To Parents, Teachers and Lovers of Music Discovery:
CPR Classical has scoured Colorado's music education landscape, so that you and your child can easily access the many, awesome, virtual ways to stay engaged and Learn Music! Think of it as CPR Classical's online Music Education Lifeline. Whether you're looking to help your child (or children) explore the magic and power of music, build upon their skills and school music program, or learn a new instrument, you'll find resources right here from Colorado and beyond.
Search age-appropriate opportunities below for virtual and in-person learning (as safety restrictions allow) for the beginner through to the advanced student. Best of all, many online resources are free or have some free content. And many of those with fees have low cost or scholarship programs. ~ Explore and enjoy!
What are you looking for?
Learn with CPR Classical
Podcasts, articles and videos from CPR Classical.
Music movement videos, family classes, and music related activities.
Video learning, virtual and in-person music lessons, and self-paced courses.
Classical concerts in Colorado and online.
Single classes, workshops, auditions and music education events.
In-person and virtual lesson plans, activities, music ed. software and visiting musician school programs from groups like the Colorado Symphony.
Opportunities for youth who already play or sing to advance their musical skills.
Delve deeper into musical subjects with CPR Classical podcasts, articles and videos from the performance studio.
CPR Classical Spotify and YouTube playlists based on a composer or theme.
Music Fun For Kids
| Resource | Age Group | Details |
| Boulder Opera On Demand | ages 5+ | Videos: Puss in Boots (English), Gato con Botas (Spanish). Location: Boulder |
| Boulder Phil Storytime | all ages | Videos: Boulder Phil musicians and staff present a music-focused books. Selections in English and Spanish. |
| Carnegie Hall Resources for Families and Kids | age 0-11 | Videos: Music and dance, DIY activity guides |
| Chrome Music Lab | all ages | Very Interactive: Music computer games, tools to explore music and its connections to science, math, art, |
| Downtown Steamboat Springs Music Scavenger Hunt | ages 8-14 | In-person, smart phone needed; app based scavenger hunt from Strings Music Festival. Location: Steamboat Springs. |
| Lincoln Center #ConcertsForKids | ages 5+ | Signature YouTube Videos: Over 50+ curated entries |
| Little Swallows TV | ages 0-6 | Videos: Social emotional learning (SEL) themes and activities from Swallow Hill Music. Location: Denver. |
| Opera Colorado Storytime Sessions | ages 5+ | Videos: Performances introducing students to the world of opera. |
Learn to Play or Sing
| Resources | Age Group | Details |
| Avanti Music School | all ages | Virtual, in-person: Private and group music lessons. Location: Highlands Ranch. |
| Boulder Children's Chorale | grades K-9 | Virtual: 4 age-based choirs with optional private lessons and creation of virtual performance. Location: Boulder. 2021/22 registration open. |
| Carnegie Hall Resources for Families | grades K-12 | Virtual: Educational and concert videos |
| Center for Music Arts | all ages | In-person: Music classes for all ages. Location: Boulder. |
| Cleo Parker Robinson Creative Dance Class | ages 3-6 | In-person (outdoor): Rhythm and movement skills for young children. Location: Denver. Fall 2021 season open. |
| Cliburn Kids | grades K-6 | Virtual: Buddy Bray leads kids on 7-10 min video educational journeys, twice a week. |
| Colorado Children's Chorale | ages 7-14 | Virtual, in-person: For beginner to advanced singers. Fall auditions auditions and rehearsals follow social distancing guidelines outlined by the city. Location: Denver |
| Colorado Symphony Virtual Music Hour | grades 3-6 | Virtual: Archived concert audio, educational video, music walkthroughs and activities organized by composer. Location: Denver |
| The Dalcroze School of the Rockies | all ages | Virtual, in-person: Classes grouped by age for rhythm games, songs, gesture, and movement. Location: Denver |
| Distance Learning with Education Through Music | grades K-5 | Virtual: Educational and concert videos, DIY activity guides, music software. |
| El Sistema Colorado | grades preK-12 | Virtual, in person: Priority enrollment for Free & Reduced Lunch families. Tuition-free, daily music classes and instruments, beginner to advanced ensembles, currently teaching violin, viola, cello and bass (Spanish and English). Location: Denver. 2021/22 enrollment open now. |
| Kanopy | grades 8-12 | Virtual: Courses on learning piano, guitar and music history. Access this video service for free through your Colorado public library or University. Denver Public Library card needed. |
| Lincoln Center Pop-Up Classroom | K-12 | YouTube videos: Music, dance, and art videos. |
| Lynda.com | grades 8-12 | Virtual: Courses on learning music notation, various instruments and music recording software. All residents of Colorado can access this video service for free through with a Douglas County Library Card or Denver Library ID. |
| Music Together Online | youth-adults | Virtual: Whole family music classes with optional practice app. Music therapy classes appropriate for youth and adults. |
| Outside the Orchestra | all ages | Virtual or in-person: Activity databaseincludes music games and playlists from Inside the Orchestra. Location: Denver |
| Overdrive | all ages | Virtual: Available with many Colorado public library cards, including Denver and Douglas county. Check out ebooks, audio books, and videos on piano instruction or guitar instruction. |
| Parlando School of Musical Arts | all ages | Virtual: Group and private music classes, including play dates for kids. Location: Boulder. Now enrolling for Fall 2021. |
| Rocky Mountain PBS Learning Media | preK-adult | Virtual: Lesson plans, interactive webpages, and videos sortable by topic and age |
| Smithsonian Folkways Recordings | grades 5-12 | Virtual: Audio courses in guitar, accordion, mandolin, and fiddle as well as tonal & modal counterpoint, the instruments of the orchestra, the art of arranging, traditional harmony, and 12-tone composition. With a Denver Public Library Card, you can stream many of these albums for free using Alexander Street. Lesson plans available directly from Folkways Records. |
| Swallow Hill Music | all ages | Virtual: Private and group music classes. Location: Denver. Fall 2021 registration open now. |
| Visual Musical Minds | grades K-6 | Virtual: YouTube lessons for singing, ukulele, and recorder. |
| Young Voices of Colorado | ages 5-18 | Virtual or in-person: 5 choirs for beginner to advanced singers. Auditions and rehearsals follow state and local guidelines. Location: Englewood. |
Teaching Tools
| Resource | Age Group | Details |
| 8notes.com | all ages | Virtual: free sheet music and lessons. |
| Boulder Phil Discovery Program | grades K-12 | Virtual Discovery Concerts: Curriculum, interactive recorded performances by Boulder Phil musicians, virtual pop-in presentations for classes by Boulder Phil musicians. |
| Carnegie Hall Resources for Educators | grades K-12 | Virtual: Lesson plans, activities, teaching videos, and full concert videos for the Maestro of tomorrow. |
| Classics for Kids from Cincinatti Public Radio | grades 4-12 | Virtual: computer games, audio lessons, DIY activity guides and lesson plans about classical music. |
| Colorado Symphony's Canta y Baila Conmigo | grades K-12 | Virtual or in-person: 12 week bilingual music and movement program introducing Spanish language through the music traditions of Latin-American children songs. Location: Denver. |
| Colorado Symphony's Lift Every Voice Virtual Youth Concert | grades 3-12 | Virtual: Online and in-class curriculum, video, and activities for educators and parents. Location: Denver. Reservations for the 2021/22 season begin in September. |
| Colorado Symphony's MusiCurious Kids | grades K-3 | Curriculum: Music and mindfulness. Students examine ten International Baccalaureate Learner Profile Attributes through the lens of a composer who exemplifies one or more of these traits. Location: Denver. Registration open now for the Fall 2021 series. |
| Explorable Places | all ages | Virtual or in-person: Online directory of arts, culture and science programs in the Denver-Metro area. Find assemblies, field trips, workshops and PD training for all grade levels. |
| Music and the Brain At Home | grades K-12 | Virtual: Online keyboard lessons, teach support, videos, and activities. |
| Music Play Online | grades preK-6 | Virtual: Video lessons by grade level and online sheet music. Content in French and English. |
| NY Phil Learning@Home | grades 3-12 | Virtual: Lesson plans, digital learning resources, activities and videos |
| Opera Colorado Guidebooks | grades 3-12 | Curriculum: Detailed walkthroughs, activities, and listening links. Location: Denver. |
| San Diego Opera's Music and Science Curriculum | grades 6-12 | Curriculum: Lesson plans connecting singing with biology, physics, and physical science. |
| Save the Music's Directory of Music Ed. Resources | all ages | Virtual or in-person: Back-to-School resource guide for educators and parents. |
| SmartMusic | grades K-12 | Virtual: Interactive learning software for Mac, PC, iPad, or Chromebook. Tolls for teaching or practice at home. |
| Think 360 Arts: Sound Investigations | grade 3-6 | Virtual: Videos and lesson plans. Location: Denver. |
| VOCES8 Method | grades 5-adult | Curriculum: Videos and textbooks which encourage music making in a way that links music with literacy, numeracy and linguistics. |
| Young Composers Playground | grades K-6 | Curriculum: Videos, lesson plans and optional teaching visits from Playground Ensemble artists. Location: Denver. |
| Resource | Age Group | Details |
| Chet - Ear Training | grades K-12 | Virtual, Smart phone App: Interval and rhythm recognition for iPhones and iPads |
| Colorado Symphony Master Mentors | grades K-12 | Virtual or in-person: Visits from Colorado Symphony musician Teaching Artists. Location: Denver. Reservations for 2021/22 season begin in September. |
| Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestras | ‘school-age’ | Virtual or in-person: Four wind and strings ensembles. Placement by audition based on skill and age. Location: Denver. Now accepting auditions for the 2021/22 season. |
| Denver Young Artists Orchestra | ages 7-23 | In-person: Three orchestras. Placement by audition based on skill and age. Location: Denver. Fall 2021 auditions closed. |
| Ella - Sight Singing | grades K-12 | Virtual: Sightsinging app for iPhones and iPads |
| Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra | ages 6-21 | Virtual or in-person: Three orchestras and a wind ensemble, virtual music lab and masterclasses. Location: Boulder. Auditions due August 31 for 2021/22 season. |
| Monster Musician Reader | grades K-12 | Virtual: Music reading practice app for iPhones and iPads |
| Off the Hook Arts' Chamber Music Academy | grades 4-12 | In-person: For students who fluently read music and play a string instrument, piano or intermediate level and above woodwind player. Location: Fort Collins. Registration for Fall 2021 now open. |
Journey to Freedom: The Spirituals Radio Project
Classical music, and in fact American history is incomplete without understanding the story that spirituals tell. M. Roger Holland II explores the meaning and significance of these succinct, power-packed, extraordinary musical works, and how they speak to the current age. Holland is Teaching Assistant Professor of African American Music and Theology at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, and Director of DU’s Spirituals Project Choir.
Behind the Baton
What does a sunrise sound like? What does Mozart have to do with Motown? How did Elgar paint a portrait of his wife with music? Conductor Scott O’Neil uncovers the hidden stories of the great works every week from Behind the Baton. Listen to these stories on-demand or on the air.
The Music Room
On CPR Classical every weekday morning at 10:30 a.m. Karla Walker presents classical music around a theme like Autumn Leaves, the French Horn, Movie Scores, Legends and more! Tune-in to hear all the surprising and exciting connections that classical music can make.
Music Blocks
Hosted by Luis Antonio Perez and Rebekah Romberg, Music Blocks spans genres, cultures and eras to inspire listeners to explore music more deeply. A music appreciation podcast about the building blocks that make up your favorite sounds. Explore how songwriters and composers use sound to express their emotions and share their experiences.
Listen and Learn
Hear great music on CPR Classical by clicking "Listen Live" on this website. You can also hear CPR Classical at 88.1 FM in Denver, at radio signals around Colorado, or ask your smart speaker to “Play CPR Classical.”
Spotify and YouTube Playlists
- Classical Music For Kids Studying
- Calming Classical
- In Memoriam: Music for Martin Luther King Jr.
- William Grant Still @ 125
- Valentine's Day Favorites
- Women of Classical Music
- Jane Austen's Favorites
- Graduation Classics
- Perfect Classical Summer
- A Music Room Halloween!
- CPR Classical's Thanksgiving Dinner
- Christmas Cheer
- Shout for Joy! African American Spirituals and Music for Christmas
- French Impressionism
- 250 Minutes of Beethoven
- CPR ClassiCats: Classical Pieces For, About and by Cats
