June 16, 2004

Computer stores are awash with music software for kids. VALERIE CHEN reviews three titles and asks a parent-child team to do the same

Want your child to be the future Singapore Idol? Train his ears early with music software.

Granada Learning: Musical Leaps and Bounds (for ages three to eight)

The first looks might confuse you. There is no text to click and the icons around the page are slightly ambiguous. So, you are not quite sure which icons to click. Thankfully, there are only a few, so after a few trials, you should be able to move around the entire software.

Music, vivid colours and surprises abound at every turn. But the focus seems to be more on getting young learners to cultivate mouse-clicking skills than to learn music.

All are undoubtedly entertaining, with Moody Jukebox even a tad satirical as it touches on the clich's of different genres of music.

The advantage this program has over the other two is that it is both PC?and Macintosh compatible. Also, it is definitely a powerful tool for autistic children to learn about music as they usually are naturally musically inclined.

Malcom's verdict: ''It' only lets you play, nothing else. I don't like it.'

Mr Ang said that there is a very big lack of instructions. 'The software is fun, but it won't and doesn't hold the attention of children for long. Malcolm got bored after about five minutes of clicking around the pages.'

BBC: Tweenies Ready to Play (for ages three to six)

This title consists of stories, songs, quizzes, activities and games. It's high on interactivity but low on teaching music.

For instance, you can write to each of the different Tweenies characters in the program. And you can print out drawings that the child has created.

On music, you will learn how six different instruments sound - just vaguely. And the program allows you to change the tempo of the song that the Tweenies play. No other aspect of music theory or practical is covered.

One thing going for this title is that Tweenies is famous, complete with a TV show. So, young kids might be attracted to the software through them.

Malcolm's verdict: 'It's not interesting and it doesn't teach music at all.'

Mr Ang said: 'The software might be fun, but I feel that there's no educational value.'

Granada Learning: First Class Music (for ages seven to 12)

Although this is, by far, the least colourful of the three titles, it is the most educational.

Granada Learning divided the program into different lessons and sub-lessons, each with clear explanations. It even teaches youngsters some commonly used terms like pianissimo (very soft), piano (soft), forte (loud) and fortissimo (very loud) - kids hear them pronounced, too.

Any child with a musical aptitude would pay attention to the basic concepts like dynamics, pitch, rhythm, structure, tempo and timbre.

Its only fault is its rather bland presentation and the main character does not appear on every page.

Malcolm's verdict: 'It is the only one that teaches you music and asks many questions.'

Mr Ang said: 'It's obviously the best compared to the others. And the only one that I'm willing to pay for. Malcolm enjoyed it so much I had to drag him away from the computer.'

Freelance writer Valerie Chen is an accomplished musician who plays the piano, guitar, drums, violin and keyboard.