Magic Piano App Review Discussion
Magic Piano is an application that lets you create music by giving you a piano at your finger tips. You can play freestyle on one of the three keyboard layouts or follow one of the songs from the songbook.
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melissaayers
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Jenny Brown 5:52 pm on October 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
App Title: Magic Piano
App Publisher/Developer: Smule, Inc
Version: 4.0.8
Curriculum Compliance: Unknown, perhaps for a music teacher in K-6 there may be some relevance (a fun way to listen to some songs) but it definitely does not teach the proper way to play the piano or the other instruments available. The app is free to download and there are a few songs that are free but you must pay for most of the songs.
Operational: The low down – easy to use by a wide variety of students and keeps track of your achievements.
– Navigation is easy to use
– There is no on-screen help or tutorials
– There are multiple ability levels
– It does respond to errors such as playing too fast or too slow
– Your songs can be saved and listened to by other people
– It will keep a history of your songs and associated points
– It would provide options to those with special needs – someone without the dexterity and/or cognitive ability would find it easier than playing a real piano. There is the option of playing freestyle that doesn’t require vision and ESL that are familiar with apps would be able to easily move around the site.
– There isn’t really any support materials
Pedagogy: The low down – It won’t make anyone a real piano player but is a fun way to learn rhythm and create your own music (and perhaps pretend you are Chopin). It may be useful with young and autistic children.
– I don’t think that this program in any way simulates learning to play a real piano; it is more of a fun, interactive tool to listen to a song or create your own song (freestyle). It does allow people to play a variety of songs from pop culture to classical pieces and would be appropriate for ages 3 (with assistance) and up.
– I don’t believe it would increase a student’s understanding of how to play a piano, I think it would rather give them a false understanding of how to play a piano.
– It may give students a better understanding of rhythm of songs but not how to play the actual notes. It is similar to rock band where you must hit the note at the right time so there is a high level of engagement with the song.
– You can listen to others playing songs but there is not the ability to play together or share ideas
– The freestyle option does provide an opportunity for creativity and imagination
– As it keeps score and gives you feedback when you are too slow or too fast, it, in a sense, gives you a chance to think about how you could do better next time, but this reflection is not required.
– Feedback and assessment are provided
kstackhouse 4:59 am on October 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for this analysis. You are right, the app is not intended to train one to be a pianist. It is a fun app though. I showed my daughter and she and I ended up spending about 45 minutes working our way through various songs. I tried their another game by the same company, Magic Guitar. While it was pretty cool it also had way too many ads. I quickly deleted that one.
lullings 8:11 am on October 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Magic Piano is excellent.
It really envelopes the excitement and challenge of game education learning.
And who gives a dam as to whether you will end up being a pianist or not afterwards – its not about that. If you want to be a pianist then play the dam piano.
What it does do is give a fun reflection on what excitement a good pianist has in playing songs.
It’s an introduction into the mechanics and construction of songs, tempos and notes.
This is done through well thought out short goals that have to be completed to advance in the levels.
It keeps the interest and definitely is engaging.
I would think more along the lines of it being a bridge. It would get people interested in music in an engaging and fun way. If they liked it and it sparked their interest they might look to playing a keyboard or piano. Everyone who played Magic Piano for a while would benefit from this experience with their learning curve of playing the real thing.
This app doesnt want to create pianists but successfully encourages music appreciation and interest.
Well done Smule Inc.
Stuart
Mike Rae 12:01 pm on October 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think you hit it on the head Stuart: not gonna create a beethoven, but makes engaging with music a lot easier. Last I checked, pianos and keyboards were pretty expensive (and heavy), so instead of making that investment, Magic Piano could be a much better option.
Colin 5:48 pm on October 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I found the app entertaining but it would be nice if they have more songs for free. I agree it won’t make anyone into a pianist and I wish they at least showed a keyboard so you could see what keys you are hitting and where. Though as a bridge it does teach students about timing and also finger dexterity. I am not a pianist but I believe they tried to do the spacing relative to what it would be on a keyboard. The other part that I liked is how I could change up the tune when I didn’t just play the 4 keys as a chord. In a elementary music classroom I could see them spending maybe one or two lessons on this before moving on.
jenbarker 6:34 pm on October 3, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
My daughter and I tried this app and were bored very quickly. Initially our enthusiasm was high but after five minutes we were tired of playing the same song. I find apps like this really bothersome as they try to hook us in and ultimately want us to spend more money. My daughter read some of the other titles of popular pop songs and wanted me to buy them for her. It began a discussion of how many apps market their products… which she didn’t understand 🙂 It is because of apps such as this example, that I have the button for in-app purchases switched to OFF.
jameschen 7:30 pm on October 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After reviewing the demo video and evaluating the app using the App Rubric, I feel that the Magic Piano app should not be considered an educational tool. As Colin and others have mentioned above, the app is at best something to be used for entertainment purposes only because it allows users with no music background to get a sense of what it feels like to play the piano (i.e., touching the screen once = playing one note). The main concern for me from an educator’s perspective would be the app’s ‘keyless’ approach to playing the piano because the skills one gain from this app cannot be transferred to enable the user to play an actual piano. It might, however, allow the user to get better scores playing Guitar Hero, for example.
In my opinion, if the app displayed a section of the keys of a piano as its interface and that the keys respond to the notes being played the educational value of the app will be dramatically increased. From an entrepreneur’s perspective the addition of a keyboard would enable users to learn how to play the piano (at least using just the right hand) of the songs they pay for, which would in turn motivate the users to want to download more in-app products and songs because the skills they gain can be transferred to an actual piano.
James