Pianomouse Meets the Great Composers

Pianomouse Meets the Great Composers is a fun way to introduce elementary students to the lives and music of several great composers. While not a technical masterpiece, there are few programs that cover this material.

From the main menu you can select one of eight composers: Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Bach, Shubert, Brahms or Tchaikovsky. Their names are not shown at this point, which would have been helpful, simply their portraits. As the program moves along, however, your child will become familiar with the faces of the composers.

 

Each composer's history is read aloud,
although a few names and cities are mispronounced
by the narrator, but nothing that will effect the overall program. The fact that the histories are read
aloud is a nice touch, as the vocabulary is
decidedly upper elementary level.

After listening to the narration, there is a question and answer game that tests your child's comprehension. One of the composers most famous pieces is played while the test is being taken. Although a nice touch, some kids may find the stimulation coming from too many directions. I would have like to see the musical pieces played seperately. Your child can then move on to several other related game.

 

 

  • Concentration: Play concentration by matching picture plus name to picture plus name (easiest), picture alone to name alone, or picture to composition. Your child will become very familiar with the composers picture by the time this program is completed.
  • The Traveling Composer: Place the composers picture on the correct city when give a clue, such as where this composer was born. A nice map skill as well as comprehension activity.
  • Pianomouse Maze: This virtual "maze" is simply a movie "clip" of the maze hallways. The camera stops, and your child must answer a multiple choice question to make the "camera" start moving again. Not much of a 'maze,' but good comprehension review.

There are so few programs available that will teach these skills that Pianomouse lands at the top of the heap. It could use a bit of tweaking, but is certainly worthwhile. If you have a music student in your house this is a nice way to learn about the world's most brilliant composers.

Grading for Pianomouse:

Educational Value: 4
Entertainment Value: 2 1/2
Replay Value: 3

You can purchase Pianomouse Meets the Great Composers at http://www.pianomouse.com