Is your child learning a music instrument or singing? Do you know how to play the instrument yourself? I have a child studying piano, but I had no knowledge of music. It is very hard for him to practice listening exercises at home as there is no one can tell him if his answers are correct or not. Practice like this is still helpful, but it is just not as effective as if you can get immediate feedback. A while ago, I was reached by the developer of the app Auralbook. It is an app series that help kids learn and practice music instruments and singing at home. The app can “hear” kids’ play, and tell them if they did it right or not. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when I tried the app. If you have a child learning an instrument or singing, this is an app series you definitely like to try. It gives kids the ability to learn and improve on their own.
Auralbook has programs for 12 instruments: Piano, Violin, Flute, Clarinet, Euphonium (Bass), Euphonium (Tenor), guitar, Percussion, Recorder, Saxophone, Trombone, Trumpet. It also has program for singing.
You can choose among 3 programs depending on which country you are in: Royal Conservatory for Canada, Music Development Program for US, and ABRSM for UK. All these are well developed music education curriculum. Royal Conservatory and Music Development programs have 10 levels, and ABRSM has 8 levels. The app has all the practice materials for each level for all the programs.
There are 4 parts of practice exercises: Clap, Interval, Chord, Play.
Clap is the rhythm practice. For each piece, kids listen to it twice, and when they see the record button sign, they can start to clap. After they are done, the app will show the rhythm of the original play and the child’s clap overlapping each other, so the kids will see where his clap is off compared to the original one.
Interval is for kids to listen to the interval play twice and answer the questions if it is major or minor, 3rd or 4th, below or up.
Chord is to ask child to listen to a chord and answer if it is a major or minor chord.
Play is probably my most favorite, and is the one that is most helpful. Kids will listen to a short piece twice and then play the same piece on piano or other instrument. After kids finished playing, the app will overlay the notes the child played on top of the original music on a music sheet, while the original piece is played again. So kids receive both visual and audio feedback at the same time. Kids have options to repeat the same piece again, or move on to the next piece.
What I like the app the most is its ability to critique child’s performance and provide instant feedback. It is like a music teacher at home.
If you have a child learning a music instrument or singing, this is a great app to have. The app for Royal Conservatory and Music Development programs is only available for iPhone, iPod and iPad. The app for ABRSM is available on both Apple App Store and Google Play. The first iTunes app store link below is for Royal Conservaroty and Music Development program, and the 2nd iTunes app store link is for the Level 1 of ABRSM. The Google Play link is also for Level 1 ABRSM.
If you would like to check it out or purchase it, please use the App Store link provided below. The cost is the same to you, but iGameMom gets a small percentage. Thanks for your support! Note: The link works for all countries.
Looking for music learning app for younger children? Check out Music Learning Lab
