Open Educational Resources

Open educational resources are course materials that anyone can freely retain, revise, remix, reuse and redistribute.

The following lists include examples of OERs for subjects taught at the University. They are by no means comprehensive.

You can also search the suggested platforms listed throughout this guide or contact the Library's Learning Support team for help.

Textbooks

An introduction to technical theatre
Text providing a comprehensive overview of technical theatre, including terminology and general practices. Its modular format is intented to assist teachers approach the subject at their own pace and structure. CC BY-NC (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial) license.
Music: its language, history, and culture
Short introductory text introducing readers to works representative of a variety of music traditions. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license.
Music on the move
Book with an innovative multimodal approach which invites readers to listen and engage with different types of music as they read. The text introduces a variety of concepts related to music's travels -- with or without its makers -- including colonialism, migration, diaspora, mediation, propaganda, copyright, and hybridity. CC BY-NC (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial) license
Open Music Theory, version 2
Interactive textbook for college level music theory courses. Instructor community available to join on the Humanities Commons for access to further resources and discussion board. CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike) license.
Resonances: engaging music in its cultural context
Book offers a fresh curriculum for the college-level music appreciation course. Musical examples are drawn from classical, popular, and folk traditions from around the globe. Organised in thematic chapters which can be taught in any order. Instructor resources including slides, test bank and learning objects are available on request. CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike) license.
Sight-reading for guitar: the keep going method book and video series
Book teaches guitar players from all musical backgrounds to understand, read and play modern staff notation in real time. Features 30 original duet compositions of varying styles. CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution) license.
Teaching low brass
Textbook designed for music educators and future music educators. It includes basic information and pedagogical material for teaching low brass students and low brass etudes. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license.
Understanding music: past and present
Music appreciation textbook which covers the fundamentals of music and the physics of sound. It explores music from the middle ages to the present day. CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike) license.
Vocal techniques for the instrumentalist, 2nd edition
Textbook designed to teach instrumental music education students about vocal production as it applies to solo singing. Covers breathing, vocal instrumentation, tone, pronunciation, and how singing is similar, and different, from playing an external instrument. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercia-ShareAlike) license.

Supplementary material

Acoustics videos
Series of four videos on acoustics created by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics & Astronomy for use in a Masters in Acoustics and Music Technology course. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license.
Engaging students: essays in music pedagogy
Collection of short essays on the subject of student-centered learning that serves as a pedagogical resource for those teaching college-level classes in music. CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike) license.
Fundamental of music theory videos
Videos created for the Fundamentals of Music Theory MOOC from the University of Edinburgh. Introduce students to the theory of music, providing them with the skills needed to read and write Western music notation. Available to download. CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution) license.
Lumen Learning: Music Appreciation
Course designed to give students an appreciation of music by exposing them to many musical styles, composers, historical trends, as well as increasing their aural, verbal and writing skills in describing music. Various licenses.
Minuet
Music education software that helps users enhance their musical perception skills, visualise exercises, adjust playing settings, and create their own musical exercises. GNU (General Public License).

Courses

OpenLearn: music courses
Music courses from the Open University ranging from introductory to advanced level. Courses includes: Discovering music - the blues; An introduction to music research; Recording music and sound; Composition and improvisation in cross-cultural perspective. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license.
MIT Open Coureware: music and theatre arts
Courses in music and theatre arts as taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Content varies but can include lecture notes, videos, assignments with solutions, student project examples etc. CC BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) license but courses may refer to copyright material.