I must admit, this is geared toward children, but I had way too much fun playing with this app at the AOTA conference. What I love most about this app is the smiles it brings to everyone who uses it, child or adult. Seriously. Everyone loves to test out each color and its unique tone.
THE IPHONE MOM: Musical Paint →
I really loved the Musical Paint app and thought that kids would enjoy the multi-sensory experience. I thought that the app was very kid-friendly, and I enjoyed the “Grown-Ups” section and the ideas presented for parents and educators. If you are looking for a new app that will allow your children to show their creativity, I would recommend Musical Paint!
APPABLED: A Review of Musical Paint →
Musical Paint is a wonderful creative app in which a child is limited only by their imagination. The app opens to an underwater scene. This is an interactive page. By touching the screen, the underwater objects come to life, you can stop and start the vehicles, turn on/off lights, make the background fish swim faster, the water fountain flow, pop bubbles, plant life plays music and the sun shines with a happy face.
Enter through the double doors, into the museum. You are greeted by some loveable characters, who guide you through the gallery, music and painting sections. If at any time you wish to change screens, tap on the yellow fish in the top right corner which highlights your options.
Instruments:
Sea creatures introduce the name of various musical instruments and give a demonstration of how their instruments sound. Apart from this, the sea creatures fail to add much to the app itself; however children will more than likely enjoy the presence of these characters.
Paint:
Touch the easel to bring up a paint canvas with five coloured painted brushes. On the right side of the screen there is a slider which allows the child to explore varying shades of colour. The faster you paint, the thicker the brush stroke. The only faults I have found on this screen are the lack of black and white colour options, and also there is no eraser to allow for any mistakes. However, this being said, there will be an update within this app in late March which includes a white colour option, and allow children to paint with four fingers at once. This app update will also become available for the iPhone (universal app).
While the child is painting, varying musical sounds can be heard via the different brush strokes, which provides an excellent multi sensory experience for children with special needs.
Once the child has completed their painting, they have the option to either delete the painting, or save and frame it. If you choose to save your creation, yet another learning opportunity arises for your child to learn how to write his/her name.
When a painting is saved, it will appear in the gallery, where, by tapping on it, you have the option of showing, deleting, saving, or sharing it.
Parents and Educators Information:
As previously mentioned, the yellow fish in the top right corner provides the option to switch screens. Also illustrated on this screen is an information section for parents and educators. Within this section you will find the following; app instructions, lesson plans, tech support, and developer info. A particular aspect of this I found beneficial was the lesson plans. These lesson plans demonstrate how to use this app as an educational tool for your child by teaching numbers, writing and the alphabet, colours, shapes, etc.
Overall, this app is an excellent and entertaining educational tool for young children. It is very user-friendly, and as an added bonus, contains no in-app purchases. I recommend this app for parents/educators who are looking for an app which encourages creativity whilst also stimulating and educating the child.
KINDERTOWN: Show and Tell: Musical Paint →
Musical Paint is a free exploration art app for kids. Designed thoughtfully to inspire kids to create both realistic works of art and creative painting with musical tones. Here’s how it works: Enter the app to meet a group of underwater animal musicians. Tap on the art easel and start creating. Five colorful paintbrushes have a unique musical tone. As you draw with your finger (or a stylus) music soars through the app. Move higher or lower on the painting and you’ll notice the pitch of the instrument do the same. Colors can also be lightened or applied with more saturated color when you adjust the color bar feature. Make a mistake? Grab the white paintbrush and paint over the area you want to change. When you are finished, or want to start over, click the green “done” box. You then can throw your work in the trash or frame your picture. Choose the frame option to add your artwork to the museum. Kids sign their name and become featured artists. All artwork is hung in the musical paint museum. You’ll find many pictures to scroll through for inspiration. Your child can also easily share what he has been working on with a loved one right from the museum area. Other special moments in the app happen when you interact with the underwater jazz quintet or explore the area outside the art museum. We highly recommend you spend some time in the “Parents and Educators” page. The page can be found by clicking on the question mark fish in the upper right hand corner of the screen. You’ll find instructions, lesson plans and plenty of support features there.