I have been teaching elementary music using an iPad for a year and a half. In that time, there are several apps that I regularly use in my class. I teach band, general music, and chorus, so feel free to pick and choose to meet your own needs. These are my most used music apps, in order of importance:
- Metronome Plus – $2 – keep band students at a steady tempo as they visually follow along with the beat
- Dropbox – free – quickly transfer files from computer to iPad without syncing
- Numbers – $10 – I transformed a spreadsheet into a seating chart for each class. When I take notes, they are linked to a sheet with every student.
- GarageBand – $5 – record, create loops, and mix your own songs
- Cat Piano Jr – free (paid version available) – pitched cat sounds that students love
- VidRhythm – free – You sing 4-6 notes, and VidRhytm creates an auto-tuned music video for you.
- Percussive – $2 (free version available) – variety of playable tuned percussion instruments (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, etc)
- iTrump – $3 – fingering charts for teaching trumpet
- iBone – $3 – fingering charts for teaching trombone
- Sax KEYS – $1 (iPhone app) – fingering charts for teaching saxophone
- Flute+ Lite – free (paid version available) – fingering charts for teaching flute
- Cleartune – $4 – accurate chromatic tuner
- Flashnote Derby – $1 – simple game to practice identifying notes on treble clef
- Rhyme Time – $1 – rhyming dictionary
- PracTime – $2 (iPhone app) – practice journal for students
- HolidayBells – $1 – playable pitched bells
