Loopimal
Loopimal is a music creating tool aimed at children ages 6 to 8. The premise of the app is to allow young children to create music through a drag and drop method filled with colorful animations and characters.
The app itself is very streamlined. At launch it brings the user to a screen that has only two buttons. One to start creating and one where parents can find out more about the application history, purpose and resources. Clicking the play button brings the child to a large screen with an animal dancing, a beat playing in the background and 5 symbols that can be dragged to a timeline. The timeline is constantly moving with the beat. As the child adds different symbols it adds to the beat. Each symbol represents a different addition to the music and this is displayed both through the music itself and an animation from the character. Swiping to the right or left changes the base beat and this is represented by different animals. The symbols remain the same throughout.
The top right of the screen shows a plus icon that allows the user to change from 1, 2 or 4 base beats at once. When the user selects more beats the timeline remains the same, but the screen where the animals are becomes split between the chosen number. The beats can be changed in each panel by swiping as before. This allows the user to create more complex music through the same simple system.
The app offers a very intuitive system for children to play with music in a visual and tactile way. For young children who are interested in creating music and enjoy living animation this application is recommended.
Some questions to ask your child while playing:
Do they understand how the music changes with each symbol?
Is there a reason for the pattern they create or are they randomly placing the symbols?
Does adding more beats make the song too complex for them?