Music Ace Deluxe

© 2004 Harmonic Vision
$50, Windows XP, Macintosh OSX
Teaches: Music theory, pitch, note names, key signatures, rhythm, and more
Editor's Choice

CTR Review

Here's some good news for music educators, or parents who can't afford music lessons. One of the best music tutorials has been updated for Windows XP and Mac OSX. In this "Deluxe" format, there are 36 complete lessons, 12 basic lessons from the "Starter" set, plus 24 additional advanced lessons exclusive to this bundle. Like the older version, this program does an excellent job of introducing basic music concepts like notation, rhythm, melody and harmony. The activities are fun, engaging and very well designed. You can attach a midi keyboard during the lessons, but the goal of the program is to teach fundamental music concepts, much of which is accomplished without an external keyboard. The lessons that come before each set of games are the most interactive and engaging that we've seen for just about any subject. Both visual and auditory cues are used to help children develop skills like beat and pitch discrimination and the location of the notes of an onscreen keyboard. Kids also learn staff and keyboard relationships, the meanings of important musical terms and many other music concepts. The instructor in this case is an animated conductor who guides kids through each lesson. Instruction is tailored to children's responses, giving them just the right amount of help while they're learning. After each lesson, games reinforce the concepts. When learning about melody, for instance, children must match Mozart's Symphony #21 and other music samples to the correct melody line shape-- a great exercise in listening. In another activity, kids win at tic-tac-toe by identifying same and different rhythms of a variety of musical instruments. The CD has all of the elements of good design. A sign-in feature lets you start where you left off, and you can easily check the lessons that have been completed in a progress report section. The menu makes it easy to jump to the lessons or games, the graphics are uncluttered, the sounds are clear, and the program is very responsive. Impressed? We certainly are. This program offers a systematic, affordable way to introduce children to music essentials, and would be perfect as a supplement to music lessons.