' musicians and artists from Kids Place Live. All audio and video can be found on the SiriusXM app on Kids Place Live (ch. 78) and is available to subscribers nationwide. Additionally, anyone can listen as part of SiriusXM's new free streaming access period from now through May 15. For more info head to SiriusXM.com/streamfree.
NY Phil Plays On
Enjoy the sounds of classical music with the New York Philharmonic on NY Phil Plays On, a portal for free digital content. Currently, the platform hosts over 150+ hours of performance footage and will grow over time as well.
Stingray
Leading tech, media and music company Stingray is giving one-month access to free content in three of its apps: Stingray Karaoke, Stingray Qello, and Stingray Classica. Users can get access to 50,000+ songs from today and decades past, Disney faves, pre-made party mixes, full-length concert films and music documetaries, orchestral performances, ballets and operas with high-quality audio and visuals.
Stingray Karaoke can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play with unlimited access to the entire song catalog. Stingray Qello can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play, Amazon and the Roku Store, and it is also available directly at Quello. Stingray Classica is available for one month by visiting Stingray and entering the gift code freeview. All free media is available until Apr. 18.
Laurie Berkner Band
Children's musician Laurie Berkner is hosting live "Berkner Break" concerts from her home to help kids and parents get moving, play and learn together. Join her on her Facebook page most weekdays up at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and also check out her YouTube page for a free "50+ Minute Educational Videos" compilation!
Pinna
Pinna is offering a free 60-day trial (30 additional days from the regular period!) for kids and parents to get access to music, podcast and audiobooks. Pinna is the only ad-free, screen-free audio service just for kids! To activate, go to www.pinna.fm and use promo code: PINNA4KIDS at signup.
School of Rock
School of Rock has announced that it's 40,000 students now have access to virtual, one-on-one music lessons through its remote program. Kids can use video conferencing during their regularly scheduled lesson times so they don't miss out on practice and learning with skilled music instructors.
Metropolitan Opera Nightly Met Opera Streams
“Nightly Met Opera Streams” are available now, start at 7:30pm EDT nightly and will remain available via the homepage for 20 hours. The homepage link will open the performance on the Met Opera on Demand streaming service, where it willl also be viewable on all Met Opera on Demand apps. This is a great way to expose littles to opera!
Broadway HD
BroadwayHD, a theater streaming service, is now offering a seven-day free trial as more and more people are finding themselves stuck at home. Normally the service costs $8.99 per month, but right now Broadway HD is offering a free 7 day trial in the wake of the coronavirus closures! High definition cameras capture the performances in front of a live audience. With a catalog of over 270 shows from Broadway classics to Shakespeare, there is bound to be something for everyone.
songs for seeds
New York-based play space, songs for seeds, is headed online! Every day they will be sharing new songs for seeds video and ideas for other activities on their site to inspire a little joy in your day.
Jam with Charity Kahn
Bay Area families know that a jam session with Charity Kahn of Charity and the JAMband is just what you need to get through trying times. She's offering online classes for families and we cannot wait to bring Jamboodas, Jamercize and Family Meditation into our homes! You can also listen to her music any time via online streaming services like Spotify.
Please thank Charity for this wonderful gift she is sharing with our community by supporting her with a donation via paypal or Venmo when you attend her virtual classes.
Schedule:
Jamboodas: Mon., Wed. and Fri. at 10 a.m. via Zoom (register online)
Jamercize Family Dance Party: Wed. at 5 p.m. (via Facebook live)
Meditation Gathering: Mon., Wed. and Fri. at 8:30 a.m. via Zoom (register online)
Online: jamjamjam.com
Virtual Music Time with Megan
If you've ever been to a Music Time with Megan class, you know how much fun it can be for kids to sing, dance and move their bodies to the beat. This Marin mama is offering live and interactive concerts for families via Facebook and youtube. Rock out in your living room and join in the fun!
Please thank Megan for this wonderful gift she is sharing with our community by supporting her with a donation via paypal or Venmo when you attend her virtual classes.
Daily classes: 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Facebook: facebook.com
Youtube: youtube.com
Amazon Music
Amazon Music is now available for free! Enjoy thousands of ad-supported playlists and radio stations with no credit card required. Enjoy on nearly any device, including tablets, phones and Alexa-enabled products.
Free Online Guitar and Ukulele Classes
Fender is offering free online ukulele and guitar lessons to 100,000 people.
The offer is good for the first 100,000 people who sign up for Fender Play and includes three months of free virtual lessons. Just enter the code to redeem the offer. It will expire after 100,000 redemptions are claimed or by Apr. 20, 2020, whichever comes first, and it’s only available to new subscribers to Play.
––Karly Wood & Jennifer Swartvagher
Featured photo: iStock
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