CD-ROM Reviews: December, 2004

-- School Library Journal, 12/1/2004

Music

Morton Subotnick's Hearing Music. 1 CD-ROM. Systems: Win 95 & later, Macintosh OS 7 & later. Viva Media. 2004. ISBN 1-932174-35-4. $39.95.

Gr 2-5-Composer Morton Subotnick has developed this program to teach children how to recognize musical patterns to heighten their music appreciation and listening skills. Smoothly performed, unidentified classical music is presented to users in four games: "Comparing," "Matching," "Reading," and "Ordering." In "Comparing," musical phrases are presented as colorful balloons and users decide if they are the same or different. In "Matching," youngsters hear phrases and must find two that are the same. To play "Reading," users must match a piece of sheet music to a musical phrase that they hear. In "Ordering," pieces of a longer phrase must be placed in order. Activities are briefly introduced by a gentle female voice. Throughout the program, players click on an unlabeled green triangle to play the music, and can repeat it as needed. When "Audio Help" is activated, and a voice tells users what to do as they roll over objects on the screen. Youngsters need to use this feature very often since the games are not intuitive. The cartoon graphics are bright and child friendly. "Help for Parents" effectively introduces the program and enables adults to set the program for single or multiple players. Assessment helps decide skill levels for multiple users. Positive feedback is plentiful, but the correct response for an wrong answer is only shown in the "Reading" game. There are no prompts, hints, or second chances. Phrases are clear, but players must listen very carefully to hear the difference in some cases. The program is divided into levels of difficulty. Levels 1 and 2 are developmentally appropriate, but the fourth level is very difficult, even for some adult users. Teacher or parental guidance will definitely help students to better understand the activities and enjoy this entertaining program.-Caren Koh, Queens Borough Public Library, Jamaica, NY

Browse the November CD-ROM reviews