Happy Top 10 Tuesday everyone!
In Arizona, our school year is ending next week. Though our summer will be jam-packed with activity, and I personally want my own children to take a break from school during this time, I also worry about how much information they will lose over the summer. Will they forget everything they learned this year?
For older grade school students, it is essential that they continue to practice their recorders over the summer so they won’t forget everything by the Fall. Again, summer should be for relaxing and camp, and so it is important to find a happy balance and stress-free informal learning opportunities.
In regards to the recorder, I thought I should make you all aware of an excellent application to upload with fun-filled recorder games and engaging tools to get your kids practicing. ”Joytunes” is not only useful to keep already learned recorder skills fresh, but it also is a great tool to help children get a head start on the upcoming school year’s curriculum.
Before you begin, you will need the following:
(1) A recorder. I like Yamaha recorders, because they are always well made. Here’s a picture of one:
I’ve found them at my local drug store and at music stores or you can check one out on Amazon.com for convenience sake. Click HERE to go to Amazon.
(2) You will also need to upload the Joytunes application. It costs $2. Here is a link to the application link on iTunes. Click HERE to check it out.
(3) You will need either an iPad or a computer with a microphone and speakers hooked up.
Image from the Joytunes website
Joytunes
Joytunes is a way to learn music using your own instrument. The really awesome thing about this application is that the application is written to interact with your child’s playing. Your child plays into the microphone, and the application “hears” what your child is doing and monitors their success. There are games as basic to teaching notes on the recorder leading up to games to playing along to songs and reading notation. I am really impressed with this program and think that any child would embrace it, too. So, here is some information about it:
The web address: http://www.joytunes.com/
A Youtube video with information on “how it works:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEUXKp_xoFc
An “About Us” page: http://www.joytunes.com/about.php
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s Top 10 Tuesday music activity. Check back every week for some more musical fun…even during the summer. For a complete list of the Top 10 tuesday musical instruments under $40 that will help promote music education in the home, click HERE. For an archive of previous Top 10 Tuesday music activities, click HERE. Until next Tuesday, play on!
