Parents' Guide to

Noteflight

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Compose, share, and comment on original tunes.

Website http://www.noteflight.com
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What’s It About?

This fairly easy-to-use tool lets kids create musical compositions. Starting with a blank score, kids use toolbar options to adjust time signature, tempo, key signature and choose from a wide range of musical symbols. A free account lets kids create up to 10 songs using 15 instruments. They can listen to their songs with the playback feature, keep pieces private, or share them publicly. A paid subscription allows for an unlimited number of pieces, up to 50 instruments, the option to share with individual users, an audio mixing panel, and the ability to annotate songs.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (5):
The cloud-based NOTEFLIGHT application lets users write and share music online. Kids with some previous experience reading or playing music will likely catch on quickly; beginners may need to spend more time testing out the composition tool's many options. But videos and a user guide offer additional help, and kids can immediately hear what they're writing. Users rely on each other for feedback to improve; without any, they may have a hard time moving on to more challenging compositions. Parents may also have concerns about kids coming into contact with strangers through site forums and comments. However, with a little guidance, this well-organized tool, packed with customizable features, can be a good resource to help spark kids' creativity and interest in music theory.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how you can express creativity and feelings through music. How can you represent different emotions, like happiness or sadness, in songs?

  • Users can let other composers comment on their work on the site. What privacy concerns might arise from making your songs public?

  • If a user posts a mean or hurtful comment about one of the scores you've composed, how should you respond?

Website Details

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