Jumpstart Learning Games Music
 Kimberly Robasky  rates it:    Community rates it: (no ratings yet)
   205 of 435 readers found this review helpful.

Ages 5-8

My 5 year old asked me, "Mommy, when am I going to start learning music?" I was floored. Filled with hope, I asked, "Are you interested in music now?" "No," he responded, "but I know I have to learn it". Ok, I'll take what I can get. So I set this software up on a computer I bought for $75 on half.com, and away he went.

Frankly, I was very impressed with how much fun this game is for an analytical child who's only interest in the arts is "sculpting" with K'nex. JumpStart Music holds his attention for an hour at a time, and he genuinely seems to enjoy it. Of course, its not as much fun as Bionicle, but he does seem to appreciate that he can "learn music" painlessly.

I sometimes wonder, forlornly, if he's inherited my hopeless sense of (or should I say lack of) rhythm. To my great joy, he's doing great with the "copy me" rhythm games in the software.

Warning: we have a 400mHz computer tweaked out with plenty of memory, but its often not enough to keep up with the rhythm games. My son gets frustrated when the software is non-responsive to his tapping, and then erroneously tells him he got the rhythm wrong. I just remind him that the software sometimes doesn't work right, and he's doing great. That's enough to keep him happy, and he does seem to be progressing in the rhythm section.

The melody games are great. The child listens to the correct melody, then listens to a modified melody and tries to catch the "sour notes". My son loves this game and really seems to be learning a lot.

Finally, the games aren't all as encouraging as they might have been. There's a goat in one of the rhythm games that tells you "that's ba-a-a-d". I would not recommend this game for younger, sensitive children. I could do without the negative comments, and I would encourage you to screen this software for your child before leaving them unattended with it (good advice for any child's media).

In summary, there are definitely some negatives for this software, but it's better than nothing, and you have few choices in this category. And remember, your child's musical abilities can actually improve up through age 9. To that end, I would definitely recommend this game, but you might want to try borrowing it from the library first to be sure it will run on your computer, and that your child enjoys it.

Added:  Monday, August 23, 2004

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Language: eng