Aquallegro

CITATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

 * Title: [|Aquallegro 4.7]
 * Author: Andy Van Ness
 * Publisher: Andy Van Ness
 * Copyright 2007
 * Platform: Macintosh
 * Peripherals: Mouse, Speakers, Sound Card
 * Grade/Age: Junior HS/Middle School, High School, Adult
 * Type of Class: General Music, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Theory

TEACHER SUPPORT

 * Documentation: The program is freeware. There are no manuals, but the operation is self-explanatory.
 * Objectives: This program reviews notation, aural skills and the keyboard.

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT

 * This program has expanded. The program gives the student exercises to work on:
 * Notation
 * note names
 * intervals
 * solfege
 * scales
 * beats
 * tempo
 * Aural skills
 * intervals
 * chords
 * scales
 * tuning
 * note names
 * tempo
 * Keyboard
 * notes
 * National Music Standards that could be addressed through this software include:
 * 5. Reading and notating music.
 * 6. Listening to analyzing and describing music.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND PEDAGOGICAL SOUNDNESS
>> Aural Skills - Scasles >> Aural Skills - Note Names
 * This program achieves its goal of providing a great review for students who are familiar with these musical concepts. No explanation of the concepts is offered, so new learners may require a descriptive element to understand the concepts before using this software.
 * The program is very easy to use and there is not a great deal of extraneous information to confuse the user. The help button is available on each module.
 * The program is easy to read and understand, and objectives are very clear.
 * There are no extra graphics and the program may be perceived as somewhat boring to some students.
 * The user can move back and forth with ease through various quizzes.
 * The program opens with a small set-up screen. From this screen, the user is able to navigate to the following four areas: Notation, Aural Skills and Keyboard or use the drop down menu to navigate to the desired module. Within each of these sections, more options are available including:
 * Notation - Note Names
 * Treble, bass, alto or tenor clefs,
 * Up to 4 ledger lines.
 * American or European (solfege) notation
 * Option to require the octave as well as the note name
 * Notation - Intervals
 * Treble, bass, alto or tenor clefs
 * All intervals (2nds-9ths) up to doubly diminished and doubly augmented
 * Notation - Solfege
 * Treble, bass, alto or tenor clefs
 * All modes
 * Nondiatonic notes
 * Respond by using a mouse click or by typing the answer.
 * Notation - Scales
 * Treble, bass, alto or tenor clefs
 * All modes including pentatonic, blues, whole tone and Arabic
 * Theoretical scales are offered
 * Identify the tonic in addition to the scale type.
 * Notation - Beats
 * Rhythms up to double dotted notes
 * Sixteenths to double whole notes
 * Duple time signatures of ?/2, ?/4 and ?/8
 * Notation - Terms
 * List of predetermined terms or import a list of their own
 * Questions can be asked using the term and requiring a definition or by providing the definition and requesting the term or both ways.
 * Responses are provided as multiple choice.
 * Aural Skills - intervals
 * Minor 2 through perfect octave
 * Can be played harmonically, melodically, up or down
 * Aural Skills - Chords
 * Triads, 7th chords, or 9th chords a
 * Harmonically or melodically i
 * Up to fourth inversions.
 * Aural Skills - Solfege
 * Can include nondiatonic notes
 * Major or minor.
 * Responses can be made by a mouse click or by typing the answer.
 * Can be kept in one key, or the key can be changed for each example
 * All modes including pentatonic, blues, whole tone and Arabic
 * Can be kept in one key, or the key can be changed for each example
 * Aural Skills - Tuning
 * Intervals from unison to octave
 * Can be within a range of cents from 1 cent to 30 cents
 * Display can show tuning and eh exact answer
 * Pitch can be played while slider is manipulated
 * User can be required to match pitch
 * Can use just intonation
 * Can use any letter name or only C's
 * Can be within up to a 5th of the correct note
 * Exact answer can be displayed
 * Random note can be played between examples
 * Aural Skills - Tempos
 * Can be within 2 bpm to 80 bpm
 * Tempos range from 40 bpm to 300 bpm
 * Exact answer can be displayed
 * Keyboard - Notes
 * Treble, bass, alto or tenor clefs
 * Accidentals up to double sharps and double flats
 * Can choose up to 4 ledger lines
 * Can require the correct octave
 * This program's structure is Drill and Practice.
 * The user has complete control over the rate of presentation.
 * The feedback is immediate and the same reinforcement level for both correct and incorrect answers.
 * Sequence of Materials: Good
 * Pace of Instruction: Excellent
 * Quality of Interaction: Excellent
 * Motivation for Students: Fair

RECORD KEEPING

 * The points that a user acquires during a session are displayed in the program while performing a specific task, but once a user exits the program there is no record of the points from that session.
 * Administrator can lock setups for module.
 * Students logs can be setup to allow the teacher so see the date and time of quiz, number of questions answered, the final score and average time per question.

OVERALL EVALUATION

 * While the interface may not be geared towards having fun and learning simultaneously, its comprehensive approach to the material can prove very useful to older students who are looking for review or enrichment. The option to choose to respond by clicking buttons or typing a response can be a benefit to some learners. One small challenge for the user is that they would have to understand how to customize each drill to fit their learning needs, or get assistance with the setup. Some modules can be quite difficult. This program offers practice with an impressive amount of musical skills. The administrative component makes it easy for teachers to monitor their students practice time.
 * Rating ***

Reviewed by Kathryn Smoker 4/6/2006 Updated by Ken Stray 4/4/2007 Updated by Michelle Cheng 10/26/2008 Updated by Tammy Kuntz 10/24/2009