Princess Piano by Applicable2U

  Princess Piano

     by Dented Pixel

  Musically inclined, I am not, but many others are.  So Applicable2u felt that it was important to share with other educators and parents the importance of apps that encourage children and yes, even adults, the world of music.  About a month ago, Dented Pixel brought to the Apple Store a rare find.  An educational app that offers a book like feel with an added twist. It is very simply called Princess Piano and can be played on your iPhone or iPad device. This elegant little princess once lived on Cloud Kingdom.  As of late, she is now living among a different world due to the evil witch, Beatrice Dafowl.  Thanks to her magical ballet slippers, Princess Piano was unharmed.  Although Earth is a wonderful new place to explore, she wants to return to Cloud Kingdom.  While exploring this application you will become a musician, learning how to read musical notes as you play on the piano. Let’s pirouette our way into Princess Piano’s world to help her return safely home to Cloud Kingdom.

What kind of musician are you?  Do you need to take things adagio or slowly?  Or are you familiar with musical notes that you can move allegro or more briskly?  Regardless of the type of person you are, this application can appeal to many.  It has been referred to as a “girls” application, but Applicable2U feels that some boys might be able to get past the beautiful princess and gravitate towards the main idea which is the musical part of the application.  If your little one is a sequential, follow the rules kind of child, then you will want to begin with the “play game” option first.  Here users will be provided a short story and directions on how to play.  As a user succeeds within each stage, Princess Piano will be that much closer to going home.  Levels of difficulty are labeled as: Beginner, Advanced and Virtuoso.  Within the beginner level a great deal of support will be provided. For example, keys will flash, as well as notes and keys will be labeled, and a 60% or better is required in order to earn rewards.  In the Advanced level, keys are still labeled but it is now required that musicians earn an 80% or better in order to move on. While in the Virtuoso level, users must get 90% or better in order to advance.  Players will be reinforced with a score card at the completion.  As users progress, stars will be earned, thus unlocking things that Princess Piano might need along the way.   Such things might include adorable dresses, cute shoes, and sweet accessories.  As your collection gets bigger they will be stored in the “dressing room” area.  Here users will go from being a musician to a fashionista.  Dress Princess Piano however you would like.  In Applicable2U’s opinion, Princess Piano is an application that makes many transitions.  It tells a brief story or fable, you learn how to read and play music as a way to finish this fable and gain the happy ending that we all love.  In addition, it has a puzzle like feel as you explore in the dressing room.

Through a users exploration, they will become more familiar with each note, thus allowing them to begin writing their own songs.  To do so, it might be time that your little one plays in the “song maker” mode.  Here songs can be saved and reloaded for future use.  With the option of notes and the ability to change the BPM’s (beats per minute), parents and educators might see a whole new side of their student or child.  Not sure if you like what you created, simply click the preview button.  Notes can be altered and deleted as you see fit.  Who knows your little one might just become the next great song writer.

Applicable2U would give this musical application a thumbs up!  It is certainly worth the download as it encourages children to love music in a whole new light!  Each child shines in a different way when it comes to their education.  Some are jocks, others are artists, mathematicians, scientists and yes even musicians.  With school budgets in jeopardy, specialty programs like music are usually the first to get cut.  Let’s not take away from our children those skills that open different educational opportunities.  By downloading Princess Piano to your iTunes library today, you will be supporting the art of music! If you would like to learn more about Dented Pixel, please visit their website here.

Reviewers website: www.applicable2u.wordpress.com

iPad Creativity? Creation?

App of the Week #3 - Garageband - How many uses can you come up with?

"App of the Week" is an extension of the EdReach.us network's MacReach show.  We will post the show's app of the week and ask you all to give us ideas on how to use the app in your class!  This idea is also an extension of Tom Barrett's Interesting Ways.

Leave a comment with an idea and we will add it to the presentation with your name! 

Three Blind Mice on Vacation in Africa by Applicable2U

Three Blind Mice on Vacation in Africa
by PicPocket Books

Wooley Cat’s Musical Theatre presents Three Blind Mice on Vacation in Africa.  This is one of many recent interactive book applications that Applicable2U has recently downloaded.  If you choose to download this application, your little reader will quickly begin to sing along with the story, dance and interact with each of the pages.  My exploration of this app began as my son was actually building with Legos.  Very quickly he stopped playing with his all-time favorite toy to see what Momma was up too.

This application is both a story and a song all in one.  Oddly enough, as I “played” with this app, I found myself thinking of the song – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes which most children are familiar with.  What child wouldn’t want to spend time exploring the musical adventures of three blind mice.  If you happen to have an iPad handy, connect it to a projector with the help of a VGA adapter, why not view this story as a whole group.   What’s interesting about this book is that as a teacher I can see it being read in two different ways. First, as a whole group, lets close our eyes and put our imagination to work as we listen to this book.  Even before the story has begun a catchy little tune begins which will make the reader want to do a little “shake of their shoulder” to the beat of the song.  Unlike most interactive books, this particular app indicates that a page should be turned with the sound of a chime.  Before moving onto the next page, as the teacher, click various images on the page.  Have the students hear the sounds that are made and ask them to make predictions of what it looks like on the page.  Students will begin to giggle when they hear the character voices and added effects.  Continue with this idea of being blind and making predictions throughout the entire story.  You will be amazed at the visions your readers/listeners will make.  It is now time for the little blind readers to open their eyes and see the pages, words, and interactivity come to life.  The second approach to using this book application in the classroom or at home will allow the users to see the words to this story/song as they are highlighted and guided along each page.  Now that the reader can see the pages, this might be a good time for various types of  questions from either the teacher or child.  For example, why did the mice think the elephants leg was a tree?  This book lends nicely to working on the 5 W’s (who, what where, why and how).  This time around, have students come up to the iPad and have them interact with the books images.  The endless smiles will be priceless.

Applicable2U definitely gives Wooley Cat’s Musical Theatre – Three Blind Mice on Vacation in Africa a thumbs up!!  Interested in seeing/hearing what stopped my son from playing, then be sure to visit your iTunes library to begin your download or you can see what other books that PicPocket Books has to offer.

Reviewers website - www.applicable2u.wordpress.com

French Horn Pro

App Title:  French Horn Pro

Grade Level: Beginning through advanced french horn students, depending on the adjustments/accomodations made to the settings.

Cost: $19.99

Developer Website: Click Here

ITunes Link: Click Here

Purpose: A

French Horn Pro is an app whose main purpose of this app is to provide additional practice for french horn students on scales, note recognition, fingerings and a few catchy tunes!

Program Functionality: C

This app has over 432 preloaded scales and a few melodies!  It has everything from Blues Scales and the Circle of 5ths to Whole Tone scales!  They have even preloaded the Bach Partita and the Pink Panther!  There are also many settings available to the user to choose from: clicks on/off, music on/off, show finger errors, etc.

Some cons:

- The program is set to a default tempo of 300 which is WAY too fast and causes the user to feel overwhelmed at the start.  I'd prefer for the default tempo be between 100-120.

- You can only practice on one side of the horn, F or Bb.

- All tracks are played in 4/4 time.

- While there are a ton of scales (modes, blues, chromatic, etc.) preloaded, the majority are preset to two octaves.  The scales are editable however.  It just takes time, so plan ahead!

Overall Educational Value: A

Apps like French Horn Pro could serve to be the answer to the complications of forgotten instruments, student excuses or less-than-ideal practice environments.  Users end up reinforcing the same brain connections that they would be using with an actual instrument in front of them.  Teachers should be careful to reinforce that practice using French Horn Pro or other similar apps is not to replace practice on your instrument, but rather to provide students an opportunity to practice when they are unable to do so using their instrument.

Recommendation:

Even though French Horn Pro can be adjusted to fit the needs of younger/inexperienced students, I believe its intended user is that of an experienced player (high school and on).  After the first 10 minutes, the novelty wears off and you realize that this is really meant to be a "get down to work" app for those who need to be more efficient with the time they have available.

Unless the price comes down, save this for your more experienced players.

Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: 

- Learn/Practice a specific scale

- Learn fingerings for extended range, including the Bb side!

- Limited teacher contact - Load a scale for the student to work on, hand them the device and let them go!  The scale and tempo can be changed to what you desire.  Plus, it evaluates the performance of the student, telling them where their mistakes occurred.  Have them play through until they reach a certain goal (i.e. no more than 4 mistakes), pause it and then take a screen picture to submit for credit.  Make sure that the "Highlight mistakes" setting is turned on.

- Instrument is not accessible - Can be used in the car, on the plane, in a hotel room, next to a sleeping baby . . .whatever, whenever!

- Spice up a practice session - Students love technology and they enjoy learning THROUGH it!

Reviewer Name: Patrick Dawson

Other:

Hey, check out our Ning (Online Community) devoted to helping teachers utilize these devices to the their fullest.  Please leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or have other creative uses for this app in the classroom, etc.



Some cons:

- The program is set to a default tempo of 300 which is WAY to fast and causes the user to feel overwhelmed from the start.

- You can only practice on one side of the horn, F or Bb.

- While there are a lot of scales preloaded, they are all preset to two octaves.  The scales are editable however.  It just takes time, so plan ahead!

- I found that I needed to refer to the "Help" section to figure out how to change these features without leaving the home screen.

ThumbJam

App Title:  ThumbJam

Grade Level: Late Elementary to Adult

Purpose: A

ThumbJam is an outstanding music app for the novice who just likes to jam to the professional musician.

Program Functionality: A+

This app has great controls that make it easy to play. Simply choose an instrument, select a scale, and tap or slide your thumb or fingers over the screen. You can use multi-touch to play harmony and chords, and each instrument has additional controls for pan, volume, tremolo, etc. which are activated by tilting or shaking. Optionally, you can load a drum loop and play along with it.

There are 30+ realistic sounding instruments available and more can be downloaded or created/sampled by the user. There are 15 drum loops ranging in style from pop/rock/hip to world music (Hispanic, African, Asian) available for download. 100+ scales in nine different categories are included with the option to create your own scales. All sessions can be recorded and saved, then reloaded and new instruments layered onto the loop.

For the advanced user, there are many options and controls for creating/editing effects, collaborating through bluetooth, and transferring your loops, sessions and sample sets to your computer via WiFi.

Overall Educational Value: B

This is an outstanding app for personal use and would be very useful especially for older students, but is priced rather high for purchase by most public schools.

Cost: $6.99

Recommendation: If you like to jam and experiment with music and don't mind the $6.99 price tag then this is an excellent and fun app. It is also an excellent tool for professional musicians to create music on or be able to play instruments that they don't own or want to haul around.

I can also also recommend it for use in secondary music and music technology classes as a tool for creating loops and samples and enjoying in jam sessions.

Classroom Use Examples / Ideas: With younger students, selecting a pentatonic scale allows them to jam together and all of the notes and harmonies sound great together.

Older students can create very sophisticated loops and samples and use them in other programs (such as Audacity or Aviary/Myna) to create their own compositions. They could also form ensembles or bands for performances.

 As an instrumental director, I could use this app to demonstrate a passage of music or possibly to add an instrument to an ensemble that is not available.

Developer Website: http://thumbjam.com/

ITunes Link: Click Here

Reviewer Name: Susan Hurst (musicwms)

Reviewer Blog: http://musicmiddleschoolandweb20.blogspot.com

Other: As a music teacher, I've had a lot of fun experimenting with this app. I've been playing with it for about a week, and I've barely scratched the surface of its capabilities.

Hey, check out our Ning (Online Community) devoted to helping teachers utilize these devices to the their fullest.  Please leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or have other creative uses for this app in the classroom, etc. 

Music Education & The iPhone / Touch for Teachers

Crossposted from http://woodwindtech.tumblr.com ...

If you’re a music teacher and you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, here are some great apps that I think you’ll love:

Stay In Tune - This chromatic tuner is perfect for tuning band instruments. I always have my iPhone in my pocket throughout the school day, so I can take it out and open this app during band rehearsals and lessons. It works in any direction so you can point the mic at the instrument and still read the tuner right side up. There are many tuners in the app store, but this is my favorite. It’s reliable and accurate.

Dr.Betotte TC - This metronome app is really similar to the Dr. Beat we all own as band directors. This has all the functions of Dr. Beat, except for the voice for counting the beats. There are so many features and options, there really is no need for me to use my Dr. Beat at school anymore. I can use my iPhone speaker or I can plug it into and amp for extra volume. This is another app I use daily with my band students. Again, there are other metronome apps in the store, but this is by far the best.

Attendance - This app keeps track of attendance for as many students and classes as you need. I use this app everyday to record lesson attendance. If you’re a band director, you know how important it is for students to come to lessons. In my school, I have lessons in multiple locations, but now I don’t have to carry around a bunch of papers with me to keep track of my students. I always have my records in my pocket with my iPhone. The app automatically saves your records and includes a feature to email the data so you can enter it in an excel file. Wonderful app.

iNoteTrainer - This app will help your students to learn how to name the notes on the staff, treble or bass cleff. It puts a note on the screen and the student has to identify it out of three options. You set the range of notes and exercise duration. I use it in lessons when a student is having a hard time naming notes. I’ll let him/her play the game on my phone while I work with other students. The kids love it and actually want to beat each other’s high score.

Musictionary Music Dictionary - You know there are times when a student asks you what a musical term means and you simply don’t remember. Having this app readily available in your pocket is really useful.

Instruments In Reach Basic - This is bacially a fingering chart for every instrument in your pocket. I don’t use this app very often, as my students are required to have their fingering chart in their folder at all times. But, just in case, it’s nice to have.

Rhythm In Reach - This app is great to help students practice both basic and advanced rhythm. Just like the note trainer, I’ll give this to a student that is having difficulty with rhythm while I work with others. Again, students love it and actually try to beat each other’s scores.

I keep all of these apps on my iPhone at all times. They are all readily available at all times. I’ve searched through many music related apps and these are definitely my favorites. I encourage you to check them out. Once you get them, or if you already own them, please leave a comment in this post to let me know what you think or just to share your thoughts on music education and the iPhone. Also, please let me know if you know of any other music education apps that you use.

Crossposted from http://woodwindtech.tumblr.com ...