Music+Ace

CITATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

 * Title: Music Ace
 * Authors: Joel May, Phil Rockenbach, Bob Kaiser, Kevin Lentz, and Mike Medelson
 * Publisher: [|Harmonic Vision, Inc.]
 * © 1999-2000
 * Platform: Macintosh (OS 8.1 - 9x/OS X)or Windows (98/2000/Me/NT4/XP/Vista)
 * Peripherals: MIDI keyboard (optional)
 * Grade Level: Early elementary to early middle school
 * Type of class: General Music, Theory

TEACHER SUPPORT
A standard user guide is included with Music Ace, as well as a 90-page educator's user guide. This educator's version also comes with 30 pages of worksheets to go along with the lessons in the program, as well as three Music Ace Award Certificates. There is also a table breaking down each chapter in the program. This chart shows what topic students will focus on in each lesson or game and how the individual sections of the lesson or game increase in difficulty. The chart also mentions whether or not the activity will include keyboard knowledge, hand-eye coordination, or a timbre exercise. The publisher website includes several helpful [|educator resources] as well as [|homeschool resources]. There is also technical support available by e-mail. The user guides come with adequate installation instructions and the program seems to be fairly low-maintenance to begin with. The guide also includes sample screens.

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT
This program focuses on introducing the staff (treble, bass and grand staff), high and low pitches, reading rhythmic icons, building scales, and introducing timbral qualities. Music Ace addresses several of the [|National Standards for Music Education], including:

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 5. Reading and notating music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT
The program is split into two halves. One half is a sequence pairing 24 games and lessons with a given topic. This feature incorporates both drill-and-practice and tutorial structures. All the lessons/games have varying degrees of difficulty, and the student can progress through these lessons at their own pace. The lessons are accurate and thorough without being overwhelming. For example, lesson seven goes over the lines and the spaces on the treble staff. In the game coupled with that lesson students have to identify the pitch that is on the given line or space. As the game goes on, the notes get harder to identify and students move from simply identifying them to playing them on a keyboard. The feedback given in the games is rather whimsical: if an incorrect answer is given, the cartoon noteheads (which have faces) explode.

The other half of the program is called the Doodle Pad, and it fits the discovery program format. On the Doodle Pad, students can compose their own pieces by dragging noteheads of varying sizes to locations on the staff. The larger the notehead, the longer the duration of the note is. Students can also explore different timbral qualities, which vary with the color of the noteheads.
 * Sequence of Materials: Excellent
 * Pace of Instruction: Excellent
 * Quality of Instruction: Good
 * Motivation for Students: Good

RECORD KEEPING
Students are asked to log in with their names when the program begins. The program keeps track of their individual progress through the games and lessons and can also save student compositions.

OVERALL EVALUATION
Music Ace is a strong introductory music education program. It offers solid lessons and corresponding games on a nice-sized sample of beginning musical topics. Although feedback could be more constructive, this does not take away from the effectiveness of the program. It is a good tool to use in a beginning general music class.

Rating: * * *

EVALUATED BY
Jeremy Gorin 04/11/06 edited by Erin Grady 04/04/07