Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that since some of the games and activities in this software ask kids to look at musical scores, this software is best used by kids who have had some musical instruction. This is an unusual title because it makes the esoteric topic of musical expression understandable to kids. And while it takes years of musical training to be good at musical expression, this software starts kids on the melodic path of creativity by introducing them to musical expression through games.
Families can talk about how changing tempo or emphasis in music can change the way you respond to it. What makes a musician good? Is it just technique or is musical expression important? Why is it important to express ourselves through music? Do you think music is a universal language?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
Every once in a while a children's software publisher comes up with something completely new. That's the case with PLAYING MUSIC, the fourth title in Morton Subotnick's children's CD-ROM music series published by Viva-Media.
This software takes the difficult-to-teach concept of expressing yourself through music and makes it something kids can understand. It builds on their knowledge of reading musical scores to show them how the use of tempo, loudness, and other musical attitudes can affect an audience's response to music.
This software works so well because it cleverly breaks the subject of musical expression into small interactive elements. Kids play five games that let them hear how varying the musical expression of a piece will change the way the music makes you feel.
In the first game, kids use listening skills to compare two versions of the same piece. They're asked to select the one that meets certain criteria, like softest or fastest. As kids progress, they set the tone of their selection by choosing the performance that is in a "sprightly or happy tempo."
The next game asks kids to think about music in terms of images. They will hear a snippet of music and then must select a short animation that best represents what they heard. For example, if the music starts slowly but then speeds up, the corresponding animation might be a slow-moving ball which speeds up to bounce quickly back and forth.
In other games, kids look at musical scores while listening along to determine which musical expression marks are missing from the score. The in-game glossary becomes important here, because it defines the 20 musical terms used in the games.
Kids can also visit a special "Expression Room" where they can experiment with manipulating musical expression marks within famous piano compositions including pieces by Bach and Chopin. By adding or deleting expression marks such as "forte," kids can hear what effect each mark has. After creating their own version of a famous composition, kids can hear and see it performed by an animated character inside the software's virtual concert hall.
By exploring Playing Music, kids learn to listen carefully to music and to register their own emotional reactions to changes in the way music is presented. Perhaps by teaching kids the subtleties of musical expression, they will also come to appreciate that all communication, not just music, has similar nuances.
Families who enjoy this title might want to check out others in the series including Hearing Music. Other excellent music games worth exploring are: Alice in Vivaldi's Four Seasons: The Music Game and Music Ace Deluxe.
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