Musical Paint

Musical Paint

  This presented itself as a very hard review to write... not because the app is horrible but because I love so many aspects of the app that I was not sure exactly how to write it up into words. I have had children 1-16 years old play with it and I had also some adult participants that would like to remain ageless. This app is so simple to use that you just cannot go wrong. Just touch the app, open it and the rest is only bound by the amount of creativity you have. Upon opening the app we are outside in the ocean! It is a beautiful scene that was interactive and mufti-sensory. Once you enter, the possibilities are endless. I liked that they can view their personal art work (that they get to sign their name to as well) in a gallery, their was a beautiful band composed of several different underwater creatures to interact with, such as a many fishy musicians. Their instruments included are saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and double bass (which you can hear while painting). We are also greeted by a very friendly walrus that leads your way into your next masterpiece! He showed you an area to create new paintings, introduced you to the band and to your personalized painting gallery.

Overall, the app provides a wonderful amount of sensory and visual stimulation for children. It was wonderful to use when working with students. Students were engaged and motivated. One of the best features of this app is that it doesn't start to break down when more than one finger comes across the screen a child can paint with their hand, fingers or pick a partner and paint across the screen. It really leaves open so many areas for imaginative play that an educator or parent can tap into. This is truly an app that can touch the mind, heart and all give senses as well. I would recommend using this app in therapy, at home or in school when working with children.

Improvements:

- My biggest critique of the app is that it is a wonderfully creative music app but has no playback of music. There are quite a few other apps out there similar in nature (and some devices made in real life) that give the child the musical feedback during and after. This is something I would strongly recommend for this app.

- One problem children ran into was with the white paint brush. It only let them paint a small area white when they wanted to clear the screen and start over again.

               -Possible Solution: Maybe an eraser; a bar where they can wipe swipe feature from left to right. All just suggestions but this was one problem I ran into after long term use of the app.

- On a side note, not sure if it is a glitch but the white paint brush only painted sound if nothing else was painted on it before hand. It would not paint over the other colors and create sound.

Price: 1.99

Musical Paint iTunes link:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/musical-paint/id577535521?mt=8