The sound of music (2) - my apps

This is a collection of FREE APPS which can bring music to your life.

1. RELAX MELODIES HD - a great FREE app to help you relax and maybe go to sleep. You can customize your own relaxing music by selecting what sounds you want to include: rainy day, birds, piano, flute, ocean, river, thunder and so on. I've never used it in class but I guess it's possible to use it to set moods for writing for example. (iphones and androids)

https://itunes.apple.com/br/app/relax-melodies-hd-white-noise/id367506176?mt=8

2. SONGIFY - another FREE app for iphone or androids. Record yourself saying something and the app turns it into music. I've already used it in class to record my students reading sentences they had created themselves using a target structure and then played all recordings as a dictation. (iphones and androids)

Similar apps
- AUTORAP
- TALKAPELLA

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smule.songify

3. BAND OF THE DAY - free app which offers you songs from a new band every day. Great way of discovering new bands.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/band-of-the-day/id459664402?mt=8

4. MOODAGENT - choose your mood and the app selects a playlist for you. For iphones and androids.

http://www.moodagent.com/

5. MUSIXMATCH - I've always thought reading lyrics while singing is a great way to practice pronunciation. Well, this is a FREE app which can let you  follow the lyrics. Just love it! (iphone or android)

http://musixmatch.com/






TWO KARAOKE APPS

6. SING SING TOGETHER (FREE) -This a Karaoke for kids. Perfect for kids to sing in English in EFL classes.

http://www.famigo.com/app/sing-sing-together/

7. ANDROID KARAOKE SING ALONG - more than 1,000 most popular karaoke videos.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sadi


TOOLS TO IDENTIFY TUNES THAT HAVE STUCK TO YOUR MIND

8. SHAZAM - If you're listening to a song but want to know what it's called or who the singer is, just turn on the app and shazam the app gives you the answer. (Iphones and androids)

http://www.shazam.com/

9. MIDOMI - Many times you don't have the real song playing to identify it but only the tune that stuck to your head. The app allows you to sing or even only hum the tune and it identifies the song for you. Mashable says humming works better than singing. For iphones and androids.

http://www.midomi.com/
Similar app: SOUNDHOUND


AND YOU? Do you have music apps you enjoy using? Please, leave your contributions in the comment area, I'd love to learn about other apps.

The Sound of Music - my picks

The first post of 2013 will be devoted to one of my passions: Music.

These are some websites which I use for pleasure or in the classroom.

1. EVERYONE'S MIXTAPE- This one I discovered yesterday and absolutely loved it. It allows you to create a playlist from youtube videos and share it with others. The playlists are organized on cassette cases like in the old days and as the music plays you can see the reel rolling. Certainly a flashback moment. This was my first mixtape. http://everyonesmixtape.com/#/mix/DqI63PCJrmF/1

2. STEREO MOOD - choose a mood and see what songs the site suggests. I like using this one while getting the room ready before my students arrive.
http://www.stereomood.com/ 

3. YOUTUBE ALARM - choose a song from youtube, set the alarm time and you can wake up to the sound of your favorite song. I use this website very often in class to time activities, or to remind me of something important we need to do that day.  I also use it while surfing the web to keep me focussed and keep track of time.

http://www.youtubealarm.com/

4. LYRICS TRAINING - I couldn't leave this one out. It's a fantastic site anyone can use to have fun or for learning purposes. You listen to a song and have the chance to complete gaps with the missing words. Wonderful listening practice! If you have an IWB, try dividing your students into 2 groups and have a competition for completing a song. It's great fun!

http://www.lyricstraining.com/

5. MOOD STREAM - I have already posted about Mood Stream  here. What I like about it? Well, you select your mood and then apart from listening to snippets of songs you can see beautiful photos from Gettyimages in the background. I've already used it in class for picture description. An idea for classroom activity can be found here.
http://moodstream.gettyimages.com/

TUBEOKE - watch and sing

I have a very bad memory for lyrics but love singing. If you are like me, tubeoke is just great. You can watch the music clip and read the lyrics all in the  same screen.


HOW TO USE THIS SITE WITH STUDENTS?

• For warmer - have students choose a song they like and have them sing together while reading the lyrics.
• Use a song lyrics to highlight a grammar structure or to call attention to specific vocabulary.
• Or just have fun and sing, sing , sing.

If you want to find a song for a specific structure, try LYREACH, a site you can use to find songs by typing a sequence of words you expect to find in a song.

Another great site for practising with lyrics is http://www.lyricstraining.com/

FUN TIME- enjoying songs

Do you like having "a soundtrack" for everything you do? Well, I am truly  moved by music and this is a post dedicated to sites which can bring music to your life.

stereomood – emotional internet radio - music for my mood and activities via kwout 
1. Choose the mood you´re in and listen to a selection of songs related to that. I love listening to the ROMANTIC channel while working in my computer.

MoodTurn.com - Relax your mind. Enjoy ambient music to lift your mood. // Beach via kwout

2. You can select a beautiful THEME and BACKGROUND and listen to relaxing music.

Musicovery : interactive webRadio via kwout

3. Choose your MOOD or the type of music you want to listen to.

MOODSTREAM
4. Choose the mood or any of the preset themes and the site shows extracts of songs with beautiful images from getty images. Very Beautiful!

 BLIP.FM

5. Be a DJ. Create your own radio station so that other people can also listen to your selections. Many songs have a youtube video included. You can also integrate your blip channel with twitter.
My radio station http://blip.fm/anamariacult

My radio station - Blip.fm (again)

How can you create your own RADIO STATION?

Easy. Go to BLIP.FM , create your free account and start blipping. You can search songs by artist or track. Some blips have audio only and others include video clips from Youtube. It´s similar to facebook but with songs. You can create your own playlist, listen to what other people are listening, add friends and listen to their radio station too.


By clicking on the image, you´ll be taken to my radio station.

Music + Images - Moodstream

This is a wonderful site to enjoy by yourself or even use with your students. I came across the site this morning while browsing the wonderful "Whiteboard Blog" . In this post "11 Ideas for Music lessons on your IWB" dannynic suggests various sites we can use for class activities.

Below I'd like to share a short screencast of my first exploration with Moodstream.



How can we use this with students?

WARMERS

• Use moodstream in class while you organize the classroom and while sts get settled in class. If you have an IWB in class, the images will really attract their attention.
• Select a mood, play the selection for some minutes and ask sts to write freely what they think or feel at that moment. Sts then could share what they've written and see if they felt the same way.
• Divide class into Students A and B. Students A face the board (or TV), Sts B face sts A but have their backs to the board. Sts A describe the images they can see while sts B only listen. Then, swap pairs.

Experience MOODSTREAM yourself and enjoy.

Fun time : The VocaPeople

Enjoy their sound. No instruments used, just pure vocal chords, WONDERFUL vocal chords by the way!

Embedding SONGS to your site

http://songza.com is a simple, fun site where you select a song and have various possiblilities of sharing it:

• you can send it via e-mail to a friend as a gift.
• share it as a link in twitter
• embed it in your blog
  

This is a song I love from the "Moulin Rouge" musical.