Helped develop absolute pitch
Our toddler had this app on her iPad for a long time and would occasionally play with it. It has a part where fish sing a song that goes do-do-sol-sol in a C major scale. You can also move the notes and it will sing the new note. Our child learned to sing do-do-sol-sol and she always sings it with the do being right on the C without being given the starting note. I believe her early exposure to this app helped her associate a name with certain pitches so they got fixed in her head when she was young - a skill that's very hard to develop in adulthood. I highly recommend getting your child this app as early as possible!
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Ad on main screen
An ad on the main screen is not acceptable if I pay for the app. I'm not sure what you're thinking, one star every time.
Engaging music concepts, but with distractions
Musical Me has really clever ways of getting kids to engage with music beyond just listening. The app has age appropriate games to teach kids about rhythm, musical notation, and music memory. Also, the instrument sounds it produces are really pleasing, as is the singing voice. My wife and I were able to listen to the nursery rhymes dozens of times without getting tired (keep reading to learn why we were forced to).
There are a few problems though. First is that the game makers decided to add in distractions. In the memory game, a cow randomly appears. It serves no purpose in the learning, and it is no more fun to click the cow than it is to play the memory game. Nearly every game in this app has a built-in distraction that (at least for my 2-year-old) prevents full engagement with the more valuable learning elements.
The second problem is that the skill level selection isn't hidden behind a parental control. Kids can just choose their own skill level, including one that isn't appropriate, decreasing their enjoyment.
The third problem is primarily frustrating for parents (or whoever is managing the iPad). The music in the app continues, even when the iPad goes to sleep. I'm no iExpert, but that seems to break with iConvention, at least for kids apps. So we've listened to that wonderful singer's rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" far more than necessary.
There are a few problems though. First is that the game makers decided to add in distractions. In the memory game, a cow randomly appears. It serves no purpose in the learning, and it is no more fun to click the cow than it is to play the memory game. Nearly every game in this app has a built-in distraction that (at least for my 2-year-old) prevents full engagement with the more valuable learning elements.
The second problem is that the skill level selection isn't hidden behind a parental control. Kids can just choose their own skill level, including one that isn't appropriate, decreasing their enjoyment.
The third problem is primarily frustrating for parents (or whoever is managing the iPad). The music in the app continues, even when the iPad goes to sleep. I'm no iExpert, but that seems to break with iConvention, at least for kids apps. So we've listened to that wonderful singer's rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" far more than necessary.
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Good but...
Not that great, but not bad either. It also looks HORRIBLE on my iPad Air
Great app!
My almost three year old son loves this app! Very cute way to teach some basic music skills that I haven't seen in other apps. The memory game is similar to a memory game I loved as a child (Simon).
Bothersome drums
I wish the drums in the background of the solfege section were gone. They are distracting!
Sound
Where is it…. can't see the point of a silent app
Wonderful app
My daughter loves it!
Playful Early Music Exploration
What We Liked:
The fun, colorful, interactive design of this app (classic Duck Duck Moose) engages children quickly and encourages them to playfully explore the world of music in a non-threatening, easy-going environment. There are always some interactive extra characters around to tap on for fun, and the music quality is top-notch. Gentle, clear singing and soft instrumentation are very smooth and pleasant to listen to.
I found that this app appealed most to my younger children – even my baby was captivated by the dancing characters and notes that made music when tapped (or in her case slapped). I used it in the van once to prevent a cat seat meltdown – dancing creatures and squeaky ducky to the rescue!
The notes activity is great – I love that it introduces children to the treble clef range of notes and allows for a huge range of interactive play. There is a huge amount of interactivity built into this page, the notes can be moved up and down the scale, they sound when tapped, the resulting ‘compositions’ can be played – it’s a very early introduction to composition with immediate feedback – I loved this.
The activity where children can play at accompanying a children’s song with a percussion instrument of their choice is not only adorable, but this is also a great way of developing an innate sense of timing and rhythm.
What We Didn’t Like:
The navigation of this app isn’t as fluid as other Duck Duck Moose titles that we’ve tried. Instead of being able to move freely back and forth from screen to screen, children need to move from start to finish and can’t go back to a previous activity without cycling all the way through again.
It would be nice to have an option to turn off the background rhythm of the birdy rhythm and memory activity – maybe I’m rhythmically challenged but I couldn’t find a way to make the notes REALLY match that rhythm!
Also, the cute cow that shows up for the memory activity moos when tapped but cuts off the rest of the memory note sequence. When my children then try to mimic the limited number of notes they’ve heard they get the ‘oops’ message which is frustrating because they HAVE accurately reproduced what they were able to hear.
Overall:
When Musical Me! is used as a gentle introduction to pitch, note names, rhythm etc. these concepts won’t seem unfamiliar to children as they grow and are introduced to more formal music studies. There is also a lot of musical free-play and exploration that can take place within the diverse activities available in this app.
Disclosure: I received a promo code to download this app for free.
The fun, colorful, interactive design of this app (classic Duck Duck Moose) engages children quickly and encourages them to playfully explore the world of music in a non-threatening, easy-going environment. There are always some interactive extra characters around to tap on for fun, and the music quality is top-notch. Gentle, clear singing and soft instrumentation are very smooth and pleasant to listen to.
I found that this app appealed most to my younger children – even my baby was captivated by the dancing characters and notes that made music when tapped (or in her case slapped). I used it in the van once to prevent a cat seat meltdown – dancing creatures and squeaky ducky to the rescue!
The notes activity is great – I love that it introduces children to the treble clef range of notes and allows for a huge range of interactive play. There is a huge amount of interactivity built into this page, the notes can be moved up and down the scale, they sound when tapped, the resulting ‘compositions’ can be played – it’s a very early introduction to composition with immediate feedback – I loved this.
The activity where children can play at accompanying a children’s song with a percussion instrument of their choice is not only adorable, but this is also a great way of developing an innate sense of timing and rhythm.
What We Didn’t Like:
The navigation of this app isn’t as fluid as other Duck Duck Moose titles that we’ve tried. Instead of being able to move freely back and forth from screen to screen, children need to move from start to finish and can’t go back to a previous activity without cycling all the way through again.
It would be nice to have an option to turn off the background rhythm of the birdy rhythm and memory activity – maybe I’m rhythmically challenged but I couldn’t find a way to make the notes REALLY match that rhythm!
Also, the cute cow that shows up for the memory activity moos when tapped but cuts off the rest of the memory note sequence. When my children then try to mimic the limited number of notes they’ve heard they get the ‘oops’ message which is frustrating because they HAVE accurately reproduced what they were able to hear.
Overall:
When Musical Me! is used as a gentle introduction to pitch, note names, rhythm etc. these concepts won’t seem unfamiliar to children as they grow and are introduced to more formal music studies. There is also a lot of musical free-play and exploration that can take place within the diverse activities available in this app.
Disclosure: I received a promo code to download this app for free.
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Held his attention better than any other app!
In preparation for a 14-hr drive with my 18-month old, I downloaded this app. When I turned the app over to him for the first time in the car, he played with it for 40 minutes straight without tiring, and with no direction from me. It has become his favorite app. And with five completely different activities, I feel I get a lot of value from this app.
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don't listen to the negative reviews
if you own other duck duck moose apps, you'll love this one as well. it's cute, fun, colorful and educational. it instantly captured my 2 year old daughters attention and she can sing do, re, mi.
Nothing Special
As a Music Educator, I got this to give my daughter something to do on my iPad related to music instruction. The only thing worth while in this app is the moveable pitch notation. The rest is not really worth having for me. I gave it three stars because I do like it, but it's not instructionally valuable in the way that I hoped it would be as a digital item. Did you talk to professional elementary Music teachers? We'll tell you what you need to know to make it instructionally valuable. If you really get it right, it may even make our "at-school use" list.
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Another quality one
Well worth the money because every aspect of this app is well thought through and conceived: the graphics, activities, sounds and music. Like your other apps, it gives pleasure and delight to both child and adult.
