Music - Such a Wonderful Thing

I've just had a look at the Incompetech website that has a range of royalty-free music.  I think music has a significant place in the classroom.  For example, in terms of teaching instruction, it can be used to create a mood about a topic or it can be used to calm/settle/relax very active children.  It can also be used to motivate, inspire, and focus kids.  I also think students can use music a lot more in their projects/presentations, in powerpoint, to add power to an argument, evoke emotion in a play scene, but also as a form of expression.  Students could also choose a piece of their favourite music and analyse the messages within them.  Most people like music of some form or another and it isn't hard to see how powerful it can be.

I am an advocate for music in the classroom as I think it can enhance our teaching and motivate kids to learn, but I don't believe music should be chosen randomly.  I am just not sure about copyright issues for other music (not royalty-free), or whether this is not an issue if it is being used for educational purposes. 

I had a look at this website that has a lot of information about how music promotes learning and how we can use it.   As a suggestion, if students are learning about ANZAC Day, why not have them listen to "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and have them analyse the lyrics for meaning.  Similarly, many modern songs can be used to spark discussion about political issues such as with Pink's "Dear Mr President" or about self-esteem such as with Christina Aguilera's "I am Beautiful".  Students would be more actively engaged if they were able to bring in meaningful song choices on their i-pods, then have them downloaded for others to listen and interpret the lyrics.  Personally, I think music is underutilised in classrooms and it just takes a little creativity to incorporate more of it.