Medly
By Patricia Monticello Kievlan,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Create, remix, share with powerful music-production tool.
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Medly
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Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What’s It About?
MEDLY is a music production app that lets users sing and compose their own music using 16 built-in instrument sounds, 100 built-in loops, and a wealth of samples and sound effect features. A built-in handbook includes screenshots and instructions that walk through how to get started and how to make the most of all of the features, and users can easily tap and swipe to experiment and learn on their own. Musical creations can be saved locally on your device or you can choose to share them by exporting them as a video, an audio file, or directly to the digital music site SoundCloud.
Is It Any Good?
The more you tap and swipe, the more stellar features you’ll find for creating, remixing, and sharing music. The starting tutorial and the website’s help section are great, and once you’re familiar with the features, it’s remarkably easy to pick instruments, add notes, and create your own songs. There’s a lot to like about the free version of Medly: You get 16 instruments and more than 100 loops, and you can choose to keep your music on your device, export it, or share it. It’s especially appealing that you don’t have to share your creations, but you can do so flexibly if you want to. Buying a subscription may not be necessary, especially for younger kids; instead, encourage kids to explore all of the built-in loops and instruments before you spring for a spendy membership or extra sound packs. Overall, this is a great tool for empowering kids to play and experiment with music-making.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how different instruments and effects can affect the mood of a piece of music you create with Medly -- and with music in general. What sort of mood do you want to create with your music? How might you use the app to create that mood?
Users can share their recordings with other people via SoundCloud or by posting videos to other platforms. What privacy concerns might arise from you sharing your creations?
Listen to one of your favorite songs and talk about what you hear: name each instrument or sound, identify when it comes in, and explain how it affects the song. Consider how you might use a tool like Medly to produce a similar song. How would you get started?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects: Arts : music
- Skills: Creativity : making new creations, producing new content, Tech Skills : digital creation
- Pricing structure: Free to try ($4.99 per month for monthly membership, $34.99 for an annual membership. In-app purchases from $2.99-$9.99 each)
- Release date: June 19, 2019
- Category: Music
- Topics: Music and Sing-Along
- Publisher: Medly Labs Inc.
- Version: 5.3.5
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.0 or later.
- Last updated: July 15, 2019
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