Music Education, History, and Appreciation on the Web

Most of the music you can find on the 'net is classical and folk, due to copyright restrictions. If you are seeking the music of contemporary artists, you will need to buy their CDs/tapes.

If your computer has a sound card and your browser has a midi player plug-in, you will be able to take full advantage of the following web sites for your homeschooled student's musical education.
Classical MIDI Archives - The most comprehensive site for classical music midi files - be sure to follow the rules on numbers of files you can download.
Classical Midi Connection - Very extensive collection of classical midi files. Part of MidiWorld. No stated limit on number of file downloads.
Laura's Midi Heaven - An extensive collection of midi files in a variety of styles. Includes folk, childrens, classical, holiday, and more. No stated limit on number of downloads.
Let's Make Music with Computers - Lesson plans and activities for creating music on computers. You will need to have some music composition software in order to take full advantage of all of the lessons on this site. [The web admin of this site uses Melody Assistant, which is shareware available from Myriad, but there are many other programs out there.]
Music Education at DataDragon
Strings in the Mountains' On-Line tribute to Mozart, "Moguls to Mozart" - "A Multimedia presentation of 'Mozart's Magical Life and Music'".

These sites are helpful even if you don't have a sound card on your computer:
American Memory from the Library of Congress - Collection Finder - Click on the Performing Arts link, and then select what you want to see from the list. There are image files of sheet music, some streaming audio, lots of photographs, and American music history.
Mudcat Cafe for Kids - Instructions for making your own low-cost instruments (parental help may be required for some of them) and lyrics to a variety of old folk songs.

If you know of a terrific site for listening to music or learning about music, let us know.

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