Tag: apps

Conferences, Technology

MTNA 2017: App-Laudable Uses of Apps in Music Lessons

Joy Morin

It was an honor to have the opportunity to present a session at the 2017 MTNA conference this year! My topic was App-Laudable Uses of Apps in Music Lessons.

In my session, I addressed the responsible and effective incorporation of technology before launching into a demonstration of a variety of apps for music lessons.

If you would like to download the handout from my session, please click here. (Please note that the app information in the handout is current as of March 2017).

You can check out a list of app reviews I’ve written here on my blog here.

Games, Printables, Technology

Printable Chart for the Note Rush App

Joy Morin

Ever since downloading Note Rush for iPhone/iPad (read my review here), my students and I have been having a blast using the app to improve fluency in corresponding pitches notated on the staff to the keyboard.

(By the way, did you know that Note Rush is now available for Android platforms?)

Just for fun, I started keeping track of each student’s best time for each Note Rush level using a clipboard and a blank sheet of paper. Pretty soon, I realized I needed a better chart. So, I decided to contact the developer to ask if I could create one that visually matches the user interface of the app. He agreed, and happily sent me the graphics and information I needed. (Thanks, Thomas!) Here is the result:

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Continue reading “Printable Chart for the Note Rush App” →

Reviews

App Review: Musiclock

Joy Morin

Musiclock appI’m excited to write this app review, because it is one of the most well-designed and useful apps I’ve come across lately!

Musiclock is a $2.99 app for iPad and iPhone that provides a variety of backing tracks intended to be used while practicing scales or improvising.

The first step is to select a scale. The scale choices are: major, major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, natural minor, melodic minor, harmonic minor, blues, and dominant bebop.

IMG_5067 Continue reading “App Review: Musiclock” →

Reviews, Technology

App Review: Piano Dust Buster

Joy Morin

mzl.xunvpmji.175x175-75Piano Dust Buster by JoyTunes — FREE, but in-app purchases are required to attain additional song sets.

There are two games within this app: “Germ Attack” and “Staff Master.”  Each game has two playing modes: using your own real piano or using the on-screen keyboard.  If you use your piano, the app will “hear” the frequency of the sounds you play through the mic to check if you are playing correctly (so cool!).

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Each game also allows you to choose between a “Practice” mode (accurate rhythms are only loosely enforced) and a “Showtime” mode (the app will not wait for you to play correct rhythms).  Continue reading “App Review: Piano Dust Buster” →

Technology

New Page: List of Music Apps for Teachers & Students

Joy Morin

Screen shot 2013-05-30 at 12.12.30 PMI just wanted to let you know that I’ve added a new page to my website, where you can find a list of different music apps for piano teachers/students.  The apps are organized by category and contain links to the full reviews I’ve written.

I will be adding more apps to this list in the future, so stay tuned!  Let me know if you have any suggestions for apps to add to the list.

Click here to view the brand new “Music Apps” page!

P.S.:  Here is the direct link to my article about rhythm which was published in the 3-D Piano Method’s “Soundpoint #12” Newsletter yesterday!

Reviews, Studio Business

App Review: Moosic Studio

Joy Morin

Splash_1024x748_logo_01I was recently contacted by Carlos Fontiveros, creator of the brand new Moosic Studio app, which is designed to help manage the business side of running a teaching studio.  You can best read about it in his own words:

Moosic Studio was created for my wife, Margaret, and her piano & voice studio.  I started off creating a solution for her to manage her business using combination of Bento and Excel on her laptop. It worked well and did the job. But she was always switching back & forth between applications entering lesson information while at the same time duplicating her lesson notes in her student’s assignment journals. On top of all this juggling, when she wanted to record audio or video of a student playing, she would have to get her audio recorder or iPhone. Witnessing this chaos for several months, came the idea for Moosic Studio on the iPad.  

Carlos kindly sent me a promo code so that I could review the app.  (As always, I was not obligated to write a positive review.  This review contains only my honest opinions!)  I don’t have my own iPad yet, but I was able to test it out on my husband’s iPad.  (Eventually, the app will work on the iPhone, too.)  The Moosic Studio app truly looks like a handy solution for the independent music teacher.  Let me tell you about it!  Continue reading “App Review: Moosic Studio” →