Music is something that can connect people, no matter where you live, what language you speak, or how old you are.
This week, we’re going to discuss all aspects of music — what we like, what we don’t like, how we use music and using music legally.
Reminders
Here are a few important reminders:
- The Google Forms for weeks 1-3 are now closed. You can still submit posts in the Google Forms for weeks 4 and 5 if you’re catching up.
- Very important — Please keep approving comments quickly. Some teachers are telling us that their students left comments weeks ago that have still not been approved. Try to write a reply to your comments, even if you only have time for a short thank you.
- Very important — Remember if you’re adding Google Doc/Form/Slide presentations in your post, please check these are public so others can see them. You’ll find the instructions here.
- I’ve been visiting lots of blogs that don’t have an About page. This is so important. It doesn’t have to be long but please tell your visitors who you are and where you’re from (pen names are fine and you don’t have to be too specific with your location but at least include your country). Revise the steps to creating an About page in our week one post.
- To become a better blogger, before you publish consider: have I proofread? Is my text broken up in short paragraphs (bullet points can be good too)? Do I have an image?
- Commenting team leader Sue Wyatt/Miss W is now back from her holiday. Thank you to Sheri Edwards for her help. We look forward to seeing some of Miss W’s photos in the coming weeks.
Let’s Look At Music
What sort of music do you like?
- Pop?
- Rock?
- Classical?
- Country?
- Alternative?
- Jazz?
- Dance?
- Hip hop or rap?
There are so many different types of music enjoyed around the world.
As Greek Philosopher Plato apparently said,
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.
Music and the Law
Remember back in week 3 we discussed how you can’t just use any image that you find online? Well, the same applies for music.
Most music is protected by copyright. So you can’t use it for your own digital projects without permission or paying for a special license.
Listening to music
Not so long ago, when people wanted to listen to their favourite song, they had to wait until it came on the radio or buy the CD/cassette/record.
Now there are choices but it’s important to know what you can and can’t do with music.
Using music in projects
Normally, you can’t just use any music you like in something you’re creating — like a video.
However, in most countries, you are allowed to copy music to add to a video if:
a) it’s for educational purposes and
b) you’re not sharing your video publicly (or selling it!)
So, if you have a public blog, you aren’t allowed to put a video on there that you made with copyright music. And you couldn’t show your video at a public event. However, it’s okay if you’re just showing the video to your teachers and parents.
Hopefully you do want to share your work with a public audience. That’s what this challenge is all about! Don’t worry. You can still use music. I’ll share some options below.
Note: This is the case in Australia and the US but if you live in another country you may need to check your own guidelines.
Paying for music
There are popular sites and apps where you can pay to download music legally — for example, Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Spotify.
You can listen to your downloaded music yourself, but can’t upload it to your blog or to a video or other project you’re working on.
You also can’t use it publicly (e.g. at a school event, store, or public event).
Streaming music
It’s fine to stream music online on sites like YouTube (although remember, YouTube is 13+) but it’s not usually legal to download the audio from a YouTube video as explained in this article.
Also, streaming music in this way is meant for personal use — not for a public broadcast. As Spotify says,
…it’s not possible to use Spotify in public places (such as bars, restaurants, stores, schools, etc.). You may only make personal, non-commercial, entertainment use of the content.
Most streaming services are similar.
Embedding music
Embedding a video from a site like YouTube or Vimeo into your blog is usually allowed.
As Richard Byrne says,
If the host provides an embed and you embed it using their code according to their rules (usually that means not trying to hide branding), you can embed it without violating copyright.
CDs or digital music?
You can also listen to music by buying a CD or borrowing one from the library. Although digital music is becoming a lot more popular than CDs in many parts of the world.
Again, you can’t copy the music from a CD and use it for another project (e.g. upload it to your blog or add it to a public video).
Confused? Here’s a summary of the do’s and don’ts you need to remember
Remember, I’m no legal expert and things are different in different countries so please contact me if you have any extra information. We can all learn together!
Where to find music and clips that you are allowed to use
Just like with images, there are options for students and teachers who need music or sound clips for a video, slideshow, or other digital project they’re working on.
Let’s take a look at three …
Dig CC Mixter
Dig CC Mixter offers thousands of hours of free music.
The music on this site has different Creative Commons licenses so you need to check whether you need to attribute the music or not (attribute means saying who made the music and where it’s from etc).
Educational Blogger Richard Byrne’s video below explains how to use Dig CC Mixter and filter by license.
BBC Sound Effects
During 2018, the BBC made over 16,000 sound effects available to use for personal, educational, or research purposes.
You can browse by category to find the sort of sound effect you’re after for your project.
You should put a link in your project or blog post to say that your sound effects were from the BBC and link to their site.
Here is an example of a sound clip. This is the sound of the surf at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.
Audio Player