Online Music Education Games

Posted on 25/01/2021 by TeenStar

Are you a teacher looking for methods to keep your children engaged with lessons? Perhaps you’re a parent wanting to encourage your child to play in a way that’s both fun and educational. Here’s our ultimate list of the best online music education games to get you started.

Online music education games serve as useful tools to enthuse children of all ages – from three right through to adulthood. Whether theory, rhythm, vocals or instrumentals, there’s an app or digital game to help them develop while having a blast.

Read on to find out which game is best suited to you, your student, or your child.

Online music education games

This year has brought the kinds of challenges to parents and teachers never seen before. But fortunately, app creators and tech startups have also been working hard to create products designed to make life easier.

If you’re tired of trying to persuade your child to do some study, or commit to learning music, then we might just have the answer. Online music games are fun, imaginative, and educational and can be easily accessible. The choice is huge, with games, activities, songs, videos and useful tools. And they’re a super way to move them away from combat video games that serve no educational purpose.

Is it possible to learn music online?

Yes! There are many options for learning online, including virtual lessons and music education games. Let’s start with the first of our online music education game suggestions:

A popular app is Tune Train , which teaches how to create melodies. Kids can learn the fundamental structure of music using this free app
For ages three to seven, Musical Me is a fun app which includes the basics of notes, rhythm and pitch
For kids who are already learning an instrument or who sing in a choir, Kids Ear Training introduces essential musical elements and help the student to identify those elements by ear
And for students of piano or keyboard, Piano Dust Buster will provide the motivation to practice

Music-making games online

You can explore the instruments of an orchestra, learn about performers, learn theory, investigate different styles of music, learn to play or sing, try composing, have vocal lessons and learn to read music using online games and websites.

Music Tech Teacher is a free site offering a big selection of online games and quizzes as well as worksheets and lessons
Virtual Drumming is a great free source to try a drum game and play virtual drums

Music memory games

Classics For Kids is dedicated to teaching classical music, offering games, quizzes, lessons and a weekly podcast.
Rocksmith is more suited to teens, a music video game which teaches you to play the guitar
Music Teachers Games uses games and quizzes to test student knowledge of notes, lines and spaces of treble and bass clef, ear training, guitar and more

Online music theory games

Many musicians are self-taught, although some prefer the help of a teacher. But online theory games can be interesting and fun while learning.

There are plenty of games online to choose from, including Channel Scramble , a game to identify the instrument that is loudest in the mix.

Can I teach myself music theory?

Yes. But this can be an especially dry topic to learn by yourself. So enlist the help of some interactive apps that’ll hold you – or their – interest.

To test your knowledge of music notation, expression and dynamics, Flash Terms is useful
In Band Match , you have to determine which instruments are playing together
Flash Notation serves to identify individual notes in standard music notation
Vocal Steps involves listening to a short melody and singing it back

music games for kids

Homeschooling and music lessons

There has never been a better time to harness technology for homeschooling. The internet is full of great games and fun activities. So don’t attempt to struggle alone. Kids love using the internet. And harnessing it for music lessons is an obvious way of including all it can offer when learning at home.

Most of the apps on our list are suitable for incorporating into homeschooling – just make sure you pick something appropriate for their age and level. Take a look at these as a starter for ten.

Music Memory is a fun way to improve perception and aural skills for pitch recognition
Orchestra Game from the Magic Flute uses music from the well known Mozart opera to teach about musical instruments. Cartoon animals appear on stage playing each instrument with entertaining graphics
Audiotool is an online music production studio suitable for teens. It includes a range of synthesizers including beatboxes and sample players. All these and more are available to help make brilliant activities and can be used to teach important aspects of music in an enjoyable way

Online music games for kids

Can games and education go hand in hand or is it best to have in-person tutoring? Well, music games can be interactive. This lets you learn while you play, in your own time, at your own pace wherever you are. There is no doubt that a good music teacher and one to one in-person lessons can be hugely important and inspirational.

But much research has been done into the advantages of games. And with learning and technology advancing at a rapid rate there will always be more exciting and innovative educational games. This will really help advance the development and knowledge of anyone with a keen interest and passion for music.

The ideal scenario is to run both alongside one another. By doing so, the student will learn and retain information much faster, while building an ear for sounds and tempo.

music theory games online

Music rhythm games online

A sense of rhythm is very important for a musician. Missing a note sounds bad for a moment but missing a rhythm can put you in the wrong place for the whole piece. Rhythm is an essential ingredient and a key element in music. Rhythm can be described as music’s pattern in time. And as you may expect, there are plenty of sites and apps dedicated to this particular element of music-making.

Drummers can use Flash Styles to learn to recognise drum patterns in various styles such as shuffles and ballads
For Rhythm Repeat , you listen to a melody, then tap with the rhythm. Whatever instrument, style or age of the learner there are plenty of online theory training games

What online games are useful for learning and practising rhythm?

Bemuse is a web-based game using 40 songs from various genres. You can compete for the highest score if you play with friends
For piano players, Melobeat is a piano and MP3 rhythm game. Even if you’re not a piano player but you like playing rhythm games, an app such as Pianista has a great variety of songs to try out
Dynamix is a music beat game with easy controls that matches up taps with the music
Beat Smith is an air-drumming virtual reality game for Android. Bongo Cat is a downloadable game for Windows, featuring a cat that plays various musical instruments, a cute meme game which receives good reviews. These are only a few examples of the many games that help to learn and understand the importance of rhythm
For very young children, Train Tapping is a rhythm activity all about trains. Whereas, Sound Hunt is like a scavenger hunt with sounds

Online music lessons for students

Online music lessons can provide an audiovisual experience similar to an in-person class. They can complement the use of online games really well. Plus there is the convenience of learning from home and fitting in with individual time schedules. This is ideal if you can’t get to an in-person lesson – something that has been a major issue over the last year or so.

There is a wealth of information and help online for music students. Skillshare has tutorials covering a wide variety of topics including theory, songwriting , audio engineering and recording. The BBC Learning homepage has links to resources and courses for all subjects and genres, for vocalists, guitarists, choirs, orchestras, and covers music history, reading music and much more. Singforce online sessions teach songs and moves. Your Space lessons are delivered by music teachers using Skype and Zoom. MusicMonde is a free app which matches up students and teachers for online lessons.

Online games for singers

Theta Music Trainer provides singing games which will strengthen the ability of vocalists, such as Pitch Training for Singers
Pitch training games will help develop an accurate sense of pitch and singing in tune, whether alone or in choirs. These include Vocal Match , for harmony singing, tuning and pitch and Vocal Degrees for scale singing. Musicians need to distinguish differences in pitch and notice when someone is singing or playing out of tune
Dango Brothers is a game that helps to sharpen the ear for tuning and pitch
Speed Pitch and Tone Drops also aid the skill of recognising tones within a given key
The Full Voice has free resources for effective vocal activities such as diction, expression and sight-reading. There are many apps which give an introduction to the art of singing and explain vocal warm-ups and techniques

Online music games for all levels and ages

And it’s certainly not just for kids. Adults will really benefit from a more dynamic learning tool as well. From the simplest level for beginners to the most advanced, there are online music games for everyone.

For students interested in composing, Song Maker enables you to create a song by adding notes to the game
Melody Maker is another one that allows you to create your own melody and play it
With Music Machine you compose music using a virtual guitar, piano and drums
Guitar Machine lets you make music with a virtual guitar

It’s important to understand music vocabulary and Musical Elements Matching helps lo learn vocabulary through recognition and practical demonstrations.

Instrument Storage Room teaches about different instruments. Notation improves knowledge of musical notation in a fun way

Crazy Games has a long list of free games, such as Princess Music Stage, Song Trivia, Rocking World Tour Fashion, Beat Dropper, Perfect Piano and Neon Unicorn Concert

Red Tricycle has great games for kids such as Balloon Bounce , similar to musical chairs, which encourages kids to listen to music and move to it. Shake and Move is a follow my leader style game

Benefits of learning music online

By using online games and apps kids can learn at their own pace. They get to choose the games they prefer and it can save money as there are so many free apps. Even young children are familiar with the internet and there are so many options for learning, whether it’s to play an instrument, read music, learn theory, voice, composition or just for fun. There are plenty of benefits and advantages, such as learning from home and not having to travel to lessons, choosing new, exciting music education games and finding a suitable level for each student.

There are plenty of training modules, and community forums to share ideas and content. While being educational, online music games feel like fun and less pressured than some formal lessons. Some online games and quizzes can be played with friends. This is great for those of a competitive nature and they’re very motivational.

How will you move your music learning journey forward? Hopefully, some of the sites and apps we’ve listed will prove useful for you. It can be a case of personal preference, so if you don’t like one, do try out another. You can also use a few different ones to cover the various elements of music. Happy playing!