Tech Reviews: New products (February 2023)
Kate Rounding
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Kate Rounding reveals what's new this month in music technology.
EarMaster App
Price: Free
The EarMaster app provides ear training, sight-singing practice and rhythm training. You can download a limited version for free with four modules from the ‘Beginner's Course’. You can sing or clap back your answers and see live results showing how accurate your pitch or timing is. Students might enjoy the ‘gamification’ of this approach to developing skills. The full version has 2500 exercises suitable for all levels that aim to develop musical skills: intervals, scales, chords, cadences, melodies, rhythm and sight-singing. If you enjoy the free app and want to use the full features, then school-paid licenses for teachers and students, student-paid subscriptions, and free teacher accounts are available. Alternatively, you can sign up for the EarMaster Cloud, which is an all-inclusive educational licence from EarMaster.
DaCapo Primary Resource
Price: £50 per class (1 year subscription)
The DaCapo Primary Resource supports music teaching from Nursery to Key Stage 1, with Key Stage 2 coming soon. Schools that subscribe receive an engaging and interactive whiteboard resource that takes a structured approach to teaching musical skills. It covers all essentials from the national music curriculum: pulse, pitch, rhythm, improvisation, composition and more. DaCapo is based on the Kodály method and offers a holistic and accessible approach to teaching and learning. The activities are presented in charming pictorial blocks where you can learn the song in easy stages. Start with a fun warm-up session, and follow your progress with ‘CODA’ – an avatar in the form of a friendly dog. There are 12 songs to work through, each with a tailored set of progressive activities. Great for anyone (music specialist or not) who teaches primary music.
PreSonus Notion Mobile
Price: Free
Notion Mobile is the new free version of Notion for iOS. This powerful composition tool provides full editing features that enable you to edit and playback standard music notation and tablature on a combination of devices. This connectivity across platforms is a key feature; the app runs in Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS, Android, ChromeOS and Amazon Fire OS devices. You can save your composition to the Cloud and pick up where you left off on your phone, desktop or tablet. If you already use Notion, you will appreciate the range of additional and improved features. These include the ability to write four voices per staff, keyboard shortcuts, paste reflow (a nifty way to copy, paste and ‘remix’ notation) and more. For features like handwriting recognition and network transfer, you can purchase the Feature Bundle or join PreSonus Sphere.
Pocket Operators
Price: £49 – £99
Pocket Operators are mini sequencers, samplers, 8-bit synths and drum machines with a DIY vibe. They look like an old-school pocket calculator: each has 23 buttons and controls, all mounted on a printed circuit board with a small LCD screen. Each has a specific purpose and unique sound, such as drum machine, and can be used as a standalone device or linked together to combine sounds and effects. Teenage Engineering launched the Pocket Operator range in 2015, with 11 to choose from in total. The PO12 Rhythm, PO14 Sub and PO16 Factory are a great place to start, and the newer PO-33 K.O! is a fun sampler with 16 sample tracks available. All units have a 16-step sequencer, 16 patterns, a built-in speaker, 3.5mm audio I/O and are powered by two AAA batteries.
