ABC Music

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Learn ABCs by listening and seeing musical instruments.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning2
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that ABC Music is an innovative learning app that teaches the alphabet and musical instruments. The app links to YouTube videos that are curated by the Peapod Labs staff and are chosen to be interesting and safe for kids. The app teaches the alphabet using images and videos and allows kids to jump to new words by tapping the letters.

  • It is well designed for small children, with only a few different places to tap and no way to get lost or misdirected. It is very easy to get back to the ABC screen, but children can also jump to another word by tapping a letter in a word.
  • Not applicable.
  • Not applicable.
  • Not applicable.

What kids can learn

2

Kids can learn their ABCs and the names of various instruments with ABC Music. The app has many photos of instruments, organized alphabetically. Kids will see each instrument's name and hear it pronounced. Also, when kids tap on a letter they'll hear its name. Many of the instruments also include brief facts about them, as well as curated YouTube videos of the instruments being played. Better feedback to encourage kids to continue playing would give the app a boost; a grown-up can offer support in that area if needed. ABC Music is a fun app for kids to explore while learning about musical instruments.

Subjects
  • Science
  • Social Studies

What's it about?

Kids can learn the alphabet by tapping on letters and hearing them pronounced, and seeing words that begin with those letters. Also, they will learn about different instruments by seeing photographs and watching videos of them being played. Some instruments also have a mini-game that allows them to color the instrument with their finger; the mini-game will play back the sound of the instrument, but the child is not really playing the instrument.


Is it any good?

 

ABC MUSIC is an innovative app that teaches the ABCs. The app starts with a grid showing letters of the alphabet and at least one musical instrument beginning with each letter. Tap on a letter to bring up a word starting with that letter, or tap a specific instrument name to jump to that word. Each instrument is accompanied by a photo and its name (with letters held up by little cartoon people), and a voice reads the initial letter and then the word itself. After a brief pause, another little cartoon person pops down holding a screen, which the child can tap to watch a video about that instrument.

Tapping any of the letters held by the people jumps to another word that starts with that letter, and the process repeats. Also, tapping the "abc" button jumps back to the alphabet grid, and the grayed-out squares are replaced by thumbnails of the images already viewed. It's a fantastic app that allows kids to learn the alphabet while watching entertaining videos and exploring links. The app is self-contained and doesn't present any options or settings screens, making it very kid-friendly.


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This review was written by Jonathan H. Liu

What kids can learn

2

Kids can learn their ABCs and the names of various instruments with ABC Music. The app has many photos of instruments, organized alphabetically. Kids will see each instrument's name and hear it pronounced. Also, when kids tap on a letter they'll hear its name. Many of the instruments also include brief facts about them, as well as curated YouTube videos of the instruments being played. Better feedback to encourage kids to continue playing would give the app a boost; a grown-up can offer support in that area if needed. ABC Music is a fun app for kids to explore while learning about musical instruments.


Subjects
  • Arts: music
  • Hobbies:
  • Language & Reading: letter or word recognition, spelling, vocabulary
  • Math:
  • Science:
  • Social Studies:

What's it about?

Kids can learn the alphabet by tapping on letters and hearing them pronounced, and seeing words that begin with those letters. Also, they will learn about different instruments by seeing photographs and watching videos of them being played. Some instruments also have a mini-game that allows them to color the instrument with their finger; the mini-game will play back the sound of the instrument, but the child is not really playing the instrument.


How kids will learn

The app is made to be fun and easy to use, and kids will learn about instruments from a variety of cultures. Parents can let kids have full control of the app, so they feel empowered as they explore on their own.


How parents can help

  • Show kids how they can jump to another letter by tapping on any letter in an instrument's name.
  • Make music with your kid using instruments. Even young kids can play an instrument like the triangle, and have fun with a recorder. Homemade instruments work great too!

This review was written by Jonathan H. Liu
Parent of 3 and 7 year old
March 31, 2011
 
Disappointed!
This app links to a variety of YouTube clips. We had high hopes, but no one in our family was interested - we can find our own YouTube clips! We erased it almost immediately.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Jonathan H. Liu
Topics:music and sing-along
Category:Education
Platforms:iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price:$1.99
Publisher:Peapod Labs LLC
Version:1.0
Release date:February 23, 2011
Minimum software requirements:Requires iOS 3.0 or later.

This review was written by Jonathan H. Liu

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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