Dulcimer Harmonica Mandolin Ukulele Violin and Viola.
I let the other musicians use this site to tune and they loved it.
Good Gigging!
Larry Marra
www.musicteachers911.com
JoyTunes: A Music Teacher’s Best Friend
JoyTunes merges proven methodology with cutting-edge technology to take children’s musical education to a whole new level.
Tel Aviv, Israel – October 20, 2010 – Ever had trouble getting your students to practice? Then how about making it fun! JoyTunes is an interactive educational game that’s changing the way educators are introducing their students to the world of music. By bringing hi-tech innovation to musical education, JoyTunes teaches the skills of playing an instrument through the medium of a fun computer game. Click here to play the JoyTunes demo!
How does it work? JoyTunes’ patent-pending technology enables its users to control the game by p p laying a live musical instrument. The recorder is just the first in a series that will feature various i nstruments. It was chosen as the perfect introduction to music because it’s simple, easy-to-use and an ideal instrument on which to acquire music fundamentals.
Each game level is a musical exercise designed to develop crucial musical skills like tone production, tone stability, finger technique, basic ear training and more. Combined with an exciting original soundtrack, the game’s unique methodology has been shown to motivate children to practice and immensely shorten the learning process of playing an instrument. And in the classroom, teachers can use the game’s free, downloadable sheet music for their own lessons. Click here to see JoyTunes in action!
Whether used in the classroom or at home, JoyTunes’ virtual environment transforms children’s education into a different kind of learning experience – the kind where practice becomes playtime and musical skills are naturally acquired. Research shows that children learn best when their minds are active and engaged, which is why JoyTunes works so effectively: level of improvement is directly correlated with motivation to beat the game. The more children want to play a cool computer game, the more they’ll practice and improve their skills between lessons – not because they have to, but because they want to. JoyTunes has indeed taken music education and amped up a crucial element: fun! Click here to watch the official JoyTunes video on YouTube.
Developed by Experts
This patent-pending game was created by a talented team of recorder teachers, signal analysis experts, software developers, graphic designers, psychologists and world-renowned musicians. These creative experts from each field were brought together in order to unlock the sponge-like quality of a child’s brain in a fun and engaging way, while keeping in mind the needs of music educators in the classroom..
Top musicians and recorder artists like Prof. Karel Van Steenhoven (University of Karlsruhe, Germany; member of Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet), Prof. Michael Melzer (Vice President of Academic Affairs, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance; recorder artist) and Susanne Fröhlich (University of Arts, Berlin; recorder artist) are already enthusiastic supporters of this new innovation in music and recorder education.
Innovative Technology
When you play JoyTunes, its software analyzes your recorder’s sounds to manipulate objects in the game. The analyzing engine also identifies common mistakes to provide you with real-time performance feedback. It does all that without any special hardware or connections, and better yet, background noise, low-quality instruments and inexpensive soundcards and microphones are no match for JoyTunes – it will work just fine with a five-dollar microphone or recorder. JoyTunes’ novel technology, which overcomes poor conditions and provides comprehensive feedback by recognizing several features coming out of the instrument, is patent-pending. And despite the technical complexity of the game, JoyTunes is web-based and simple to play, with no special download or installation needed.
Product Awards
JoyTunes was recently announced the winner of this fall's prestigious Parents' Choice Award for Software. According to one Parents’ Choice review, “We were impressed by how much and how well the game encouraged our testers to practice, and by how much they learned... steady practice with the program's fundamentals may bring much-welcomed harmony to your family room.”
JoyTunes was also selected by MassChallenge as a top-26 finalist for the Most Innovative Startup of 2010. Having drawn 446 applicants from 26 countries, this is the largest startup competition in the world. It recognizes high-impact startups with big ideas that can change the world. If JoyTunes is declared a winner by the prestigious panel of judges, the company will receive a $50,000 to $100,000 award to help develop its novel approach to musical education.
How to Order & Technical Requirements
Two purchase options are available: a single-user license, wherein the game will be delivered by e-mail; and a gift pack, which includes a game CD, recorder and microphone. Gift packs are shipped within 14 working days, free of charge.
In order to play JoyTunes, you will need: a regular soprano recorder (found in any music store), a computer with a microphone and speakers (external or built-in), a Windows or Mac operating system, Internet connectivity, minimum 512 MB of RAM and a 64 MB video card (128 MB is preferred).
About JoyTunes
JoyTunes was established in 2009 with the goal of revolutionizing musical interaction through instrument-activated computer games. The methods of this unique approach to education are sure to catch on in other subjects, paving the way for a new set of educational tools for the children of tomorrow.
For more information, please visit joytunes.com and follow JoyTunes on Facebook and Twitter!
Because teaching music is our goal and we see you, the music educators of the blogosphere, as our partners in this pursuit, we are offering you and your readers a 20% discount on the wonderful experience of JoyTunes! To obtain a discount code, please phone or e-mail the media contact below.
As a registered teacher, not only will you receive a free evaluation copy of the software, but you’ll also receive inside information and free access to resources like sheet-music downloads for you and your students! And don’t worry, registration is free.
Media Contact:
Avihu Sha'altiel | ||
Blonde 2.0 | Community & AccountManager | ||
Tel: +972-3-677-1133 | ||
Facebook: facebook.com/avihush Twitter: @avihush | ||
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The range of options in WavePad basic - there is a commercial "Masters" version - is impressive. You can add effects, fades, split tracks, merge tracks, and much more. Performing all of these tasks is easy, and easy to undo if you make a mistake. It's certainly user friendly, and the fact you can import more or less any sound file format makes it incredibly accessible for anyone (there's no need to mess around with file conversion).
As well as importing from your hard drive, you can also import directly from CD, and there's a tool to burn whatever you want. There is a tone generator, and even a text to speech generator, so you can express yourself with a robotic voice.
There are tabs at the bottom of the edit window for you to move easily between open files, a zoom tool so it's easy to highlight exactly the part you want when editing, and the highlighting itself is really intuitive, allowing you to apply effects with precision.
The one function I think WavePad is missing is a BPM analyzer - although this is sometimes unreliable in other programs, it's a nice feature to have.
For anyone that wants to mess around with their sound files - WavePad is a great and lightweight program to use.
English
WAV, MP3, VOX, GSM, RM, AU, AIF, FLAC, OGG
You can obtain a free download at:
http://wavepad.en.softonic.com
Good gigging!
Larry Marra
www.musicteachers911.com
