My Violin
© 2009 eMedia Music Corp.
While you won't want to fire your strings teacher, this violin tutorial can be a wonderful supplement to regular lessons. Designed for Mac or Windows computers, this CD-based program contains video demonstrations that are mixed with games and quizzes that start from the very beginning. The lessons feature an animated character, named Val the Violin, who takes kids through 160 lessons authored and presented by professional violinist Sabina Skalar, first violinist of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Topics range from holding and tuning the violin to music notation, with songs such as Row Row Row Your Boat. The animated fingerboard shows kids where to put their fingers as they listen to the music. Adjustable-speed MIDI tracks let children slow down if they feel they need it. A new Finger Tracker tool allows you to "listen" to the violin as you play and shows whether your fingers are placed correctly. Other features include an automatic tuner, metronome, and digital recorder. Note that the installation takes 80 MB of disk space, and involves installing QuickTime 7 in order to see the movies. We noticed that the program will still run without the disk in the drive, but without the videos.
$50, Windows, Mac OSX (installs QuickTime 7 on Windows computers)
Teaches: violin lessons, music
CTR Rating: 88%