Toca Band
Common Sense says
- iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- $2.99
- Music
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Toca Band is a super cute and creative app that encourages kids to discover and explore music. The app includes bunch of fun characters like "Bang Bang Chef," who plays the drums, and "Balooney," who is a musical balloon. As with other apps by Toca Boca, the app is pretty hands off, giving kids room figure out for themselves what they can do. The Parent Center offers settings to disable external links and provides discussion topics to help parents extend the learning.
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User Reviews
- Parents say
- Kids say
Repetitive but worthwhile
What's it about?
In TOCA BAND, kids pick from 16 different musical characters and "play" those characters on stage by dragging and dropping them into the spotlights. As the characters create sounds and beats, kids can select one character to be the "star" and have that character create the main melody. Each character has different interactive qualities when they are placed in the star position. The further kids move characters up the stage, the faster the characters play.
Is it any good?
Toca Band is an inventive app for kids to learn about and explore music. It does a great job of providing the basics in a fun, kid-appropriate way. Kids can learn about specific instruments and their sounds through playing each character. When played together, the characters allow kids to experiment with variations in rhythm and tempo. With the hands-off, exploratory approach here, some kids will get more out of this than others. The experience is what kids make of it. The Parent Center discussion topics can help parents and kids maximize the learning experience.
Talk to your kids about ...
Use the topics suggested in the app's Parent Center to get a conversation started with your kids.
Bring more music creation into your kids' everyday activities. Tap out a rhythm and have your kids try to repeat it, then ask them to give you one to try.
App details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Arts: music, playing, rhythm
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: decision-making
Creativity: imagination, making new creations
Tech Skills: digital creation, using and applying technology - Price: $2.99
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: March 29, 2013
- Category: Music
- Topics: Music and Sing-Along
- Size: 49.60 MB
- Publisher: Toca Boca
- Version: 1.0.3
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 5.0 or later
- Last updated: August 19, 2016
For kids who love music and creativity
Our editors recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.