All of these apps are available for Android devices. I haven’t been compensated for my reviews, I just want to share what apps are out there. See more categories under menu Android App Reviews.
Staff Wars ($.99) ✰✰✰✰✰
This is a fun way for students to learn the notes on the staff. You can chose whether you want to do treble, alto, or bass clefs. A note starts at the right hand side of the screen and moves toward the left. You must play the correct note which then blows the note up. One of the nice things about it is that you can adjust the pitch if your instrument is sharp or flat. I like this for my violin students especially as it makes them think quickly and they can see right away whether they are in tune or not.
Flashnote Derby ($2.99) ✰✰✰✰✰
A note identification app. In this app a “flashcard” with a note is shown and then the note name must be chosen. If you chose correctly your horse moves ahead, if incorrect it falls behind. All of my students that have used this app have loved it! I love that I can chose what notes I want my students to work on.
Race against the fire. Notes on a staff move from right to left across the screen. If they reach the fire then they burn and the fire moves closer to the right. You can chose if the you identify them on a keyboard, by letter name, or solfege with a fixed Do. In the paid version you have more control over which notes are used, including choosing which key signature. I like that you can control the speed that the notes move so that for students just starting they can fill accomplishment before moving it faster.
Is good for helping young students to help identify notes on the treble clef, duration of notes, and the relation ship of treble clef notes to the keyboard.
It is a very simple game, but very visually appealing especially for young children.
This app combines visually seeing the beat, hearing the beat, and tapping it yourself. One of my boy students couldn’t put this game down! He begged to keep playing while his sister had her lesson. I had no problem allowing that!
Bass Cat Lite (free) ✰✰✰✰✰
Fun game for helping students identify notes in the treble (or bass) clef. During each level the player must “gather” the specified notes. It starts out with just C and then adds one new note each time. The first level a note is introduced the letter name is above the note, but after that level it is not labeled.
This is a great app for students to practice identifying which hand is left and right. Shown on the screen is a pattern of lefts and rights. You must play the pattern by clicking the left and right buttons shown as quickly as possible. You advance to the next level when you beat your goal.
Bubble Music Kids GameThis is a great concept, and could be fun, but there are some clunky things about the app. You use the wand to blow bubbles that have answers to choose from. There are different “games” quizing aural sounds, note names, rests, etc. Once you blow the bubbles the higher in levels you get the harder it is to see what all of the bubbles say. The thing that annoyed me the most was that the voice telling you what bubble to pop is computer generated, and sometimes hard to decipher.
I fun game for remembering what you hear of a song and then identifying it on puzzle pieces that you must put in order. Great idea, and you can find items and earn gold cups.
I didn’t realize how few composer’s pictures I knew. This fun app has you identify the composers. It is broken up into 4 periods, Baroque, Classical, Ronantic, and 20th Century. If you’re not sure who it is you can choose hint and it will play an excerpt of their music as well as give you a written hint including years lived. After you have the correct composer you can read a short bio on the composer. The one thing I didn’t like is if you have no idea who it is there is no way for it to give you the answer.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons plays while flowers fall from the sky. The object of the game is to tap the flowers before reaching the ground. The flowers fall in time with the music so it does help kids fill rhythm with songs. The free version only allows you to play Spring, though Summer is looks unlocked. The movements are long, so younger kids might lose interest after just a short time.
This is my students favorite app! A song will play and you must touch the circles in time to the music. If the music has a chord playing than more than one circle will appear. The downside to this app is that there are only a handful of songs that are free, all of the rest can be purchased in app. That being said the free songs have kept my students entertained.
A fun game for testing rhythm recall. A rhythm is played and you must tap the rhythm back. Sheep appear between fences if you are accurate. If you are early the sheep move to the right of the screen, and if late the sheep move to the left. Points are awarded for how correct the rhythm is. Once a level is passed another level will be unlocked.