ScoreSkills - Learn Music

Spending a few minutes a day with these speedy drills is a cool way to learn basic music theory concepts -- but beginner music readers might need a little more support. It's a cool approach to think about learning to read music like learning a language. Kids have the chance to write, read, and listen to notes as they start learning to read music, and it's excellent that ScoreSkills - Learn Music offers so many ways to drill these basic concepts. However, for kids who are completely new to reading music, there's a lot to understand and observe on-screen, and that might make these activities more confusing than empowering.

The first levels immediately launch into questions that involve note names, reading the treble clef, and notes of different durations, and there's nowhere in the app to learn or review those foundational concepts. A reference section or even a brief tutorial would go a long way toward helping kids get started. There's also very limited flexibility in what kids study and when: Kids can't jump to the chapters about rhythm or accidentals until they complete the earliest levels. That might work well for a novice, but it's certainly less convenient for a more advanced student.

Finally, parents should watch out for the free trial period: It's only three days long, which may mean you need to make up your mind in two days if you want to cancel your subscription before you're charged for the expensive annual fee. And a hint: Upon opening the app for the first time, kids can tap past the screen asking users to subscribe to try the first level for free without an account.